You're talking way too many pimples on the ceiling. You need recessed fixtures to avoid that acne look. And your central fixture doesn't really work either, especially if you plan an island under it. That would need a pendant, not a semi flush fixture. As general lighting, you could do one or two short semi flush fixtures, like the Rejuvenation fixture you indicated, with the all the rest recessed. It doesn't look like you have clearance for an island (48" all the way around it), so you may want to give up that idea and just use a pendant over the sink, and a couple of pendants or recessed lights over the peninsula instead of adding a chandelier over a central island.

Funny, I always heard recessed lighting described as ceiling acne, and light fixtures as jewelry -- I suppose it's all in how one looks at it. It's a moot point anyway, as we won't be having recessed lights.

I think the photo doesn't convey the space/height etc. the way it really is. The central fixture works perfectly for our needs -- it isn't really what I would call a semi-flush fixture, though it may appear so. My husband is very tall and pendants would have to hang at a similar height to work for him in that location -- otherwise he'd bonk his head on them while working at the island. I wasn't aware pendants were a requirement over an island? Seems I've seen plenty of islands without pendants. Anyway, the center fixture is definitely not going anywhere, so that's another moot point.

We do have room for the island we have planned, which will be both narrower and longer than the table we've been using in its stead for months (which is working well enough from a clearance standpoint). Do we have the perfect 48" clearance all around? No, but two sides will have 38" and the other two (including the stove) 48" -- sometimes you don't get every recommended measurement in an old house. C'est la vie. The kitchen would be far less functional without that prep and landing area in the center, so we will continue as planned with an island.

I appreciate your taking the time to offer your thoughts, but as you can see, there are reasons why we are where we are with this.

7 ceiling lights is visual overkill. Ceiling fixtures cannot be planned out using spacing like recess lighting! And your fixture is pretty, but I don't think it really works well for the actual functional lighting that your space needs as you have it hung. Two semi flush mounts (shorter than your pendant you show) spaced at 1/3 and 2/3 in the room would work for general lighting as they are high up enough to scatter diffused light through the room but also hang down enough to bounce it off of the ceiling as well. Then add under cabinet lighting and light rail molding for your cabinets for task lighting for the perimeter. Task lighting needs to be direct, as in a downward lighting pendant that focuses light onto the work surface. For an island, that means a direct downlight pendant hung low enough to not cause glare or lower hanging chandelier with some type of diffusion over the island. Your light isn't hung low enough to work for that, but if you could hang it lower, it could work. You will not bump your head on a properly hung lower hanging light unless you plan on jumping up onto the middle of the island for some hanky panky. You also need task lighting above the sink, and that's where I'd do a sconce pointing downward mounted on the header of the passthrough.

tap tap tap ..... Is this thing on?? ;)

OK, I'm not trying to be difficult here, but the current light fixture is staying! I realize going without can lighting is not the standard, nor is going without the ubiquitous pendant light, but I also know that there are MANY people here who have done it with great style. So it can be done!

Since you can't stand in my kitchen, you'll just have to take my word for it that the fixture does give more than adequate direct light over the table that's currently sitting there (which is significantly shorter than the island will be). It also reflects quite a bit off the ceiling, giving an overall wash of light.

I can assure you, I have lived with him for nearly 20 years, I know my husband (and my son, who at 14 is already close to his dad's height) would hit his head on anything that was hung much lower than the current fixture, as a pendant would have to be to A) not look stupid and B) not cause glare in the eyes for much shorter me. As a migraine sufferer, this is a real concern for me. It's also the reason why I can't do a downward-pointing sconce for over the sink, though that wouldn't be a bad idea otherwise (except that the header is all 2x10s so nowhere to run wires/receptacles).

Anyway, I made myself a little Photoshop mockup with the Rejuvenation acorn lights and as I thought, I hate it. They look wrong with the bowl-shaped fixture there now. So that's out. Still considering the RH fixtures and open to other fixtures anyone might know of.

What about something along these lines? It's too modern, but I find it less obtrusive than the ones you are having problems with.
http://www.lampsplus.com/products/nina-collection-bronze-6-inch-wide-flushmount-ceiling-light__k1155.html

Here is a link that might be useful: smaller flushmount

Is this the look you are going for?
https://www.houzz.com/photos/stonebreaker-builders-frank-lloyd-wright-remodel-traditional-kitchen-tampa-phvw-vp~52866

Here is a link that might be useful: [multiple ceiling lights[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/stonebreaker-builders-frank-lloyd-wright-remodel-traditional-kitchen-tampa-phvw-vp~52866)

I have the RH light in my bath and it does not put off much light plus it is wide enough that it may look odd having a bunch on the ceiling. Sea gull lighting made a small led light for a time that could be surface mounted and has various colored trim kits. When I searched for it there are some available on amazon , I will link below. I do not have personal experience with this light, just remembered reading about it as an alternative to recessed lighting in a This Old House magazine. Your kitchen is lovely!

Here is a link that might be useful: light

I assume since you are attempting to an "authentic" kitchen that you will be closing up that passthrough? And getting rid of your refrigerator? And your granite? And your range vent? And only using your one single light fixture? Because that is all "authentic" to the period that the home was built--IF the home was one that would have been electrified at all, that is. Many homes were still on gas if they were urban or candles or lanterns if they were rural, right up until the mid 1930's when the REC made it their mission to bring electricity into the country homes.

Yes, my point is that you're being inconsistent and arbitrary about which modern conveniences you are picking and choosing from to allow into your kitchen to achieve a "correct" look. A lot of things have changed for the better in 100 years and lighting design is certainly one of them! In a small room the size of your kitchen, all that would have been in the home originally would have been a single central light fixture. (And not one as ornate as that in a working room like a kitchen.) That's it. One light fixture. You would not have had 6 other fixtures in that room! It's too small, and that would have been much too expensive for a modest home. You recognize that being correct and choosing one fixture does not provide enough light, but you're unwilling to take the next logical step of working with a modern lighting design.

This is one of those places that you can pick to be "correct" and suffer with bad lighting, or you can look at using modern lighting design to achieve less eyestrain and a pleasing visual look. The lighting plan that I gave you will give you enough light to do the work you need to do in the kitchen. You don't care for it, that's fine. But you are operating of some incorrect assumptions on your part when it comes to lighting your home. Please do ask the hundreds of people on here who use chandeliers/pendants over their kitchen islands whether or not they have any tall family members bump their heads on them. Not one will say yes, because not one is placed in the traffic aisle. They are placed over the work surface. Stand at your counter edge and bend forward. Your head goes down it does not remain at 6' and glide across the counter. A pendant over a work surface will work, and well. Or a down light.

I stand by my statement that two semi flush lights can provide general room lighting and that adding more similar in function lights at the same level in the ceiling will do nothing to give your good lighting for working in your kitchen. It will give you glare and overkill. Ceiling lighting is not task lighting in a kitchen. You will either suffer from not enough light on your work surfaces, or you will install task lighting such as under cabinet lighting and/or pendants and downlights directly over your work surfaces.

Perhaps you should consult with a paid professional lighting designer.

GreenDesign- As just a person reading this post and in no way trying to argue, I believe that you have missed the OP's point. She is not necessarily aiming for "authentic", she just does not like recessed lighting and is asking for help to find alternative lighting options.

Reading my post, it sounds snarkier than intended. I'm sorry. My intention was to challenge your presumptions about what you "should" use in your space. My plan even included your fixture that you love--albeit hung lower where it is more useful.

athomeinva, I DID do a lighting design that contained no recessed lighting. Not one. However, the OP wants to use *7* ceiling fixtures, and that simply will NOT work to light the space correctly. Ceiling fixtures only work as general lighting. They are the worst choice possible in a work situation. If you're working at a desk you use a properly placed desk lamp to cast light onto the work surface. It's the same in a kitchen. To get the right kind of light on the work surface, you have to use the right kind of lighting.

Would this look work in your kitchen? Instead of adding a lot of extra small lights? You may need to move the existing larger fixture to accomodate the second, but I think it could be a good compromise. This seems to bring in more ambient light without being as busy and visually stimulating as your first thought.

I found the image on Pinterest and it linked back to a thread on the Home Decorating forum

Here is a link that might be useful: Checkerboard floors

take the shape of your center larger fixture, which is more spread out-go for the "mushroom " shape type of ceiling fixture[that's what they call them in the lighting stores I think]-smallsized/all white preferably and place them in your openings.and be done with it. If you absolutely don't want canisters, this to me is your best option.The "mushroomhead" is a perfectly fine fixture-goes anywhere-sits pretty flush up at the ceiling...you'll get pretty good light.....not expensive.Your kitchen looks nice.

Well, GreenDesigns, thanks for apologizing for being snarkier than you intended, though one wonders why you intended to be snarky at all. I mostly just rolled my eyes through your lengthy diatribe; you lost me when you based your entire argument on your assumption that I am trying to do an "authentic" kitchen, which I never said nor even implied. I get that you think you're trying to be helpful, but I think you should go back to designing perfect kitchens for hypothetical people and I'll go back to working on my real life kitchen for my real life family.

Thank you clueless, athomeinva, shmeal, and herbflavor. Helpful suggestions all.

Clueless, that's kind of similar, though in that particular kitchen I find the use of all those matching fixtures to look kind of...commercial? Like it's a cafe, not a home kitchen, if that makes sense. Good for visualizing though.

athomeinva, those are some interesting lights you linked to! Unfortunately, it looks like they've been discontinued. :(

shmeal, that's an interesting one. (Kind of visually makes the point GD was trying to make that got lost in the snark.) Still wouldn't call those task lighting though, although that's what they're being used for. Hmmmm. Good food for thought.

herbflavor, that's been a thought in my head, to go with a basic mushroom shape in a small size -- lights that would be very much background rather than center stage.

My DH still thinks he wants "all fancy lights" but then again he's never been known for his ability to visualize things like this.

Still looking and musing, thanks again folks for the helpful suggestions. Even the fact that not too many are chiming in is helpful, in that it tells me this is harder than I'd hoped it would be.

Did you look at the Diane Keaton kitchen? I think there's something to be said for the lighting here, to show us our options. Note the perimeter lighting--four matching plus two more outside the kitchen. Then there are other lights on a smaller scale. Try translating this to you kitchen. I don't think a sorta-biggie in middle would be awful if the globes are white and the ceiling is white.

{{gwi:1607484}}

For the sake of argument, consider the turnip-shaped ceiling-hugging fixture that your Hubby likes: _If_ they have sufficient brightness, I'd use four for the perimeter and make the doorway one and the sink one something else. Will there be sufficient lighting at the sink if you choose a low-wattage item or do you need firepower there?

Is this island a work station or a plunk station? How much light would the turnip-shaped lights throw? Are you likely to be standing in a shadow anywhere if you keep the semi-flush and add the turnips?

By the way, we didn't use any recessed lights in our kitchen. No regrets. We have two ceiling-hugging ones in center (no island) and five perimeter pendants plus undercounter lights. I've even added a counter-sitting little lamp on occasion. Works for us. I don't think we have "acne;" we have a ceiling with some interest in it, esp because the pendants each have a 4" metal dish at the ceiling.

I've seen the ceiling-hugger columnar/turnip concept in photos in lighting catalogs and they seem to work pretty well, esp in kitchens in older houses. Arts and Crafts houses had a lot of this kind of fixture, even in spaces where we'd put a ta-dah fixture today.

By the way, if you followed the thread about making the kitchen pro-active for handicapped users in future, lots of good lighting was on that list. Dimmers can make a lot of difference when you don't need the firepower.

whoops, forgot to add that it's very very helpful to talk to a lighting professional. I wonder if the manufacturer of your center light might consult over phone?

Thanks, florantha. The island will be prep and plop, LOL. Right now I do all prep in the corner to the left of the stove. I've been thinking of putting some very cheap fixtures up just to get a feel for what the lighting will be like, before I invest in anything more $$. That would tell me whether we'll get shadows that we can't live with. I know we can add under cab lighting if we need it.

The center fixture is from Rejuvenation, and we have a store here, so I could definitely talk to them about options. I'll look for that thread on making kitchens work for handicapped users.