Kate,

I'm not ready to take on all of that, but I'll toss out some ideas for the kitchen:

As to your question about recessed lighting choices, the answer is to start with the bulb. That's hard enough, because there's no one right answer; it's hard for you to get a straight answer at the lighting stores because everybody has a different way of approaching that question. Many people will, for example, make the default assumption that you'll use the relatively old-school R-type incandescent floods, and accordingly install 6" cans every four feet in almost any situation. Those R-type bulbs are diffuse enough that placement is especially forgiving. They're also the least efficient bulbs available and burn out frequently. I'm most familiar with PAR type halogen incandescents, which are a little more efficient, have a slightly cooler color of light and last about twice as long. They are also more crisply focussed than the r-type, so placement is less forgiving. You can get very dramatic lighting with low-voltage halogens, but the installation is expensive and placement is extremely unforgiving - I don't like them for general lighting. Some people will point you to fluorescents, which are great for energy efficiency; I don't have a good grasp of how to work with them. There's also the fact that these lights are expensive to reconfigure if you don't like the result, so there's a strong incentive to over-light a space. Between your personal preferences and which "expert" you talk to, there are a whole lot of potential 'right' answers.

Anyhow, with 8' ceilings and PAR type bulbs, I think it's best to go for 5" or 6" cans, so that you can use PAR30 bulbs. You could do it with 4" cans and the smaller PAR20 bulbs, but I don't think they're up to the task if you want a lot of light. Spacing depends on the beam angle and ceiling height; each can projects a cone of light that's brightest in the middle; if they are spaced too far apart then you'll get dim areas in between. You might have enough light with 60 Watt PAR30 bulbs, but my Sylvania catalog only shows those in a narrow, 25-degree angle flood. I have a feeling you might be better off with a 75-watt flood with a 40-degree beam angle, but I'm trying to place the cans so that you can use either.

I just have time to skim your msg and thought I would throw out some quick info. Use recessed downlights for general lighting, not task lighting. If this were a 10x12 bedroom, four downlights should provide adequate lighting. Be aware that if you place them over your head, you will cast a shadow on to the counter (not a perfect shadow, because the light to the side will help out). But this is where your under cabinet task lighting comes into play. I'm using T5 fluorescent which throws out a lot of light, but you can't dim them like you can the xenons.

Can't tell from your pic, but is that a cabinet over the sink? If so, you can put a couple of pucks to light that area. I wouldn't use MR16 over your table; it will be very spotty. If you don't want a pendant, at least use 4' cans with a flood type bulb. Or you can use track lighting, so when you change the configuration of the table, you can aim the track lights as needed. For the undercabinet lighting in the dining room, if you don't need a lot of light, Lowes has strips lights which use lamps similar to xmas lights which would work well. See here:

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Cabinet Lighting

Thanks for the input. Your advice to start with the bulbs and work out from there is very helpful. The bulb angle business is helpful too. I don't want/need dramatic lighting except in the niche. Mostly I want sloppy, overlapping, diffuse light.

Nick, that isn't a cabinet over the sink - is is 8' ceiling. The thick mass in front of the sink is a thick brick wall, through which the bay window extends.

Another thought - for the niche you're almost certainly looking at some sort of low-voltage fixture. The question is where you want the light to come from. You could light the back of the niche, so that any object in it would appear as a silhouette - dramatic, but maybe not what you want. You could have a spotlight above the object, which would light its top surfaces and give it deep shadows on downward-facing surfaces. You could build a lip around the opening of the niche, behind which you could conceal some rope or strip lighting, which would illuminate the object from the front without the light source being obvious - kinda cool. You could even uplight it, though I think that would require building a glass bottom into the niche. In a small space like that, seen from fairly predictable angles, you have a lot of opportunity to play.

Way cool ideas!

The niche will either have my raku urn in it, or flowers in a vase. I think in either case the lighting should highlight the colors of the objects.