Actually just installed 5 cans in the kitchen yesterday. On the ~13 ft section of cabinets against the wall, 3 cans about 4 ft apart and 29 inches (to center of fixture) from the back wall (26 inch counters). We've under cabinet fluorescent lighting so plenty of task area light. Two other cans pretty much centered over a sink/ snack island backing to great room. All this replaced a huge fluorescent construct in the center of the kitchen. If I were to tweak anything, I might install the cans a few inches further from the wall to improve the amount of light going into the below counter cabinets when opened. Plenty pleased with the install as is, a major change in atmosphere of the kitchen without the darn piece of furniture previously attached to the ceiling. I think a key issue for placement depends on if you have under cab lighting. If you don't, I would not install closer than the counter edge. If you do have under cab lights, further out or closer in, a matter of whether you are looking for general light or highlighting your cab faces.

First you have to know what the inulation is over your ceiling. You will be limited to the wattage for insulated ceilings unless you are using batts and not blown insulation. My most favorite light solution in a kitchen is the deep alzack refelctors (deep)They use regular A lamps and if you purchase good quality ones, they spread the light out wonderfully and have a great cut off anlgle which controls glare. IF you buy cheap specular trims and the bulbs sit low in the trim, it is very bad. Juno and Lightolier both make deep alzack trim. Not sure about Halo, haven't sold them in a while. The very best ones in my opinion were made by prescolite but they can be hard to find. On an 8ft ceiling you will not need more than 75 Watts. Another tip has to do with the bulbs. While I am a big proponant of 130 V long life bulbs, they are slightly more red than the 120's. What works the absolute best in a good alzack reflector is a soft white, sometimes called reader white bulb. Use these with a dimmer to extend the life of the bulb and adjust the dimmer whenever you don't need all the light. Recessed lighting can be confusing and with all the bulb changes coming, even more so in the future. The LED bulbs that were suggested are great for energy savings and also they never burn out. I still find them strange however for lighting kitchens and the deep alzack trims are not designed for anything but an A lamp.If you buy a reflector trim and then use either a Par or R lamp, you wasted your money. As to spacing, IF you are lighting any room other than a kitchen then 4 deep alzack reflectors with 75-100 watts iis fine for general lighting. Kitchens are more comlicated since we need both general and task lighitng. I would use 6 if that room is a kitchen making sure that you have all the work areas covered. In a kitchen if you place the recessed cans 18" from the wall, the light will fall on the counter surface and also illuminate the cabinet doors and inside spaces when open. Don't forget to have lighting over any island work space. Use undercabinet lights under your counters. That is a good application for LEDS. The Alzack refelctors will cover about 6 ft of area of that 8 ft ceiling. On higher ceilings the area of light increases, but the footcandle level will be lower on thework surface. Tall ceilings need 100 Watt A lamps but 8 & 9 can usse 75 watt. Whatever you use, be sure that it meets you local electrical code. Don't be bullied into just whatever the contractor likes. Sounds like you found a good showroom where you were getting good information. Perhaps you could purchase the recessed there, where you may be getting professinal advice. Remember most Electricians are not lighting designers!

"We are taking down an extra large square fluorescent light and replacing it with one two-bulb type flush mounted light and maybe another if need be then also adding a pendant over the sink." It will depend on the size and layout of the kitchen. One flush mount will not work as good as the fluorescent for two reasons. (1) The fluorescent puts out 6.5 times as much light. A 4' fluorescent with 4 tubes (2600 Lumens × 4 = 10400 Lumens) A two bulb flush mount w/60 watt bulbs or equivalent (800 Lumens × 2 = 1600 Lumens) (2) The surface mount fixture's light source comes from exactly 2 points that are very close together. The fluorescent light source has infinite sources of light within that 2' × 4' area which spreads the light out better, causing less noticeable shadows. With the fluorescent, the light reflecting off of all the other surfaces in the kitchen is also bouncing off at a more infinite number of angles, (compared to just from the pinpoint light source of the standard fixture) further contributing to the feeling of even light in the kitchen. . Pendant lighting that is bright enough to really contribute to the overall lighting of a room will also be glaring, since it is down closer to eye level. Pendants are fine for specific task lighting or mood lighting. Under cabinet lighting can also be a bit glaring if it is relied upon for more than half the light needed for a task. Keeping the under cabinet lighting out close to the face of the cabinet helps. Using two surface mounted luminaries on the ceiling will help spread out the light sources and help the light bouncing off of the cabinets light the room more evenly. Whether I would use fixtures with two or three bulbs depends on how big the kitchen is, how much light you are used to, and how intricate your tasks are. 800 Lumens × 6 bulbs is still only 4800 lumens, or less than half of what you currently have. You could try taking out two of the tubes and living with it for a while to help decide how many fixtures you want on the ceiling. . The difference between two 3-bulb fixtures and recessed cans over the outside edge of the countertop should not be enough to worry about as long as you have the under cabinet lighting and the pendants. There is a trade off between the two types of lighting. The recessed lights can be put right where you need them, but the light does not spread out as evenly. The surface mount in the middle of the room can produce more unwanted shadows, but the light spreads out and bounces off everything better to counteract the problem.

I don't think tubes are going anywhere in the near future, just look at the number of commercial establishments that use them. Sure an LED tube, but it's the same fixture. It's just a bugaboo of mine but I see, what I call, "boob lights" at the local home center that have all been "converted" to LED. The LED is going to fail at some point and what's the average homeowner going to do? Replace it with another boob light? How about just replace a $2 bulb? Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor a new technology, when the technology is beneficial. Those flat LED panels meant to replace a traditional troffer are great if you doing a basement with a drop ceiling and every inch of headroom counts. Otherwise, why bother?