If you're talking a 6" diameter? I'd say it's correct.

4" would seem kind of a waste of time.

Take a 6' piece of paper and fold it into a circle.
If that's not enough, tape it to the ceiling.

C.

Or consider a 5". I didn't like the looks of a 6" where you could see around the bulb. I went with the 5 after looking at both in the store. 4 is more for accent lighting.

We have 5 inch in our kitchen. Our electrician said 4" isn't enough light. Just make sure your other lights actually give off good light.

We have 6" cans in our kitchen...and other rooms in our home. We had 6" cans in our previous home that had only 7'8" ceilings and smaller rooms. I had, and have, no problem with the size, although our architect friend insisted 4" was 'the thing' to use. The decision was made for us when the trim rings (and any parts you see when they're installed and working) were 3 times the price for 4", and the fixtures themselves were more expensive, too. That was 4 yrs ago, so maybe it's different now.

You can see a little bit of how the 6" cans look in our kitchen in the pics linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our kitchen

My kitchen is not large. We previously had four 6 inch cans and no under cabinet lights. We thought it was plenty of light. When we remodeled my DH wanted 4 inch cans. Since we now had pendants, and under cabinet lights we only put in three 4 inch lcans. Our overall lighting is adequate but would not be if we didn't have the additional light sources. If you do not have other light sources in your kitchen I think you should stick with 6 inch cans. There is a significant difference in light output between the 4 and 6 inch. You would need more cans if you go with the 4 inch- that means more holes in your ceiling and more money out of your wallet.

We just installed six 5" cans in our kitchen remodel. I have 4" cans in my family room and now SO wish they were larger. The bulbs you use make a big difference. Whatever can you choose, make sure they use the bulbs you want.

I just got 4-inch cans because I thought they were more au courant. I have temp CFLs in them and have plenty of light. But I'm not a fan of ceiling lights anyway so they probably will be on infrequently. If you like a lotta light, I think 5" might be better for you.

6" will be the cheapest option by miles for you. And if you can "see around the bulb" then you are either not using the correct bulb, or you are not using the correct trim for the housing. There are even LED options now that will not add to the heat load of your house like halogen or even incandescent will and that will last much longer than even fluorescent.

There are so many factors that make up a good lighting design. Do you plan on using CFL? LED? Halogen? How high is your ceiling? How big is your island and do you have thoes pendents selected - how big are they? 4" cans give you the most freedom to place the light where you truly need it. 6" cans will be the cheapest option, but if placed too close together, may actually provide too much light and cast shadows. 5" might be a good compromise. Do you have a layout you can share?

I would love to get rid of the cans PO put in the kitchen.

There are six of them, and even with 50 watt flood bulbs they do a poor job of lighting the kitchen.

The 120 V under-cabinet puck lights have all also failed one by one.

When I went o replace one group I found zip cord in the walls with wire nuts.

Looks like the fool did not have clue.

They also glued together every slip joint under a bathroom lav, failed to even set the pedestal for the bathroom lav vertical (and then tiled it into the floor), and left 24 inches of granite counter supported only be the cabinet beside the DW.

I have a steel frame made to support the granite, and magnets to hold the end panel onto the frame.

And the PO was a patent attorney.

Good thing the PO wasn't a contractor!

We have 6-inch can lights-- 8 of them, plus under-counter lights, pendants over both the sink & breakfast table, a nice ceiling fixture with CFL over pantry door (our previous install, around the corner from main kitchen), and halogens in the range hood.

It gives me the right amount of light for a working kitchen. The only thing I would change is to put LEDs in those can lights -- and I'm just waiting for the price to come down on the Cree LEDs. Oh, and the UC & range hood lights are halogen -- will replace those with LEDs when they expire.

You can also post your question on the Lighting forum -- lots of good advice there, too.

I was planning to put in 6 inch cans so I can easily change to LEDs if I opt to in the future. I believe you just have to change the trim.

The Cree LEDs come with the whole trim.

Available online & at Home Depot. Currently $39.97 at Lowe's, but recent word on GW is that some areas have them available for $25.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cree LED can lights

I'd go with the 6" cans. There is nothing worse than putting in lights that are too small, and then regretting it after the job is completed. In addition, there are some cans that take several different wattage bulbs, so you could always ramp your lighting down if you thought the light from the 6" cans was too overwhelming.

In addition, it's easy to get hung up on some choices that are not that big a deal in retrospect. 4"? 5"? 6"? A month after the job is done you probably won't even notice the size of the fixtures...just the amount of light you do (or don't have).

Hey Dilly - I was just going to post the same thing. The 6" cans have LED retrofit thingys that work GREAT! I just put 6 of them in our kitchen (we're nearish to Boston, one of the areas that has them for $25 at HD). I also got some 4" retrofit thingys with the same kind of bulb, just lower wattage, that were $20 each. We had 2 of the 4" cans over the kitchen sink, the rest of the kitchen is on the 6" cans.

To the OP: Having had both kinds of light in our kitchen I think the 4" cans act more like spot lights because the angle of the light coming off the bulbs is not quite as wide as the 6" cans. And 6" cans look good, even with our (relatively low) 8' ceilings!