Inline picture:

Added lighting placement and outlets.

You haven't had a lot of response here. I would try the lighting forum. 5" Cans can be a good compromise and are very common. I got input from several sources; my KD, the electrician and a long standing lighting supply store and listened closely to each of their reasonings on placement. The store was the most helpful, especially with the switch placement. I can't tell from your drawing which switches go with what fixtures but do you have to walk into the room to turn them on?

I did all our kitchen remodel lighting DIY, and am very happy with the result. But I am not a lighting expert.

In general, my philosophy is "put in too much light, with dimmers".

The *best* thing we did in terms of making an impact was adding under-cabinet lighting. This creates better task lighting and really brightens up the place. We used low voltage Xenon puck lights from American Lighting:

http://www.csnlighting.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=ALI2110&refid=FR19-ALI2110

These are on a dimmer, and I mounted one every linear foot. Remember to mount them closer to the front of the cabinets than the wall.

For our island, we used two giant 14" pendants from Restoration Hardware:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod740064&navCount=2

For us, we wanted pendants that would shine down on our island (6' X 2.5') *and* provide ambient lighting, which is why we chose lights with glass shades. Also, these pendants hold two bulbs each, so they throw a blazing amount of light.

As for the cans, I had full access to the ceiling from the attic above, so there was no constraint on accessibility. I found the following rule of thumb at a number of online sites:

"Measure your room to determine how many fixtures you will need. The rule of thumb is one recessed lighting fixture for every 4 to 6 square feet of ceiling space for even illumination."

Of course, the higher your ceiling, the more lights you need. In our case, since the pendants were throwing off so much light, I didn't feel the need to turn the ceiling into the starfield I see on some kitchen remodels. We ended up putting in just four cans in the ceiling, and four (!) smaller 3" cans above the sink.

For the ceiling, we didn't want big cans, nor did we want the ones that look like dots of light, so we ended up with 4" rings with PAR 20 bulbs:

http://www.csnlighting.com/WAC-Lighting-R-432-BN-WAC4264.html

Now, if I look at your design, it looks like you are trying to put your can lights over your countertops, where people are working. But if you think about it, if you are cutting vegetable on your countertop, you are blocking any light from directly above - thus the need for under-cab lights. Also, unless you have a large ceiling light in the middle of your kitchen, your perimeter will be light but the center of the kitchen will be dark.

If it were me, I'd look to install two parallel sets of can lights, with four in each row, running (on your drawing) from left to right, spaced equidistantly, across the center part of your ceiling. A total of 8 cans.

In the center of your kitchen I would add a ceiling light, or ceiling fan+light. If your ceilings are 8 feet, it will have to be close to the ceiling, but you have an opportunity here to either 1) put in something subtle, that will throw off some ambient light or 2) put in something more dynamic, that will be a focal point for your kitchen.

You've got a 45" space to fill over your sink - I'd put two smaller pendants, there, maybe even three, rather than just one. Same with your peninsula - there is much more visual interest (not to mention brightness) with more than one light.

Of course, it is easy for me to triple your workload and costs!

skyedog, maybe people just aren't that interested in lighting. When things move fast on this forum, lighting is not THE ONE post to follow if you have a limited amount of time for reading and responding -- it's just not that fun and exciting. (I posted a lighting question around midnight last night with no response until just now. I also X-posted to the lighting forum, with no response.) That's the way it goes here and that's OK. One is more likely to get some help here on the KF than just about anywhere else, even with specific questions. (How many people here even glance at posts on other forums unless directed to do so... except maybe appliances and decorating?)

dccampli, we just had a bunch of cans installed today. The lighting guy told us they do not need to be lined up perfectly across both sides of the kitchen. He assured us that they virtually disappear if you use white trim on a white ceiling, unless they are turned on. And then who even walks into your kitchen and looks at the ceiling to make sure the lights are just so? They only notice if there is not enough.

I love the suggestion to overdo and use dimmers. That's what we did. It looks like a gopher went across our ceiling, but we will be well-lit.

Cans are inexpensive. I agree that you need something through the middle of the floor space. To save $, cans would be the way to go, and you can add a little interest with your pendants.

Thanks for suggestions. I'll go back and rethink adding some additional cans and a good dimmer. Saw the 5" Halo cans and was thinking that if some areas are too bright, I could use lower watt bulbs for those specific cans.