I like the idea of a hanging light over each window, in addition to the nice hood fan (love the grey/blue idea).

Not sure if your overall decor concept, but I am in love with these types of pendants: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/144467100521226085/. I think they look good with contemporary and traditional designs. PB can be a bit expensive, but this style is everywhere. Very classic without being overwhelming.

I would stay away from sconces, just my own personal taste...but recessed lighting can be mixed with the pendants. Hopefully that helps!

I wanted to bump up your new post as it was swallowed by the spam.

@krelavie Thanks for your comments. I like the light you have posted too. I was thinking of using a brushed nickel finish for the light fixtures. The sconces on the wall would be to accent the collection of blue/white decorator plates I will be hanging along that one wall. If I don't use sconces, I would need another way to accent the plates with lights. Thanks as well for the vote on the hood colour.

@jakebedy. Thanks for the bump. The spam today is ridiculous.

All,

I have been searching Houzz for island hoods to see how they light the rest of the island. Many of Houzz images with island vents do not also have pendants over the island as well as the hoods (most islands on Houzz were smaller than mine though). I am worried it might be too much visual clutter with both pendants and hood. My DH is trying to learn Sketch-up so he can mock up was the lights/fan would look.

Carol

Will your plates be inside the cabinets? Not sure if you can install gallery type lights inside (similar to attached photo).

I get what your saying with the overwhelming lights. You might want to do the fan and recessed lighting, and then perhaps a single pendant over the main sink. I guess it is all about how bright you want your kitchen to be! :)

Thanks Krelavie for your support. The plates will be mounted on open, very shallow shelves. I will probably also mount each plate with a hook in back and also sit them on the shelf for extra protection. But, the decorative plate shelf will not have doors.

Here is a picture of an island hood with pendants. Then pendants speak to the hood as they both have stainless. Still not sure. I think I am leaning towards just the hood and pot lights for the island. Here is the image.

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Houston Design-Build Firms Stone Acorn Builders

I think the stainless hood would be a lot of stainless in your kitchen, especially since it looks like it would be relatively close to a large item like the fridge. Not many of us have the massive kitchens in magazines. Doing a gray/blue would add a nice pop of color....the downside would also be that it is going to draw your eye to the hood. Either way, then you could do a nickel for the pendant. The picture above looks like a chrome finish - that makes me think of dust! Hopefully I'm helping, not sure if I'm yanking you in too many directions!

Thanks krelavie. I am with you that a stainless island hood is too much stainless for me. It will either be painted white or the grey blue. I think the eye can't help but be drawn to an island hood, so it will need to be nice looking.

Carol

Hmmm, since we are getting the powder coat painting down by a local shop, maybe we could get them to paint two pendants that match in colour so they would complement the hood. Just a thought. Probably still too much visual clutter. Here is a few of the kitchen finishes we have chosen for lighting inspiration. Ignore the blue paper and the small beige tile as we are not using them. We are using white subway tiles for the backsplash. The cabinets are to be SW Alabaster. The blue metal piece at the top right of the screen was a proposed textured powder coat paint for the hood.

I found a Houzz picture showing a long rectangular island like ours with an island cooktop and vent. In this picture the single large light with the vent looks okay. However, I would not want a disco ball light, but maybe one larger fixture might look good with the vent??

Carol

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Austin Design-Build Firms MINGUELL-MCQUARY, LLC

When you are doing your planning of balancing lighting with your hood watch for weighting issues.

eg - the weighting of the pic that you posted at 19:44 is off so that it feels like the whole island is going to tip towards the stools. The size of the hood (actually the diameter of the stack) isn't strong enough to hold down the island.

The picture that you posted at 21:22 works because the light and hood are balanced equally across the island and , even though you may not like it, the light and hood are of equal weightiness to balance one another.

I do like that picture so how about a hanging light of some sort, maybe a drum light, over the island sink. I wouldn't suggest a typical island pendant light because it won't be heavy enough to balance the hood. I, personally, wouldn't do a bunch of lights over the island because it's going to get messy.

blfenton,

That is very good advice - thanks! I spent tons of time searching Houzz last night and I do agree that the island hoods combined with 3 small pendant lights don't look right --- I just was not sure why not. I will look for a large diameter light for over the island sink as suggested. Maybe I should put a pot light in the middle between vent hood and prep sink light.

Carol

Blfenton had a good idea...and I'm really liking that grey/blue!

If you don't go with pendants on the island, you will need to reconsider your pot light plan, of course. But more so, I think your spacing is too wide for 4" cans (also, what is your ceiling height?) I'd push the edge rows closer to the countertops and put another row centered over the island and probably another row in the other direction. My goal would be to get maximum coverage over your island prep space.

That last row by the feature wall is too close to the wall, as well. I'd center in line with the fridge, but closer to the outer cabinet wall.

@krelavie: Glad you like the grey/blue. Do you think it goes well with the other kitchen finishes? White would be safer, but the glue/grey would be more beautiful.

@gooster: Good points about moving the pot lights. Thanks for taking the time to explain where they should move to. In terms of lighting the perimeter cabinets, how far away should the pot lights be there. Our ceiling height is only 8 feet.

All,

We will redraw our latest thinking on the lighting with the big light over the island to balance the vent, a hanging light over each window and perhaps two pendants over the clean-up peninsula. We will fix the pot light locations. I wondered about using a fixture or two in the walkway behind the three stools? Hopefully, you guys will come back and look at the lighting revisions.

@OntarioMom: I should have explained that if you don't go with pendants over the island, you'll definitely need the extra ones down the center. Even with the pendants, you'll want to add a third row. I think one centered over your feature wall would help fill in the shadows, no matter what you use over the island. Another one could be at the other end as well.

The general recommendation is 24-30" off the walls, and 3 to 4" apart. (You can go wider with taller ceilings, stronger lumens and bigger diameters)

Linked below is DavidTay's oh so helpful string on LED cans.

With a normal 8" ceiling, I would try to restrict the number of things hanging down from the ceiling. I would mock up the visual look by using paper shapes or balloons in the color of your pendants so you can decide for yourself.

Here is a link that might be useful: DavidTay's famous thread

Thanks gooster for your help and the link. I will calculate DavidTay's lumens tomorrow. I am not a big fan of only lighting a room with pot lights. I dislike having a pot light directly over my head, so have tried to keep that in mind. It is unfortunate that our cabinet plan does not allow for undercabinet lighting.

Here is our unique lighting plan number one. Please let us know what needs to be changed or tweaked. I will aim for the ceiling fixtures to offer some uplighting so not all of the lights (pots or pendants) are all downlights. Even though our ceilings are only 8 foot, that is a very standard ceiling height in Canada and we get quite used to having some fixtures hanging down from 8 foot ceilings. Obviously, we need either flush lights or semi-flush if the fixture is not above a counter or island.

Thanks all for any opinions you can offer on the lighting plan.

This post was edited by OntarioMom on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 9:05

Any thoughts on this lighting plan. Perhaps I will need to start another thread starting with the plan?

Carol

That is a lot of lighting...I'm second guessing the extra pendant over the island. What are the dimensions of the island and the room in general?

Oh nevermind! I see the dimensions on the plans - duh! I'm going to think on this...I am thinking that the wall sconces will offer light to the other side of the island. Don't want lighting clutter.

Glad you found the measurements, krelavie. The island measurements are 125.5 inches long by 51 inches deep. The kitchen from wall to wall is 18 feet 1/2" X 19 feet 10.5 inches. So it is a large space.

Carol

Very large space, indeed. I think that if you have pendants that are kind of see through (like the PB one from above), it will add visual interest without being overwhelming. From looking on Google, I can't seem to find many instances where they had both a pendant AND a vent hood in the same area. Posting some pictures that might give you some other ideas though on general fixtures. The first one, it is a little hard to see, but they used a glass with (I believe) an Einstein bulb.

Is your vent hood and sconces going to be modern or traditional?

Some more ideas...they mixed a nice chandelier style with smaller matching pendants.

Glass style...

Finally, one with a pendant next to it...

Thank you very much, krelavie, for all your helpful inspiration photos! So kind of you to search Houzz for me. To answer your questions first, our style is transitional (leaning more towards traditional than modern). The hood we are getting looks a lot like the inspiration hood I posted in the opening post.

I do like the idea of glass lights such as you have shown and originally linked from PB. We may have too many lights and/or visual clutter. I think the larger pendant over our very large island together with the hood will be fine. There will be around 66 inches from centre of vent to centre of big island pendant. I much prefer the idea of having one decent sized pendant to balance the vent. as blfenton explained.

This is all very hard. We have had trouble finding lighting designers in our area who suggest anything other than all pot lights and yet all the lighting design books tell you to mix it up more and not have all down lights.

Carol

Does anyone know how much area is covered by a standard flush or semi-flush ceiling fixture?

I am definitely agree that there might be too much clutter. Best bet is to try and find pictures of things similar to what you will have, and then cut and rearrange!

Here is what I think I would do if it was my kitchen...vent plus PB pendant over island. Matching or similar pendant over main sink (you can probably get away with doing a twin next to it). Then I would leave out the pendants above the windows. I think the recessed lighting will provide enough working light at night, and you will have natural light during the day. I will keep thinking on it though....

Found this link for measuring how much square footage a recessed light will cover.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recessed Lighting Coverage

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Appliances EuroChef USA
I love this kitchen and especially the lighting fixtures. I saw this kitchen first on The Enchanted Home blog. They had the fixtures for sale at one time. The owner really loves blue and white.

@krelavie,

Thanks for your support and for thinking through the lighting with me. I appreciate the links too. I am going to eliminate ceiling fixture 1 and replace with a pot light. I would like to keep the pendants over each window. Not sure about the sink as the dining room table and chandelier are on the other side of that clean-up peninsula. Maybe those should change to pot lights, although I really don't like pot lights...... so hard to decide.

@gr8day: Thanks for the image. Those are lovely pendants, and the kitchen is the same combo of off-white cabinets and dark chocolate brown that we are doing.

All,

I am going to spend time today, trying to choose potential light fixtures. I will need to find a way to cut and paste them in so I can figure out if I mind the visual clutter or not.

Just for a laugh, here is why I don't want so many pot lights in the kitchen. The below passage was written by a lighting designer named Randall Whitehead in the book: Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide to Beautiful and Sustainable Design.

"When recessed downlighting (i.e. pot lights and other down lights) is the only type of lighting that exists, rooms appear smaller and people look older than they are. A room filled with only recessed downlights casts harsh shadows onto people's faces, placing their features in deep shadow and making their features unattractive"

On the other hand, says the same author listed above "if you layer the light properly, it can have all the benefits of Botox without the pesky injections".

Yikes, I better get this right as I am not getting any younger!

Carol

Carol, LOL, I am always aware of standing under glaring light. Lighting makes all the difference. Straight on light hides a multitude of those past living lines we all have.

After much searching on LightingDirect.com, I think I have found a large island pendant that will speak to the island fan. I have also found my favourite semi flush light (most of them are not nice). We will have two semi flush lights in the kitchen for ambient light. These semi-flush lights offer uplight illumination. The large island pendant will off down lighting task light. There are matching wall sconces to go on the decorator plate wall, and small pendants for in front of the windows and/or over the clean-up sink area. The sconces and small pendants are from the same lighting collection as the semi-flush lights. The big drum pendant for over the island is a different lighting company.

Here are my favourites. Please let me know what you think, and especially if you think the island light will go well with the island vent (be in balance too).

Thanks,

Carol

Large light to balance the island fan for downlighting task light for over the 10 foot island (light is 19 inch wide with three lights) Made by Minka Lavery

Kitchen semi-flush for general ambient light (gives up lighting to kitchen). Made by Maxim from their Finesse collection.

Possible sconce on wall with decorator plates (goes with the semi-flush above). Made by Maxim from the same Finesse collection.

Possible small pendants for area in front of windows and 1 or 2 over sink peninsula. Made by Maxim from the same Finesse collection.

Now I need to calculate lumens (to make sure I have enough light and not too much), and fiddle with the pot light placement. I also need to find a way to Photoshop these lights into my kitchen to see if I am comfortable with the visual clutter.

Carol

Here is what we are thinking for our dining room which is on the other side of the half wall from the clean-up peninsula.

I thought I would do a mini pendant on a chain for over the windows (lantern style light) , and I would just hang them to the top of the windows. The challenge was I could not find many mini chain hung lights. Here is one I did like from the Candice Olson collection, but it is only available in a chrome finish and the rest of the fixtures are brushed nickel (or similar).

What do you think of these lights for over the 2 windows? Will it be a mistake to introduce chrome for these lights only?

This post was edited by OntarioMom on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 21:37

Hi Carol! I don't have much to add to the thread but I'm back browsing on GW and thought I'd check and see what you're up to and how things are going! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Blog

Sparkler, it is so very good to hear from you! Our progress is slower than a snail's pace. If you looked up the expression "biting off more than you can chew" on Wikipedia you would see "Carol and DH's house re-build".

We finally ordered our cabinets for the kitchen and laundry from a RTA firm and they will be here in mid August for DH to assemble with help from one teenage son. We are not even finished our electrical rough in (nor the wall insulation). Anyway, at some point we will be done, just not any time soon.

As for your house, I just went to your house blog and I was overwhelmed with how beautifully decorated and finished it looked. I have some favourite parts of your house which are any shot that sneaks a peek of the entrance, stairs or otherwise highlights the benefits of your house style. For example, I love that you can see the transom over your door from your living room, I love that you see dining room and then kitchen island from your foyer. I love the way you have grouped pictures along your stair wall. I also love that you can see that the house is very bright with all the elevated from ground level windows. Enjoy!

Carol

BTW, where did you get your kitchen island pendants? They are lovely.

Carol

Carol,

I can't wait to see your finished house...slow and steady wins the race! ;) I'm sure all the extra time and care will really ensure that your house is done to perfection!

Thank you so much for your kind comments! We really love this house! I've got a couple other rooms to blog about in the next few days and then I think I'll get to the stairs and entryway. The landscaping isn't great yet so I'm hesitant to post the front door until we get that under control!

The pendants are from Elk Lighting. The Elysburg collection. We actually used their 5-light chandelier over the dining room table although I'm trying to convince my husband to let me change it to this: http://www.ballarddesigns.com/eldridge-rectangular-chandelier/lighting/category/ceiling-lighting/chandeliers/209471?redirect=y

Here's the link for the Elysburg collection. We used those pendants and the chandelier as well as their vanity lights in our bathrooms!

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Blog