The first and least expensive thing you need to do to lighten up the kitchen is to repaint it going a shade or two lighter of the same color paint. It looks like you've painted the greatroom and kitchen with the same paint but because the kitchen doesn't get a much light as the great room, using a lighter shade in the darker room will help fool the eye into thinking the rooms are more equally lighted. Next, and this may be a totally crazy idea but... It looks like you've got tons of natural light in the adjoining great room so I was wondering what you could do to borrow some of that light. Your arches and columns, combined with the dark wood (especially the dark ceiling beams) in your kitchen, plus the dark metal scrollwork on your lighting fixtures AND the fact that you have steps going up from the great room into the kitchen put me very much in mind of the "gothic cathedrals" in Europe. And that led to this idea. How about adding a "rose window" effect above the central archway leading between great room and kitchen to let more light into the kitchen. Attached is a link to an image of a rose window over an arched opening leading from the nave to the high alter of a cathedral that will give you a better idea of what is inspiring my idea. Basically, I think this would mean cutting a large round hole (like a round window) in the wall above the central archway and then inserting metal scrollwork to give the impression of a rose window. This would doubtless require a bit of reframing but it would cost a lot less than trying to add additional windows on the exterior kitchen wall. And, extra light from your greatroom would pass through the hole into your kitchen. Then, to make the rose window look like it was part of the original plan, you could find (or have made) some similar but smaller pieces of gothic scrollwork to hang over the archways leading to your front door and over the niche on the wall opposite the kitchen. Add a metal scrollwork quadrifoil design to the front of your hood (that smaller 4-leaf clover shaped window you see at the very back on the inspiration picture is a quadrifoil) and your stove very subtly become the "high alter" of your home. LOL! I'm also thinking that if you eventually find the western sun creates too much glare, you could hang stained glass in the kitchen windows instead of curtaining or shading them - which of course would add to the gothic cathedral impression. Anyway, I know its a crazy idea but sometimes you it helps to think outside the box. Here is a link that might be useful:

Here's a 'slightly' better drawling, but I still can't get the scale right. Currently, there is NO art or anything on the wall. That's why I was thinking of using gimbals to wall wash until I got something to accent on the walls (maybe some pictures, a shelf, or a painting??? The wife is working on that) My current plan is to use some 5" Halos at Lowes for around $15. And for the 3" cans I'm thinking: Halo 3" H36RTAT line voltage with Halo 3009's Gimbals for the wall washing / accent lighting and Halo 3001's Pinhole or Slot Aperature in front of the TV (though, I'm really not sure how Slot Aperatures are intended to be used) The 3" and 5" lights will be on seperate dimmers. What do you think?????? My ceiling is off white, what color trims should I use? Thanks

That's interesting that people like the light I already have hanging up. When I had posted pictures of my kitchen, including the dining room light, about what needed to be updated, that light was one of the things mentioned. I thought that the gold brass color of the light was considered outdated, and have already changed the golden brass door knobs to brushed nickel door knobs. I had thought about updating the light by adding shades, but it was going to cost $5 a shade for 8 lights for something that I feared would still be ultimately dated- like putting lipstick on a pig. I didn't know if I was looking at the right places cause $5 seemed a bit much for a shade so little.

Thanks, bmore! I tried to find your kitchen reveal thread and couldn't. I'd love to see pics of your lights and their placement in your kitchen. TIA! Thanks, cindallas! The cab next to the oven column has a base and an upper cab that is 15" or 16" above the counter and pulled forward so that its face is even with the base cab face. It will be similar to this set-up, except that the toaster oven cubby will only be 19 1/2" deep (the toaster oven, inc handle, will pretty much fill the space front to back). [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Charlotte Appliances DCI Home Resource I hadn't planned on adding UCL lighting here since it wouldn't do much beyond light the top of the toaster oven. The toaster oven has a lighted control panel so we won't have a problem reading temp, settings, etc. I realized that I'm adding 2 additional can lights to the kitchen so yes, definitely on the dimmer switch! I can't wait to see my kitchen either, Carol! =) The lighting rep recommended the 10" back from the front. I forgot to ask her if that was OC (on center) or to the front edge of the can but since we're talking about 2", I decided not to worry about it and go with the front to back position of my can in the corner above the windows since not repositioning it will save us a bit of $$. There won't be any work counter in the area next to the ovens, only a shallower than standard counter for the toaster oven. Everything else is floor to ceiling cabs so lighting in front of it is preferred. The can above my fridge and fridge cab was placed way too close to the cab face creating glare on the cab and shadows where I don't want them. Also, it's how our current cans are placed and it's worked well for 20+ yrs. Good luck with your kitchen planning!