I'll be watching this thread; I've had similar thoughts.

I have them too. I have been looking for fixtures that I can change bulbs without taking off heavy globes, and that wont break the bank, since I need 10 of them.

many companies lately improved and started actually making more flush mounts and semi flush mounts

(the choice was really much worse even just three years ago)

unfortunately the choice is still limited with the prices that are often too high, and not always justified..in my humble opinion

that's why I personally got almost all my lights (including flush mounts and semi flush mounts) second hand-namely, Etsy, eBay, Craigslist, and, on one ocassion, in a vintage store close to us.

they somehow made things better back then. including lighting.

so. if you want something quality, for a good price, and often unique and quite cool-check these resources out

minuses-if a seller's far away you pay for shipping. but then if you buy online from the store you often pay for shipping too

and even with me paying for shipping(and often international one) I saved thousand dollars on lighting

(we had a bit unique situation-we had to outfit the whole house at once, gut remodel, final inspection-everything hardwired should be there. so, a lot of lights)

and of course you spend quite a lot of time searching. since you suddenly see-wow! there are a lot of cool things out there! and you need to choose..

as for the style and exact suggestions..some pictures of your place would be helpful. And a hint on your budget. And if to get really serious-dimensions..:)

I mixed and matched our lighting since it suddenly became very obvious that I love everything:) so I have modern and traditional, simple and elaborate..

Except for a couple of new lights we've got, the rest are probably made in period between 1930s-1970s

But if you'd rather skip the thrill of hunting vintage lights, for whatever reasons..let me know, and I'll dig out a couple links for you?

Because I looked at everything..even as an inspiration.

More than that- I continue to look, since it was the first time in my life I actually got to buy lights, and that experience got me totally hooked.

just to add-there are some sellers that actually make new lights..they establish themselves so they have stores on Etsy for example. The most successful ones started selling through big flash sale sites like Gilt and OneKingsLane(another sites to check by the way). But the prices obviously go up in such cases.

Just to add another reason I like eBay and Etsy is because there's feedback and reviews. Sellers usually are very dedicated, and communication is great, and in general, was a great experience to deal with individual sellers.

But there are some sites that sell new lights and you can read there reviews as well. Very helpful.

I've bought some at Ikea and also from lamps plus.

We do have several IKEA fixtures in our current home and find them excellent quality for the price- also chances are we will be getting an IKEA gift card as a rebate when their next kitchen sale goes on so more reason to shop there. However they discontinued my favorite flush mount which is a simple frosted glass "dish" held in place by clips with 3 bulbs. This fixture is the closest but the shade is plastic - do you think it would look too cheap? This fixture is $5 it seems like it might just be TOO cheap.

The next closest and slightly more expensive at $15 still very cheap is this one which is glass but I dislike the stripes.

for the kitchen I thought about track lights but all the IKEA ones have the power mounted in the center - and other lighting stores have an overwhelming variety but it's not clear if I could mount the power at the end near where the sink will be and run the track down the kitchen center. We will have undercabinet lights too. Will a flush mount fixture there give enough general light along with undercabinet lights?

For the dining table I thought maybe something like this, but DH prefers a double light like the one below. The double light can't be swagged if we want to move the table and needs to be lined up properly...

Heres what it looks like now - the hanging version of the "boob" light!

http://www.lindseyadelman.com/youmakeitchandelier#2

For DR?

You can make it as flush light. I still want to try it sometime.

That's an interesting idea! I think I prefer a shade to eliminate glare though.

We have these Feiss Vitner lights in our hallway. We bought the LED versions. Different sizes too.

We also have these Besa Nova - many options

I like this schoolhouse style light (see the other recommended lights at the bottom as well). http://www.homedepot.com/p/World-Imports-Luray-1-Light-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Semi-Flush-Mount-Light-WI900788/202392058?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA-D27L-InteriorLighting%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiqTNBRDVARIsAGsd9Mr7Ag5FJJavjPmszh5FtukdlFJPlg93atqKmyfHKAm1runE9prWZksaAgKKEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKLK39zfhNYCFYPzZAod3dACJg

We found the IKEA one pictured (first one) to be worthless. It gave off no light. It is rated for too small a bulb I put two of them in our basement hall years ago. For our new guest room we decided we didn't want to go with such a BAM fixture it is what people noticed when coming into the room. I think there are times the fixture is part of the decor and make a statement but for us the guest room wasn't one of these places. We replaced the circa '70s builder's grade square glass cover with a frosted round one. Not a huge step up by any means, $6.00 at Menards..but it updated and can hold 60 watt bulbs.

Thanks for the feedback on that IKEA fixture - the one we have and like has 3 regular bulbs and can take up to 100. W each so it's plenty bright! I think we have 3 40s in it. I'll look carefully at the number and rating of the sockets - especially the kitchen we will need sufficient light there.

We replaced the boob light in our laundry room with the exact schoolhouse style light that elohbee posted. I was concerned that it would only be one 60 watt bulb (it is the only fixture in the room and the boob light had 2 or 3 60 watt bulbs) so I put a 150watt equivalent LED in it and it is bright as all get-out. I much prefer the style to the boob lights -- schoolhouse lights are classic and neutral and just kind of go with everything without drawing a lot of attention to themselves.