Thank you, Woodhaven Renovations and wdcruise, for your input! The 3 inch Entra element is supposed to be able to put out 900-1311 lumens and is a new generation LED, so we hope it’s bright enough but I had trouble deciphering the info on the spec sheet (below). They are pricey, at around $250 per can, so budget is definitely a consideration. However, we won’t skimp on a few cans if they are truly necessary. After speaking to contractor, we are considering adding more lights as below. I’ve also added where the nook table will be, so you can see that there is a large window there and French doors as well. In regards to the configuration of lights between the island and aisle, which the architect laid out, we were worried that it would cast shadows when we would use the periphery or island. We are not experts, so this is why we appreciate any input! What do you think? Thank you!!

Hi Brendan, I'm not a lighting designer, but I'll throw out some thoughts and maybe someone else will chime in. I agree with removing the recessed lights above the island. I would let the pendants cover that area. (I have two at 750 - 800 lumen bulb pendants that cover an area similar to your island. I put the pendants on a separate switch and often use them by themselves.) It does seem like the third light in the middle of the ceiling may not be doing much for you. However, do you think you might want any more light over by the refrigerator? You could either shift that light toward the refrigerator or space it evenly in line with the lights along the oven wall. (Toward the left on your last picture.) To check how much light you have if you removed the fixtures, can you just unscrew the bulbs or disconnect those fixtures temporarily to see what it looks like? If you have any table lamps that could stand in for the pendants, you could get an idea how the whole thing might look. Hope that helps! Best of luck with the remodel! Doug

We're trying to figure out where to place and how to space our 4" LED cut-in recessed lights (750 lumens each): The kitchen has lowish ceilings (8 ft) so we don't want it looking too much like swiss cheese since it's somewhat in your upper eye line. However, we obviously want it functional. Our understanding is that the 'sweet spot' for placement of recessed lights is over the countertop edge so we tried to maintain that. We also have two pendants (Rejuvenation 18" Butte) split over a long island/peninsula (a little over 9.5 feet) Here are some renders so you can better visualize the space: What are your thoughts? Would you make any alternate suggestions? One thing we want to work around is the range hood. The range hood insert is fairly deep, so in effect it will come out nearly to countertop depth, which is why we didn't want to place a light centered over range (since it would basically just be shining on the front face of the range hood and nothing else. Also note, we are planning undercabinet lighting on the two wall cabinets that sit on either side of the range to provide some additional task lighting to those countertops. Thanks for your input!

The recessed lumenaire appears to be a one-hit wonder from Maxim. Their focus appears to be on decorative wall and ceiling mount fixtures. For their only recessed fixture, the "Cove" you can get 4" or 6" in 3000K or 4000K. I have not seen the concave lens' performance in person.