Have an electrician take down the old light and take a look at the connection. You might need a stronger box, or not. That is a simple fix. Our small LR fan came with the DW but we did have a larger fan/lights installed last year. I think he may have replaced the box. As an aside, Don't put a fan anywhere near the kitchen stove if it is gas. Could blow the flame out, even on low fan setting. I couldn't use my fan in our last house when I needed it most - hot humid days :-(.

Thanks for your thoughts vampiressrn. Yes, I've been looking at fans at LP and everywhere else I can think of...online and local. I've found a few (including that leaf bladed fan) that I do like so I guess I will stick with a ceiling fan in that room and just change it to a nicer one. Yes, I have two Dobes! I did and didn't show. My girl is about 13 1/2 and she wasn't shown in conformation but I did compete in agility with her. She got her masters titles but, since she was my agility "learning dog" she didn't get her championship. She also worked as a therapy dog for about 8 years. I showed my boy in conformation for about 2 1/2 years. He was the major reserve king. He's within standard but small for a male so judges kept giving him reserve and saying that he's so nice and would be wonderful when he "matured". Well, he's on the small side and just looked too small with all the other males that were topping out generall OVER the height standard. (That's not a disqualifying fault in Dobes and most males showing are either pushing right at the limit or over it.) Anyway, I took my boy into agility instead and I'm pleased to say that he became the first male Dobe to earn two Master Agility Championships from the AKC. He placed in the top 20 list of Dobes for 4 years running and for one of those years was rated the #4 Dobe in the country of either sex by the AKC. (Agility is usually more difficult for male Dobes simply because they are usually larger than females and don't corner as well. Mason's a smallish male but generally larger than most females.) Yes, I can talk all day about Whitney and Mason! Bet you're sorry you mentioned them.

Wrong switch. Old floor lamps used a 4 position switch - off, cct 1, cct 2, cct 1 + cct 2. This was connected so that 1 lamp was on cct 1 and 2 lamps were on cct 2. Thus turning the switch gave you 1, 2, or 3 lamps. Diodes won't work on AC. Well, they sort of will; but they'll only work with incandescents, and you'll get reduced brightness. If you or someone else later fit compact fluorescents you could have a hazardous situation. All that aside, Jason is right; you will void the fixture's UL listing by tinkering with it. What's more, based on your description, you're a little weak in the knowledge-of-basic-circuits department. I think you should leave well enough alone.

I have a fan in my kitchen and while I find it a distinct relief in hot weather, I can't have it on while canning or any cooking that requires consistent, steady temperature control, as the fan tends to blow the flame around. That's fine - I turn the fan down or off for a while. It hasn't killed me yet, so it isn't that big a deal. My house is a Craftsman and I looked high and low for an appropriate-style ceiling fan that wasn't scary-expensive. Apparently I was hunting Unicorns. I settled for a basic simple fan style that at least doesn't look all wrong, even if it wasn't what I'd envisioned. It was cheap, and can be easily upgraded down the road. Not much help, I know - I have box beams all over my main floor (although not in the kitchen) but the light fixtures are not in the beams. Here is a link that might be useful: My Amost Mostly Finished Budget Craftsman Kitchen