I am also looking at recessed lighting. My ceilings are 8' though. Is it best to stay between 24" and 36" out from the wall? I really have no idea. The current cans seem like they are only a few inches out from the top of the cabinets. Maybe 2". But our old cabinets did not go all the way to the ceiling. The new cabinets will stop about 2.5" from the ceiling and then we will have a cove molding to the ceiling. So I am pretty sure we need to move the lights out at least a few inches. Although I am not sure how much is ideal.

DH is not in town right now but I'll have him install the new perimeter pendants in Sept. and then I can make a photo. This photo doesn't tell the whole story but you can see the ceiling fixtures and the fluorescents. Excuse the mess--I'm trying to move stuff around in the new space. Be patient here. Will try to explain. Our new kitchen is a 12 x 17 bumpout running the long way along the front of our house along our old 8 x 10 kitchen plus basement access, which have now morphed into a corridor and an eating nook and a closet; wrapped along the perpendicular end of the old kitchen/corridor and new kitchen is a new lobby. The Lobby and the old kitchen are really passageways--besides accessing the G-shaped kitchen through the gap in the G, the corridor-lobby has access doors to garage, front step, basement, dining room, kitchen closet, and coat closet. Not easy to understand this, but if you dig through my Flickr stuff you'll see the plan. Essentially, the halls make a T and the new kitchen cuddles into one side of the T and the dining room into the other side. So... We've put four matching 2-bulb Besa ceiling hugging fixtures along the T and two 3-bulb ones into the center of the kitchen. That means that we bought a total of 6 fixtures that all match, in order to try to homogenize the disparate parts. We'll also have matching white Quoizel pendants along the two parallel walls in the kitchen that run same direction as the stem of the T. (see a new post I made today). Are you using CFL's that were specifically designed for dimming? They ARE in the stores but I haven't tried them yet. Interesting that your kitchen code requires CFLs! I thought our community was restrictive but don't recall this requirement. The community does allow recessed cans in attics, but we chose not to do this because of energy and ice dam concerns. We are not allowed to put anything but fluorescents into closets. I have a young friend who has a 1950s kitchen that was always progressive and functional. She retained the ceiling fixture position when updating the space. She put in a large ceiling-mounted 1-foot hanging xenon? hallogen? something else? very bright mod light on her white ceiling which she feels is very sufficient for most kitchen activities. There is a light over the sink and another over the table and there is one in the range hood, but otherwise, I think that's it. She's 15 years behind me in the aging issues. Kitchen has a wall of windows. Please let us know how things progress in your project. Inquiring minds want to know. Here is a link that might be useful: note two ceiling lights and undercab fluorescents in partly finished kitchen

Is that true, FoxCrane? I was told that the benefit of placing the recessed lights right at the edge of the counter was that it wouldn't cast a shadow?

Are you doing this yourself? Because if this is a for-construction electrical plan, there is some power missing. Assumptions made on room uses. - I see a post on the island - are there any soffits (header for a lower beam) above? If so, that might affect lighting. - I only see one general lighting switch. It looks like you have 3 entrances: Mud, Hall, Dining/Living (barn door a powder room?)? - If the Mudroom ceiling is flush with kitchen (no opening header), I would suggest continuing recessed. And is that a Laundry room, so the Mud switch should be at the exterior door? - If you have (2) 4" cans over the sink, move them 12"-16" out from wall and eliminate the counter edge fixture, or spread out a bit more with (2) 3" cans over the sink and keep the counter edge fixture. - Puck lights switched next to sink? - Breakfast table light move switch to main circulation wall (may need 3-way depending on that circulation). How do you envision the lighting at the Breakfast table, as the cans there are a lot of light in addition to the chandelier - typically you want the focus (and mood) on the table, not the floor around the table. I see a sliding door, so a light should be there, but should the table move closer to the wall to allow wider deck/patio and Dining/Living circulation past it (affects cans against side wall)? - 8" island pendants (depending on fixture style) might be too big at that spacing and on a skinny 30" wide island. May want 3-way because it's such a long space, depending on circulation. Then these can function as midnight pass-thru lights as mentioned by Sherry.