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Lighting Design Dilemma

KITCHEN LIGHT FIXTURE

last year

last modified: last year

I have a galley kitchen in my 1975 home. Cabinets are light grey shaker with silver hardware. The old lights are in a ceiling recess that is 2' x 6' x 6". The flat plastic panels (I know, right?!?!) that cover the recess are simply covering 3 different light fixtures, each holding two 60w lightbulbs. (See pic)

The actual ceiling height is 8 feet. With the recess it is 8' 6".

What I would like to do is remove all three fixtures and the metal frame, keep the recess in the ceiling, repair the drywall and apply skim coat and paint. Then I want to use only the center wiring to install a rectangular farmhouse style light fixture--- one that is very simple and airy. My question is, will an 8 and a half foot ceiling accommodate such a fixture or will it hang too low? Or should I keep all 3 openings and use pendants? There still must be enough light as this is the main source. There is a window with an ugly celing mount light over the sink too which will be replaced, though it is secondary right now.

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Comments (6)

Sammie J
last year
Can you take a picture of the whole space (floor to ceiling?) Hard to tell if it is open below the recess or not.

From what I can see, I would drywall over the recess and add can lights throughout the kitchen.
apple_pie_order
last year
Do you have any photos of the rectangular farmhouse light fixture?
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I would definitely change it out if I had the funds. However, I'd choose a more transitional fixture (the one I can see in the entry and the sputnik are very different in style). If you go with the sputnik, I'd use a regular (not edison) bulb. As long as you will need to get an electrician and fix the ceiling, I'd center the fixture over the island and add can lights (on dimmers) while you are at it.
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Please post pictures of the rooms and the light fixtures. Impossible to give advice with just the info you provided.
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Doubt I would like it at night, lit. I would think I was seeing spots. Some people shop for the shadows a fixture will cast. I prefer not to add to the visual clutter especially at night, now that my eyes are older at weaker.
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Hi. We have done a couple kitchens. It was a bit overwhelming. A couple of things we discovered… loved the look of our old kitchen’s black countertops, but it was super shiny…. It showed every fingerprint and smudge. Keeping it looking clean was a battle. I’d aim for the one in your inspiration pic. It doesn’t look too shiny. It might not be as bad as ours at showing the smears. We put didn’t put a pendant over the sink in the latest kitchen ( just can lights). It looked better since there were already pendants over the island. If you are able to go to a lighting store, you’ll get advice and get an idea of the size pendants you should be looking for( Maybe someone on Houzz could advise on size with some kitchen/ island measurements). The lighting stores have a lot of under cabinet lighting choices to explore as well. When it comes to drawer pulls/knobs… I was completely overwhelmed myself. What I did learn from some past mis-choices… make sure you can grab a knob or pull easily where you don’t scratch your cabinets with your fingernails. Sounds weird but we had a set at our last house that seemed fine until we used them everyday at an everyday fast pace. And we scratched up the cabinets and drawers around the pulls🤷‍♀️ frustrating. Good luck.
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Melissa Mehall
Original Author
last year
Thanks Sammie J. From floor to top of recess it is 8 1/2 feet. And it is in the center of the galley kitchen. There is nothing below it. I have considered can lights, but was looking for more simple solution if possible.
Melissa Mehall
Original Author
last year
apple_pie_order I don't have a picture yet. I've looked at HD and Lowes. Definitely don't want anything heavy looking because the kitchen is small. I found a couple metal ones that are about 34-36 inches long and I think 11 inches wide. But if the minimum length of the hanging rods are 20 inches dowm from ceiling the fixture may hang too low.
apple_pie_order
last year
Look online for a semi-flush fixture, not a chandelier style.
PRO
RL Relocation LLC
last year
Honestly this wont work the way you want it to. You will end up with glaring light bulbs that do not light the space well. The plastic panel helped to disperse the light and keep it hidden. Pendants will look like " i just removed the panel and hung these" and will also not give you the light you need. You will be loosing light. You had 360 watts of light in there. going down to single bulb fixtures

1. adjustable light fixture

2. put in a dropped ceiling so you can put in 6 wafer led lights

3. put in three flush mount lights with frosted glass.

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