Great thread. I resisted the tv over the fireplace for years. When we built I had a space next to the fireplace in a cabinet set up for the tv. We put a regular 36" tube tv in there. It was fine. Then a few years later we bought a 48" flat screen. It wouldn't fit in the cabinet so we created a media room downstairs. I added a small kitchenette and set it up for up to 6 people to watch tv. The too had the added bonus of not having the glare of the upstairs. Guess what, no one ever went down there unless we made a production of it. So finally we bought a 55" flat screen and mounted it over the fireplace. I love the fact that it is right there where everyone is and tends to hang out. When we have gatherings I put pandora on and that is good,too. My mother in law was an interior designer and I thought she'd have a kitten when she saw it but she agreed it worked for our lifestyle. In our next house we will have much less space so are planning for the tv over the fireplace again. Admitting that I am powerless over my need to binge watch Netflix made my life much easier :D. The builder we are working with has done some nice things to address this, in the really high ceiling rooms he did a double mantle. I'll see if I saved a pic and post it.

Michelle misses Sophie, air leakage from a can light into unconditioned space can be mitigated. My attic is directly under my living space, and my house came with about five recessed can lights from the 70s. I had the Energy Star program in to seal and insulate my house, and as a part of the program, they put these big styrofoam buckets over each recessed light. That way, air movement is stopped from moving from living to unconditioned space. In my state (MA), any contractor that comes after the Energy Star program is required to insulate their work to Energy Star's standards. I'm not at all worried about putting can lights into my upcoming kitchen reno.

Hi Mittens Cat- I am with you! In the first place, who the heck is your GC to insist on anything in the design of your home which you are paying for? He really needs to know his place. It's your money, He works for you. Puhleeze! Secondly, your husband and you need to have a serious tête-à-tête. (Need I say the GC is not invited?) You tell him that bright light makes you ill and gives you headaches (if this is true) and when you get headaches XY and Z definitely do not happen and you don't think that he wants that, does he? And you are remodelling to make you both comfortable and happy and healthy, not to suit some abstract idea of what someone else thinks is good design or to line someone else's pocket, Because you know that your husband is too smart to let someone else upsell him. Blah, blah. You know how to handle your hubby. And make his favorite meal before this discussion, and have the discussion after dinner over some homemade brownies or chocolate chip cookies, or whatever is his favorite, even if you haven't made them for him since high school. Maybe even as pillow talk. You know what worked with your man the best in the past. Before you have this discussion, do some serious research and find some knockout photos of modern design that do not have recessed lighting. If can print them out in 8 x 10, that's great. If not, save them to your tablet or lap top. Men are visual more than auditory. He will need to see the photos to be convinced. Be sure to mention the names of the grande fromage architects or designers that did these spaces. Even if he's never heard of them, he will still be somewhat hushed, because that's another thing about men as opposed to women. They are far less likely than we are to admit what they don't know and will go along to make it look like they know what they really don't, especially in the areas that they think they should know, like building and construction, money, cars, building something, finding a place. That's why most of them never read instructions when they build something and most of them will never read a map. As far as ceiling fixtures there are plenty of transitional and modern ceiling fixtures where the bulbs are not visible. Just look on Houzz. I don't know what your tastes are. If you give me a clue I can make some suggestions.

I just installed wafer lights in my "new" 1939 home. These were made by Lithonia Lighting, with selectable color temperature, and only about 1" thick. They are amazing. People need to understand these are not recessed lights -- they sit flush with the ceiling so they will spread light wider than a typical recessed light the same size. It also means you'll get more glare (if you're the type that stares at the ceiling). In two bedrooms larger than your kitchen six 4" lights in each were plenty bright (my girlfriend complained they were too bright after only three were installed!) -- and they definitely will get a dimmer. In a stairwell I was prepared to put in three 6" wafer lights and after installing one we realized it is plenty of light. So the wafer LED lights are very bright, have good light spread, and are dimmable. I bought mine on Amazon for about $22 each. As someone pointed out kitchen lighting is different. You don't want a simple grid like your builder wants to install. The light should be over your prep areas and placed where they won't throw shadows on what you are prepping, so you need to consider this carefully. It's easy to dim lights but harder to add more or move them. Hopefully you will have undercabinet lighting as well..