True about the LED bulbs. And I agree about hating an off-center chandelier. That would drive me absolutely nuts! I was just on the Aladdin light lift website and they make lifts that are "remote mount." That might work in this situation. My contractor is looking into it.

Not cable or track but rail lighting, go to www.techlighting.com They have the best rail in the biz as far as I am concerned. that being said you will only need one of the power sources for that . So this means by the front door you can still drop an entry fixture!! let me know if you need help sorting it out, it will not be a cheap project but it will be much much better than cable or track, you will have options galore!

you have some volume you can fill vertically, I would say around 24inches wide would be ample, I would go with brass, that will pick up your artwork, here are a more traditional and contemp. feel.

I have the outlets with the built in USB ports and they are hit or miss. We've had 2 malfunction out of the 4 we installed but I still like them. If you need to plug in something with a bulky plug, it doesn't allow access to the ports. Also, I think a console table with drawers would be useful. I would use it to sort mail and keep a couple of emergency items like a flashlight in there. I keep the items needed to charge my Ring and a few other things in there. Handy to have for sure,