My concern is less the method of lighting, than the function of all house lighting--ambient, task and accent.

As you obviously realize, your current kitchen could be improved functionally and design wise. For instance, the lighting over the dining table is far too high and offset. Accent lighting over the cabinets should be up--that is, mounted on the tops of the cabinets-- with soft flourescents.

My personal preference is dark colours and subdued lighting. So we have primarilly used task lighting under cabinets (flourescent) and over the cooktop (hologen spots and floods). The primary function of ambient lighting via halogen spots was for showing the houses off when they were being sold.

I trust your designer will specify something more dramatic in terms of lighting than you have now.

Good luck with your redo!

Fluorescent lighting is diffused and is appropriate when even general lighting is needed in all parts of a space but cannot put strong focused lighting on work surfaces like counters, islands, stoves and sinks.

When such fluorescent fixtures are placed in the center of a kitchen ceiling, the light is at your back when you are working at a perimeter counter or sink so you are often forced to work in you own shadow.

Of course, recessed lights can be fluorescent with reflectors and placed where they light task areas instead of empty floor space but they still don't throw as much light on work surfaces as line voltage halogen, low voltage halogen or LED fixtures do and they are expensive.

Also, IMO the color of food and the skin of people is not attractive under any kind of fluorescent lighting.

thanks for your pointers. the fixture above the table is centered, but i crammed the table up against the window because the space is too small for chairs on both sides, so now it looks off center. (it was a spec house that we customized a little along the way.)

it is the function that i'm thinking about, and i like my kitchens bright, but the designer will help. i'm sure they will steer me away from flourescent

In your kitchen in the photo, fluorescents would make a good continuous uplight if installed on the tops of all of the upper cabinets. This would provide a balanced ambient lighting level. It would be much more pleasing to the eye and much more effective for ambient lighting than the single surface mounted fluorescent fixture illustrated. Fluorescent lights are available in many temperatures from very warm to very cool.

You will still need task lighting (such as lights on the bottom of the upper cabinets to light the countertops) and something for accents such as dropped pendants where appropriate. Recessed ceiling fixtures positioned to illuminate the counters are an alternative to lights installed on the bottom of the upper cabinets.

Lighting design is very important and takes a skilled, experienced professional. You can do much better than the lighting illustrated in the photo. It really is an example of what not to do.

Good luck with your project.

We have the recessed cans with led light bulbs in them-gives us lots of light.

LED recessed