Well, I didn't help with any of your decisions, but I'll echo your gratitude for the wealth of info that GWers share. Sounds like you have most of your ducks in a row, and I wish you the best of luck in your reno (and a start date that's soon)!

Akk!! Get yourself off to the lighting store! The UCL isn't critical at the beginning, but the ceiling stuff is. The electrician needs to get in there before the bar is installed or he/she may be standing on it. No, no, no. Actually, the UCL is better decided sooner than later too. We needed to run wire behind our stove and sink areas to connect all the UCL to one switch - easier to do sooner rather than later.

And, yes, I'm with you. All the GW education and advice made our kitchen so much better. Can hardly wait to see how yours comes together.

We're about at the same point! I echo your thanks and wish you luck.

I echo suzannesl urging... You'll need to at least have a lighting plan finalized so the electrician can route his work. Pendants tend to get switched differently than cans.

How do I convince my husband UCL & more ceiling lights in our kitchen is crucial? He doesn't agree with me & thinks it can wait. Technically he's right that it can wait but to me the whole look of a room has everything to do w/ lighting. I need some guidance to persuade my husband to do it during the reno & not afterwards.

Tell him it's faster, easier and CHEAPER to run the wires now.

Because doing it afterward means patching drywall, fishing wires and cussing. Lots of cussing!

Do you have a florescent landing light in the middle of you kitchen ceiling and that's pretty much it? Our new lighting has made all the difference in the world. I can't tell you how much I love the UCLs - how did I work without them all those years?

Lazygardens is absolutely right, it easier and cheaper to do this now. You're already spending a bucket load of money on the renovation, you really need to spend a couple thousand more to update your lighting. While the electrician is there, get him to switch out your receptacles for new ones. Who knew those things wear out eventually?

No, we have an open concept kitchen that leads into family room & eating area and the only lights in the actual kitchen are 4 recessed lights. We should have at least 3 or 4 more recessed lights. The light fixture in our family room is a joke too. The absolute worst ceiling fan w/ light fixture attached. No recessed lights in our family room which makes it very hard to see in that room & the kitchen in the evenings. We did upgrade our light fixture above our kitchen table which is a godsend. Before it was so dark.

Fixing our lighting issues should have been done a long time ago but it gets pushed down on the list of "to-do's". We really need to address it now that we're remodeling our kitchen. I will try & persuade my husband it's a necessity. We've gone over our budget w/ the kitchen & I know he doesn't want to spend anymore $$ that he doesn't feel is a priority. I may have to have him visit GW so he can see that it IS a priority. :)

It will indeed be far more cost-effective to do it now, rather than later.

In particular, for the UCL you will need to run wiring drops to all the locations. This typically means cutting into the walls. Doing it now, before a new backsplash goes in, is an absolute must. In fact, you may have to cut into the wires in any case just to bring the outlets up to code. If you need to cut down on the budget, look at something that can be swapped out later. At the vary least, run the wiring to junction boxes.

Thanks, gooster, for explaining the ins/outs of UCL wiring. It would make me sick to my stomach if we did it afterwards & had to cut into new back splash tile. I think knowing this my husband will reconsider. I plan on calling an electrician today to schedule an appt to discuss a lighting plan.