We used just fluorescents in our new kitchen.

This is the primary lighting (from Home Depot online):

This is undercabinet lighting (from Home Depot store, 2 GE design fixtures with curved diffuser):

And under shelf lighting (same GE fixture):

My kitchen has 100% fluorescent lighting, and it is FINE. I wanted energy efficiency, and I was also concerned that if I went 50% incandescent and 50% fluorescent, then the fl. lights would stand out as less natural.

Recessed ceiling lights, 6" cans, unsure of the details on the bulbs, but they are "warm" enough.

Under and over cabinet lights- T5 GE Premium, from HD. I'm not sure of the CRI rating or wattage- sorry- but they are what came with the fixtures.

(I'm still not quite done :) . )

Thank you both for sharing your beautiful kitchen pix and lighting details!

muscat, I also love your backsplash - what kind of tile is it? Do you know if it's possible to get the green glass tiles in different colors? (Hoping you'll see this question here, otherwise I'll post it separately).

Anybody else have fluorescent lighting?

mls99--what watt bulbs are in your ceiling fixtures?

It's absolutely possible to get green glass tile in various colors. Check out the Oceanside Glasstile site. I used a custom mix of their 1x1 glass mosaic tile that included at least 2 colors of green in my bathroom so they're the company I know but there are many others. I've put the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oceanside Glasstile

Each fixture takes one 22W and one 32W T9 circular fluorescent bulb. Spec is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hampton Bay fixture

It is very difficult to be able to ascertain how accurate a picture is on various monitors, so please don't take offense. My fears about flourescent lighting (and I live in California where Title 24 will require me to use at least SOME of it) seem to be reinforced by the pictures posted here. The light seems to be very white and very harsh. When you look at the lighting on the pictures you posted on your computer does it seem true to what it actually looks like in your kitchen?

The trick to fluorescent lighting is finding bulbs with the desired color temperature. Halogen and incandescent bulbs have a very warm color temperature. Fluorescents can come very close, but the difficulty is finding one that's not blatantly too green or too pink.

One of the Home Depot stores near me has a single light fixture using each of the three colors of fluorescent bulbs that they offer in their brand. It makes each of the colors look drastically different, but it helped us get a good fit for our bathroom.

aussies- the glass tiles are by Sonoma Tile, and are part of their Tantrum line. They come in about 12-15 colors, and many different sizes/shapes. Other companies make crackle glass tiles too, but these were my favorite, and though expensive, reasonable priced *for* what they are, comparatively.

sally- the light is not quite as nice as incandescent, but FAR better than the "first and second generation" fluorescents were like. It does look nicer in real life than on my monitor too, but I wont pretend that it is as warm as incandescent. It really doesnt bother me, though, and several people have commented on how surprisingly nice the lighting is in person. It is worth it it me to be "part of the solution."

Sally--The flip side is that I'm so used to fluorescent lighting that incandescent lights look weird to me--much too yellow & dim.

I agree with cilantro - I like cooler lighting and do not like incandescent at all. It has neither the energy profile nor the colour that I care for. Braytonak is correct - fluorescents are rated by the temperature of the light they give off and you can pick whatever colour suits you best. Sally may prefer the warmest fluorescents but I know I don't like that at all. I usually go for the hotter temperatures which translate to the cooler light - to me they look much more like natural light which is the most relaxing to view.

Sorry... no night shots. I can shoot some if you like.

Cans are from Home Depot. Cmmercial Electric 4"
Under counter also from Home Depot. GE Premium varying lengths.

Over sink is a halogen from Expo

http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg71/jeffrow1/Kitchen%20Remodel/?action=view&current=After2.jpg

http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg71/jeffrow1/Kitchen%20Remodel/?action=view&current=After6.jpg

Sorry,

I wish I could post my pics directly into the message, but Tripod doesn't allow that.

I have the following:

* A fixture containing 2 four-foot fluorescent bulbs, above the island. (You can see it in the below linked album, in a photo on that page entitled "Garland".)

* An incandescent fixture above the sink containing 2 60-watt bulbs. This can also be seen off to the right on that Garland picture.

* Undercabinet lighting - all fluorescent - I used them constantly! All 4 are lit up. Look for the pictures that show my banana tree, etc. The lights are all on, in that photo.

* Over the dining table chandelier - six 60 watt regular bulbs, but on a dimmer switch.

ALL lighting came from Home Depot - because we liked it, and the price was right. I think our GC got the undercabinet lights from there, too - we purchased the rest separately.

DonnaR/CA

Here is a link that might be useful: Donna's kitchen

I'll try and remember to take some night pictures of my kitchen. It's T24 compliant, so the only incandescent lighting in there are the two pendent lights over the island. Our bulbs are warm white 3000K ones, and we're happy with them.

jeffrow, alku05, and anyone else ... yes please! I'd love to see night pictures of your kitchens too! That would be really helpful.

Thanks to everyone who has posted pics so far. I think these kitchens look great with fluorescent lighting. I actually don't mind the fluorescent at all. My only complaint is that it's so expensive to get dimmable fluorescent cans. Do any of you have those? Do they work well? Is it worth it?

muscat, thanks for the info on your glass tiles. I love your whole backsplash - did you put the pattern together yourself? What are the other tiles?

Aussies, the way that I 'dim' fluorescents is by having an assortment of fixtures: undercab, over sink, overhead, top of cab, over the range. I switch them off/ on as needed w/ the light over the sink staying on 24/7. With so much flexibility, I've never had the 'want' for dimmables. But, this kitchen is on the way to being history & the new kitchen is going to have new lighting challenges.

I have dimmable fluorescents cans, and I really like them, but they may not be solution for you. Mine are regular cans by Juno that fit a dimmable screw in fluorescent bulb and I purchased the dimmable screw in fluorescent bulbs and made sure the elcetrician installed a compatible dimmer that I purchased from the lighting store, and that the lighting store made sure was OK for use with the dimmable fluorescents. The bulbs were expensive but available through a subsidized program with the local electric company that brought the cost down from 18.00-30.00 per bulb to 8.45 per bulb. It is called the Smart Living Ceneter run by Energy Federation Incorporated (www.efi.org) and subsidized by the state of CT and Connecticult Light and Power (CL-P.com). If you go to the efi website, there are 3 or 4 different manufacturers of r30 dimmable fluorscents that should fit cans. The prices are more reasonable than the local lighting store here, even if your local electric company does not have a subsidezed program. I think from what others have written, you need pin type fluorescents in CA, and cans to accept them. But if you go to the EFI website and click on Consumer Division products and then search for "dimmable" you will come up with a large variety of dimmable fluorscents bulbs and you can read about them and find out the "color tempature" of each and get one to try that will be the least objectionable to you.

Sue

We used the same solution as cilantro- we wired the lights in banks so we can turn on only a few if we want softer lighting. We don't miss miss being able to dim the lights at all, and I was sure I would!

We use Ikea CFLs in our pendants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea CFLs

Abbycat, I have to laugh at your post--the link of course says, "Here is a link that might be useful:." The State of California, in its infinite wisdom, has actually outlawed screw-in CFLs for Title 24 compliance. So the Ikea CFLs aren't useful at all the the Aussies in the OP.

Your government at work...

aussies, I did sort of as cilantro indicated, and have the U/C, ceiling cans, and a single over-cabinet light on different switches, and with that combo, I have enough flexibility that dimmable cans arent needed. It is a small enough room that all 6 cans are on one switch, but I guess I could have had them wired in two sets, too, for even more flexibility.

The field tiles on the backsplash are called "seagrass" and they are a tumbled limestone. I fell in love with them when I first saw them, but almost nixed them as a backsplash option. Good thing it took me so long to finish the rest of the room, so I had time to reconsider! Thanks for the comments.

solarpowered - Too bad the screw in CFLs are outlawed. I suppose that was necessary because people might switch out CFLs for incandescents. I am loving the longevity and energy savings of my CFLs. Does that mean that in CA, one must use fluorescent tubes only? What a drag. But, considering the high energy usage and unsteady source & power grid (I remember those rolling blackouts too!), maybe people need to be prepared to change a little for the greater good.

In any case, for those outside of CA, I find the Ikea CFLs to be a great alternative: warm light and no visible "coil". Perfect for pendants that have an opening on the bottom.

Abbycat,

One can use screw-in CFLs in fixtures that are allowed to be incandescent. It's just in new construction where "high-efficacy" lighting is required that you can't use the screw-in variety. This is indeed to prevent people from replacing them with incandescents. One could have a discussion about the idea that the U.S. is supposed to be a free country, conceived in "Liberty", but I suppose this isn't really the place.

There are CFLs that don't have built-in ballasts, that plug into unique sockets. They are OK in new kitchens.

The prohibition against screw-in CFLs does have the effect of removing about 98% of all decorative fixtures from consideration in California kitchens. :-(

Ack! I live in California and I will be building new construction. Solarpowered, will you please elaborate on this prohibition on screw-in CFLs? If not screw-in, how are CFLs installed (and replaced)? If most lighting fixtures do not comply with the CA law, do you know of any sources (online or storefronts in the SF Bay Area) who sell compatible lighting fixtures? Does the whole house have to be outfitted with these special fixtures, or is it just a certain percentage of the lighting that has to be with CFLs?
Thanks in advance for your advice!

Mizjiff,

They plug into the socket. I've linked to a page with a picture of one.

The Title 24 regs vary depending on which room you're talking about. (Somebody please tell me again why it is reasonable that it is legal to install light "X" in my bedroom, but not my kitchen??!!!) The most onerous requirements are the kitchen, where half the wattage has to be in "high-efficacy" fixtures, and half can be incandescent.

I haven't surveyed retailers. However, I expect that virtually all lighting stores in California are relatively up to speed with what's going on. Frankly, in my opinion there are not a lot of decent options for California kitchens. (And I'm not a fan of the theory, "If we outlaw everything else, somebody will invent what we're mandating.")

Here is a link that might be useful: CFL with quad-pin base

Thanks everyone for your pictures and advice.

I'm sorry I didn't mention in my original post that I am in CA and have to comply with Title 24. I think it's still useful though to see other "regular" CFL lighting - both for other people who don't live in CA and also for Californians to use in other rooms. So thank you to those who provided info on screw-ins too.

For those who wanted to know more about CA Title 24, here are a couple of websites that I have found very useful:

http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/images/news/Title24/lighting-design-guide-version-2.pdf

http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005publications/CEC-400-2005-005/chapters_4q/6_Lighting.pdf

Basically, for CA kitchen remodels, you need 50% of the wattage to be high-efficacy (mostly fluorescent). As mentioned, to be counted as part of the 50% these fluorescents have to be 4-pin so that they can't be switched out with incandescent bulbs.

HTH!

BTW, I'd still love to see night pics of kitchens with fluorescent lighting too if anyone has any ...