I'm sharing a link to a site I found a few weeks ago. There is some useful information there as well as some sample lighting plans. Maybe it will help you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lighting Plan Info

Kelleg,
We have a similar situation with our kitchen table. I really want a chandelier, but it won't be centered with the pendants. What are you doing instead? Just cans? I wanted a little more ambient light over the table, but I don't know what to do.

I guess some of my answer depends on if you're DIY'ing or if you have an electrician. I had decided on the dining table light and the peninsula/bar lighting, and I knew that I wanted UC lighting and inside the cabinet lighting, but other than that, I asked my electrician what he'd suggest, and looked to his expertise. I ultimately went with what he suggested. I am very happy with it.

I am going to do cans over my kitchen table. There are more expensive cans that can pinpoint light over the table. I am using those in the dining room (as well as a chandelier there). You might consider them for your kitchen table. I saw a demo of them and they are really neat because they subtly highlight the table.

I am having some pendants custom made that I LOVE, so I am upset about not having a chandelier, but the pendants will make up for it for me.

I just wondered how many cans most people have in their kitchens. I guess it depends on how much space you have :)

I love bright rooms, so I will probably use more than than even suggested by the lighting guy.

In addition, I will have undercabinet ligthing and the pendants.

If I could offer any words of advice, I'd suggest putting dimmers on everything. It can really add function and beauty to any lighting. I had dimmers put on EVERY light in our new kitchen. The cans, the chandalier, the peninsula lights, the spotlights, the under counter and in cabinet lights, and even the new lights we put on the adjoining patio outside. It was a kink in the budget for sure, but it was well worth it. The actual kitchen part of our new kitchen is about 13 x 18, and for what it's worth, we have 6 cans, and 4 "eyeballs" on the sloped ceiling part of our kitchen. Combined with the other lights, it's more than enough and we rarely use them all at the same time.

I don't understand the issue with the table and the pendants. They don't have to line up...it's not a runway strip :) The table ambient lighting should be centered on the table...the island pendants...on the island...a pendant over the sink...well centered on the sink.

A kitchen should have direct, ambient and task lighting for true lighting function. Ambient is more important than people often think. It's important to consider that carefully. I know I hate sitting under a table with pot lights above it. The light is harsh, dim or not.

I took all of this into consideration when planning my lighting, then visited a lighting planner to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. I'd say in that link...the biggest thing I see wrong is that they have pot lights everywhere...with little consideration paid to ambient lighting (they must sell pots).

We were just talking about this last night. DH went to a new house and he noticed that lighting wasn't really a consideration when planning their new kitchen. It was full of pot lights and had a pendant over the sink. Not well thought out, but great if you need an airplane runway strip because the pots were PLENTIFUL...like the ceiling had chicken pox.

In our "basically" square kitchen, we have 8 4" pots, 4 on two dimmer switches so you don't have to turn them all on at once. I have a chandelier above the island, sink and table (none centered on each other) :oP and then undercab and upper cab lighting as well as lights in the hood (Our hood is huge so that matters). My pots are all directional.

We took out 16 8" pots from the same room. One chandelier (over the table) and three floresent strips under one cabinet. Too much light...and especially too much pot lighting, is NOT a good thing!

And as boxie says...dimmers for everything :)

Oh, yes, as Igloo pointed out, separate banks of lights are a must. For our cans and eyeballs (I guess they're called directional, so I can chalk that up to my "learned something new today" hehe) lights, they're on 2 separate banks. 1 is in the main part of the kitchen, with another separate bank of lights on the perimeter, and down the hallway, kind of alongside the eat-in area, so that when we need more lighting over the table for doing projects on and such, we have it.

kelleg,

where did you see the cans that pinpoint light over the table? Was it a different kind of can or a different bulb?

Thanks, Anita