This is what our builder came up with. We asked for a single large pendant or chandelier over the island, cans in the dining area, a fan in the seating area in front of the fireplace and task lighting over the piano niche.

As you can see our builder put in two pendants over the island, two chandeliers in the dining area and two semi-flush mounts in the seating area.

We wanted cans in the dining area instead of a chandelier because we want the space to be super flexible. Most nights it's just two for dinner, but with family nearby dropping in at the last minute we can easily expand to six. We will host close to twenty family members for Sunday dinners once a month and then several (three or four) times a year will host between thirty and forty family members for a sit down meal. I didn't want to have to worry about making sure there was always a table in a certain spot so our guests wouldn't be bumping their head on the chandelier.

We need a ceiling fan because our windows face southwest and the room will get hot with the large windows we have planned.

Also, the niche next to the fireplace is for our grand piano. I would like track lighting so the lights come down a foot from the ceiling and are adjustable. DH wants to install a recessed eyeball or directional light so the track lighting doesn't interfere with the other lighting.

I like the idea of having two wall sconces on dimmers placed on the little wall at the bottom of the great room.

DH wants to choose a fan that does not have a light fixture and wants to install more cans along the perimeter of the great room.

I would really appreciate hearing your ideas and suggestions.

Here is my best attempt at drawing up what DH & I would prefer along with a couple of questions.