We are halfway along in our kitchen remodel and I've gleaned lots of tips by lurking on GardenWeb. We have a New England ranch, designed and built in 1986.

The former owner apparently designed it herself, and believe me, it has NO symmetry and many quirks. We are always saying "What the heck was she thinking?!"

My current most pressing question concerns the lighting in the kitchen. The house has an open floor plan and the kitchen adjoins the dining area.

The kitchen originally had white tile floor, white tiled counters and white appliances. We kept the old oak cabinets but put in Armstrong pre-finished hardwood oak flooring, black and stainless appliances and soapstone counters. This has made the kitchen a lot darker.

We are eventually putting in a skylight, but that is a few years down the road. An z-shaped island w/ bar and prep sink is going in later this year.

So .... what to do about lighting. We are planning some sort of under cabinet lighting - suggestions appreciated. I would like to keep the track lighting, but buy a new set up. What would you suggest?

If we temporarily keep existing track lighting, what sort of bulbs would work best, particularly to illuminate sink area?

My partner wants to put some sort of lighting over the window but I don't think it will look good.

Although our house was built as a traditional beamed cathedral ceiling ranch we are trying to nudge the style toward cutting edge contemporary (think Dwell Magazine). Our budget is modest though, so we have to make do with some things (like keeping the cabinets).