Would a lower wattage CFL bulb work? So long as the wattage was sufficient for you to do your work properly, the lower wattage (non-flood) bulb probably won't stick out as much, or even at all and this might eliminate your eye strain as well. Great looking room, by the way!

I put in 15 watt CFL R30s, and using three provides okay, but not great light at the work surface. They hang down lower than the halogens in the pic. I was planning to order full-spectrum cfl bulbs if these worked out, but I'm not so sure now. At this point, I don't really care what the fixture looks like, I just want to work in great light that doesn't bring the room to 90 degrees or glare into my eyes.

Thanks on the room compliment! (:

maybe a halogen PAR reflector bulb with a narrower beam spread (spot instead of flood) if you aim them carefully, although it may yield an unevenly lit room. I have a few Cree CR6 (a.k.a. Ecosmart ECO-575L if you're at Home Depot) modules in a similar setup as yours, which are intended to be used for recessed lighting in ceilings but I've found work great in track lights and such as well because the built-in trim kit bezel helps shield the light and they wind up looking like this:

For $10 you can add one of three colors of anodyzed trim pieces for the baffle if you don't like white, like the bronze one here, to further reduce glare:

(I suppose you can chop off the three rotating tabs that are intended to hold the module in place when placed in a generic 6" diameter recessed can if you find their appearance distracting).

oh forgot to mention these are all of 10 1/2 watts each although their about as bright as a 65 watt incandescent bulb or most CFL reflectors, and render colors nicely.