I'm getting ready to remodel my kitchen and the one big hole is lighting. I'm in California so have to comply with Title 24. I hope some of you can help!

My eyes are really sensitive to brightness and hue, and I hate shadows and hot spots. I can tolerate fluorescents if they're indirect or diffuse, but otherwise they give me a headache (I'm not talking about the flicker, which doesn't bother me as much unless I'm doing something really fiddly or if it's too slow, but the glare and color). I haven't yet found a CFL that didn't bother my eyes.

I also hate the swiss cheese ceiling look, and the "dramatic" pools of light that the old kitchen has.

So... I read here in some old messages about LEDs that are compliant, and have 180 degree dispersal, if I understood right, but I haven't been able to turn up more complete information searching the web.

There will be some kind of undercabinet lighting on general principles, but what I would like to have is good enough ambient lighting that I don't need to use the under cabinet because I don't like the light bouncing up in my eyes while I work, and because I so dislike having task areas brighter than ambient. The counters will be light to medium hued, non-glossy, tiles, so they won't be very glary, but still...

I admit I'm fussy. I've been trying to design some sort of indirect that will bounce the light off the ceiling, but it's not really working. The room is approximately 16'x18', a U with an island, with a passage I'm calling a "butler's pantry" and a short entrance passage.

Any information, ideas, wild notions, etc., will be welcome, as will references to any showrooms in the L.A. area where I can see options.

Thanks!

JC