With recessed lighting I light the walls first then add lighting for tasks but rarely put a fixture in the center of a space or directly above furniture where the light would be directly above someone's head or face.

5" recessed lights show a lot of the lamp unless you choose higher-end deep fixtures which can cost 2 to 3 times as much. I only use them in basements or other rooms where the ceiling is lower and the view of the lamp is less objectionable. The only disadvantage of smaller diameter recessed lights is that they usually need to be placed closer together thereby increasing the number of fixtures. In any case the cost can be reduced by using 50 w. Par20 line voltage lamps where possible.

I always put low voltage halogen recessed lights above a kitchen sink and try to use two to reduce shadows if there is room at the ceiling.

thanks. I forgot to mention they are 8' ceilings I don't know if that would affect the use of 5" cans or not. I wish I had measured the one's in old house but we had 9' ceilings there.

I do like a ceiling light in the kitchen, maybe because my kitchen is large enough to be somewhat dim centrally when only the regular lights are on. A ceiling light is a big help when cleaning the floor, especially if trying to sweep up broken glass (says she who dropped a jar last night).

As MA points out, you want to avoid shadows in your working areas. That doesn't mean huge or powerful lights, it does mean paying attention to *where* the light shines. I actually prefer smaller lamps which don't cause as much glare. BTW, I've switched to LEDs for under the cabinets -- I rarely use any of my counters for prep, being one of those who use the area twixt sink and stove (and that 4' spot is very well lit with one 60w [CFL equivalent] and two 25w slightly to either side of the 60w).

I have a double flourescent with daylight bulbs in my laundry room and walk in pantry and the light is nice and bright and there is nothing ugly about it. The fixture is white and so is the ceiling, so it blends in. There are no shadows as the light fills the room nicely. Some people have been known to put chandelier's in their laundry room. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. Just wanted to let you know you there are flourescent fixtures that aren't ugly. LOL I like to use flourescent where I can because we hate changing bulbs plus it's energy efficient. I also like the daylight flourescents in lamps. Nice, clean, white light that isn't hot and doesn't burn much electricity. That's where I draw the line on flourescents. In my recessed fixtures I have halogens and in my sconces and chandi's I have either halogena's by Sylvania or GE reveal bulbs, which also put out nice bright white light.

Our primary lighting comes from lamps and sconces and under cabinet lighting. I only have recessed lights in bedrooms and living area for wall accent. They are in guest bath and kitchen for general lighting. I have under cabinet in kitchen along with pendents over island and sink area. I wanted that extra decor with the pendent over the sink. I have one sconce in the office for accent, in the hall for primary lighting, in the bedrooms for accent, in the master and guest baths for tasks and in the foyer for accent. In the office I have ceiling fan w/light fixture. Not that it will ever get used. I just thought the fan needed a light fixture to look nice. We have a chandi in the guest bedroom as I wanted that room to look really pretty without a big ole fan on the ceiling. The master bedroom will have a ceiling fan but I'm not sure if it will have a light fixture or not. The light fixture will never be used and will only be for decorative purposes. We also have a chandi above the table in the eating area and a chandi in the foyer. I forgot, we'll also have floor lamps as those are lamps we also use on a daily basis.

We very seldom use overhead lighting in our living and bedroom areas. Our sconces and lamps are the primary lightng in these areas.