Hi folks, I hope you can offer some suggestions for my kitchen lighting project.

Right now, I have a 4-foot flourescent fixture over the island. That is controlled by a switch next to the hallway. There is also a single 6-inch recessed light with 65-watt bulb over the sink that's controlled by a switch near the sink. The nook area is lighted by a pendant controlled by a switch next to the deck door. I'm going to replace the fluorescent fixture with several 6-inch recessed cans, also with 65-watt bulbs. They will be controlled by the same switch by the hallway that now controls the fluorescent light. I'll be replacing the switch with a dimmer, however.

Here's the room:

{{!gwi}}

Current lighting diagram:

You can see the room dimensions in my drawing (sorry, some of the dimensions are upside down due to a bug in MS Visio). My ceilings are 9-feet high, cabinets are 42", so there is some space between the top cabinets and the ceiling. The cabinets are 12" deep and the counters about 25" deep.

I hope to supply task lighting to the counters and general lighting as well. The two lights on either side of the sink and the one over the island will provide task lighting to the countertops where we prepare food. The two lights near the pantries will provide general lighting and hopefully some light into the pantries as well. The other light near the desk will provide general lighting and hopefully light up the desk for the kids to do homework at. I may put an inexpensive fluorescent strip under the desk cabinets if necessary.

Proposed lighting plan1:

What do you think about my light placement? I've seen some articles suggesting that lights should be laid out in a grid, but that doesn't seem practical in our kitchen. In my second new drawing, I've lined up the lights, but then I don't get much light in the one pantry. Also, the lights won't be evenly spaced unless I bring the countertop lights closer to the island or the row by the fridge closer to the wall. I can't really move the one over the island. I would prefer not to have to install undercabinet lighting, as my budget is pretty modest (doing the work myself). The only area under the cabinets that is dark right now is the corner to the left of the sink.

Here is a hybrid plan that is partially a grid, but also lights my pantries (also includes 7 cans instead of 6):

Thanks for any suggestions!