I can totally sympathize with your wife. My husband and I were recently trying to decide on two fixtures to hang in the rear mud room/entry of our home. Stairs, landings, sort of open space connected to our kitchen. We were looking at ceiling mounted fixtures because the ceiling in their is not too high and I just couldn't get past most all of the "period" looking ceiling mounted fixtures with little finials on the bottoms looking an awful lot like b**bies. B**bies hanging from my ceiling. Just couldn't get over it. Decided on something else entirely. :)

Hope you find something wonderful. I know I wasn't any help but maybe I made you smile.

I'm into all of them but think the fridge one is one too many. There is a light inside the fridge, so no exterior one needed.
Also, unless you plan on doing brain surgery, you will probably have plenty of light and may be over thinking it. You can adjust by using bright bulbs if need be.

I wouldnt worry about mixing them, since the entire palette is pretty neutral. Aesthetically, I think it works. I dont know enough to opine on function.

BTW, totally agree with your wife. I read somewhere that some architects refer to recessed lights as "ceiling acne" and I so agree. Unfortunately, Im using them anyway, in places. Function over form.

One too many styles. The first three are all compatible. Also I agree that you may not need the one in front of the fridge.

Mtn.

Its usually only referred to as ceiling acne when they are randomly placed. If they make a uniform arrangement, thats generally preferable esthetically

I have nothing to add, but I love all of your choices separately. I also love the word mishegoss. It makes me miss living in the NYC area.

I'm not a lighting queen at all, so take with grains of salt. And we seem to share a few common problems - liking every light fixture and wanting them all. I don't like the lighting plan for a couple of reasons. It's not nearly enough and you have too many fixture types.

The calhoun is a great pendant for over the peninsula and I'd get two on a dimmer, but not to supply general walking around light. It's going to look best with a low wattage bulb and appears to have a 75 watt bulb max. I would try to let it be the star and not have other visual competition - I say try because I am just like you!

The Metal-head has a forty watt bulb max - just so you know, I'm using 300 watts incandescent in a pair of glass shade enclosed fixtures to light about the same size cleanup area.

In the size room you have, walking around light should be something equivalent to 2-4 75 watt incandescent bulbs. Depending on the exact fixtures you end up with (spots, down lights, etc), lighting the sink should take between 2-4 75 watt incandescent bulbs plus another one for the counter in front of the window. The ref space looks like a good place for under counter lights plus possibly a barely there strip tucked onto the beam to light up the front of that run slightly ...

If you want to use some wall lights at the sink and window, choose a fixture with more available light and try to mount them all the same way - just cause the beam is there, doesn't mean you have to use it.

The last thing is that imo track lighting thing just doesn't go with the rest of your vibe.

Thanks all, I'm glad to hear that we're not the only ones who have crossed whole genres of common lighting off our list. We are also anti-anatomically shaped fixtures, lights, faucets, etc. Looking like a body part = deal breaker.

I think we are nixing the beam light at the fridge. We have under cabinet lights (and above cabinet lights too, not that rope light will really help that much).

For the metal shade lights, I was planning on getting around the 40W by using 20W CFLs that produce 1500 Lumens (ie 3x the Lumens of a normal 40W). Regular 40W (400-500 lumens) wouldn't cut it anywhere as far as I'm concerned.

I will try out three of the same lights coming off the wall at the same height and see how we feel about it. It makes sense and it would be less random. Too many fixture types (and mounting positions) is what is bugging me I think. But seriously, we LOVE the lights off beams look. Like giddy little girls swooning over Tiger Beats, want to have it's babies, love.

For the Calhouns over the peninsula, would two 12" globes be too much over a 7' island? I think if we did pendants there we would probably go with the Rustic Sconce (I know, we have no PB lights in the rest of the house but somehow EVERY light we like for the kitchen comes from there.)

For the track light we are putting in two boxes and wiring it to be able to be replaced by two pendants. The track light is not for everyone, certainly understandable and probably even a bit dated. I think we're going to try it though. But switching it for two Calhouns is interesting...

I just being stern because I have the same issues and wish someone would do it for me! I'm telling ya, we are the same.

Does four or five types of fixtures contribute to the overall look you are going for? Are two lights on the beams going to make the entire look of the kitchen?

You think you can get away with bumping that bulb - eh? It'll make two little search lights and a lot of shadows. I think you might be disappointed with the scale of those particular fixtures too. I think it says they are seven inches?

Srsly, buy one and try it in another room. Since its pb, you should be able to send it back.

brickton-

In our unfitted kitchen we have 4 different hanging fixtures and one sconce, and, yes, it's a mish mosh, but so is our whole house, and I personally can't stand either can lights or matchy-matchy. Great for others, not for us.

We have 3 glass pendants over the butcherblock area, 1 RH kinda sorta steampunk, two light fixture over the stainless work table, a sconce next to the range, a vintage brass chandelier over the table and 2 metal, 3 arm lights over the sink. Yes, it's a lot, but we like the casual, evolved over time look.

A note of caution about the PB fixture; we had a single PB over the stainless work table and it was a max 60 watt bulb, but the light seemed weak and we could not see well enough, so we bought the RH double one. We like strong, clear light when we're working in the kitchen (comes from working in restaurants, I guess) and the single, 60 watt fixture didn't cut it for us. Ours was the bell shaped, clear glass one that's similar to yours. Again, not saying it won't work for you, just telling you what we experienced.

Here's a few pics:

It all boils down to your tolerance for mixing finishes, styles and textures.

Good luck-

sandyponder

Rejuvenation makes the prototype for your PB Calhoun globe, and you can select several different globe sizes, glass finishes, and fixture finishes. It is called the Hood. Check it out.

The rope ligthing will contribute to an overall ambient lighting bouncing off the white ceiling. Don't discount it completely. I work in a clinic that is primarily lit with overcabinet ligthing and task lighting. No direct downlighting in most of the ceiling, and it is glare free and sufficient. There are a lot of freestanding cabinet units that make this possible and I am not suggesting your overcabinet would be capable at all, but it will contribute significantly as infill ambient lighting.

Hee. I appreciate the stern responses! This is editing. It's hard, it's emotional (for the person whose kitchen it is) and a good stern talkin' to is often merited.

Two lights on the beam making the entire look.. Two lights over the sink, yes. On the beam *sigh* ... no. I love it.. but we loved our design before that idea... and we can love it after too. Not that I'm giving up, but it's good to remember that one idea does not a kitchen make.

The scale is another great point. I have actually been meaning to question PB on their dimensions because I'm not sure they add up. Maybe order the light and mocking it up somewhere is best. 7" is the shade, 9-11" projection from wall (it actually says 11" high, 9" projection... but I think that is reversed from looking at it, because there is a heck of a lot more than 2" from the wall to the shade).

Our lighting plan is really similar to this kitchen (which is ridiculously loveable, it's kitchen equivalent of a puppy, I want to squeeze and mumble cute things at it.)

Maybe swapping to using one of our sconce choices above each of the window panes (2 @ sink, 1 @ prep) would get us there...

Maybe finding something similar to those sweet boston functional lights for under $150 ea would work too... $750 for sconces ain't happening, blindingly gorgeous or not.

The look we are going for is SIMPLE farmhouse kitchen, no backsplash (except maybe a sheet of stainless behind the range? maybe white subways?), wood or bronze knobs, oak floors, basic, funky (exterior? unexpected? rustic?) inexpensive lighting.

Something like this:

Sandy- Your kitchen brings the funk, in a way that I am sadly unable to. It has a great mismatched, collected vibe... but I don't know if mismatched, gathered lights alone with an otherwise straight laced look would clash. We might be able to pull it off though.

palimpset - Good to know about the rope lighting. I guess I just figured it would be good for 'mood lighting' the kitchen or a kitchen night light. That hood light is pretty darn sweet. My wife would likely think it too industrial.. which I dig and she loathes.

Brickton, your description of the look you want is exactly what we are doing.

If you notice in the photo you like, there is a very modern spray faucet and, i think a glass front fridge.

Then the island has chunky turned legs (on utilitarian rollers!), and while there is a windsor chair in the background, the stool looks 40's to me ...

It all works because of the palette.

I am IN LOVE with the Hood light from Rejuvenation and seriously wish I could make it work in my home...sigh. Love that they give so many options for customizing. Anyway, did you notice it takes up to a 300W light bulb? Just wanted to point that out as you were worried about having enough light from the Calhoun.

How about this thought? Instead of doing two of the PB sconces, what about doing three of these bad boys in either bronze or rust (which apparently means dark gray/black)

These are the actual fixtures in caoh's gorgeous kitchen, which she was kind enough to confirm. She has the rust colored ones.

The shade is only 6" again, but mounting them at nearly 9' (the ceiling height of the kitchen) should mean the provide decent light..right?

Here is a rendering of that option, with no light over the prep area. In the program the lights are actually 7 1/4" wide, so in reality these would be more narrow.

Will the one on the right be too close to the cabinet and through funky shadows? The center of the light will be 18" off the wall (8" beam + 13" extension - (1/2 * 6" diameter)
so it's probably fine, it just might light up the cabinet face a bit 'extra' bright.

I think I like the 3 lights here, 3 lights there, faceoff look actually. But is it too us versus them? Is my lighting plan too confrontational? ... I need sleep. Good night.

Bump. Any thoughts on this?

We're using three kinds of lights, too, including gooseneck sconces over three windows (Rejuvenation's Turner.) I really like the spacing of the three on the beam in your latest rendering. I wouldn't worry about creating confrontational tension with the three over the peninsula. That's the track fixture, right? You may not have all three of those pointed in the same direction, which will help take away a soldiers-in-a-row feel. The fact that the two sets of three are also off-set from each other gives you nice repetition of pattern without rigid formal symmetry.

Try four over the sink area arranged evenly across that elevation. Your head may cast a shadow into the sink with the one centered over it, anyway, but it may also alleviate some of the confrontation you sense between three vs. three.

mnerg- Gah! Those are perfect! I'm going to force myself to keep my budgeting hat on and not change... but wow, well played. What color and shade choice are you doing?

My wife nixed the three lights earlier because of not wanting have shadows, but I'm not sure if 4 is overkill in the 11' (plus a few inches) space.

Would the non-extender arms version be better for non-shadow casting? It's not a huge difference (4" shorter) so 9" long + 8" beam means end of fixture is at 17" (not 21"). The short one couldn't really go over the cabinet though as it would only barely clear it. So the center of light for the short would be 14" from the wall, versus 18" from the wall for the longer version.

Side by Side
(Short in Bronze)
(Extended in Rust)

I admit to being a little lost reading through all the comments, but in your first post, the thing that bothered me about your choices is that they were all so close in style, size, and hanging length, yet different. This sounds rougher than I mean, because it's an extreme example, but like you'd found them on sale, and there were only a few of each kind.

Like Bmore, I'm concerned that even though there were a lot, maybe not enough actual light. (Solid shades don't allow the outward glow, either)

You have cut down on those style concerns quite a bit, I think, but I still get a visual fight between the ones over the bar and the ones over the sink. I agree with Palimpsest that having 4 over the sink run would help because of the different rhythm. (I also think that if you stay with that fixture, you could add one back by the fridge.) I would like to see the ones over the bar have a different scale or length to separate them from the little guys over the sink run...without getting too big or long and then having a fight with the bigger pendant in the center. I wish I had something in mind to suggest...

I was also against recessed lighting in our American Foursquare house...I wanted to keep more in line with the integrity of the era when the style was built...But DH persevered, thinking we needed the clean look but additional lighting the recessed provided, so I compromised and added them in crucial spots around the kitchen. I'm SO glad I did. They let the light fixtures I love stand out, but give me focused lighting when/where we need it without adding more 'noise' to the upper/airy part of the room.

brickton, we're going with ORB light fixtures and cabinet hardware--a rather tame choice, but it works very well with the warm stain of the maple cabinets. The room was calling out for some curves, so the shades of the Turner sconces will be a wide bell--B7460 8" Satin. I'll try to link a picture of that configuration below. I'm thinking of using a compact fluorescent to give more light than the max 60W incandescent, too.)

(If you're curious, the other fixtures in the kitchen are also from Rejuvenation: 3 schoolhouse ceiling fixtures (Jefferson with B5344 14" Opal shades) down the center of the room, and 2 swing arm sconces (Bend with B4254 6" Opal shades) on either side of a window over our breakfast nook banquette.)

Now, back to yours. I don't know about the difference in shadows, but if all else is about equal I'd have to say that the extended arm version has more grace than the shorter one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Turner in ORB

The link above give the Turner, but not with the finish and shade I intended. Must learn how to post pictures... must learn how to post pictures...

The contention between the peninsula and the sink wall lights is unlikely to bug us because the track lights are pretty small (much smaller than in the rendering). And again, I'm wiring it in such a way that we can switch to two pendants later, if we want.

Our pendant option is also PB (I know.. I don't know why we're so stuck in this one room on this one brand), but we're concerned these bad boys + the calhoun in the center would be too many hanging lights. But the rustic glass sconce also looks pretty darn nice hanging from a beam.

The four lights on the sink wall is overwhelming to us. And I'm not sure about adding back in the light above the microwave/pantry section. Even though it's at the same height as the others and same mounting (ie on a beam) it might look like the shunned sconce. The outcast. Kind of similar to having the odd-ball sconce over the prep window.

The shunned sconce.. LOL

You are right that what we notice in renderings isn't like what we see IRL. So if the 4 lights make it overwhelming for you both, I bow to that. I just thought it would work so nicely, as in Caoh's wonderful room.

I love those latest pendants...but also understand about the possibility of fighting with the center fixture.

There. It's official. I've been no help at all...But I'm excited to see how this kitchen turns out. It's going to have so much character, which I love.

Update! (insert beepbeepbeepboopboop telegraph effect) Because updates are fun and I actually made progress this weekend.

We have the beams in and the lights are set. I'm psyched about the 3 lights on the beam on the sink wall. The track lights on the beam over the peninsula seem a bit more intense than I wanted, but having an actual kitchen might help calm them down a bit. And we haven't done the final light because the likely hood of breaking a glass fixture in this process is way too high.

Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone who weighed in on this and show some fun in progress pics.

Sink wall lit up

Looking in from the dining room

Looking out towards the dining room and living room

Close-up of over the fridge / pantry beam