Can't help you with the lighting... but I really love that mosaic!!! WOW

p.s. we cannot install recessed lighting in our apartment as about an inch above the sheetrock ceiling is the concrete floor of our upstairs neighbors!

Otherwise, that would be our first choice - quiet, bright, recessed lights. Alas.

Paint the ceiling canopy with a stainless look spray paint. HD or Lowes have quite a selection. you can spray paint it w/o taking the fixture down, i did, but make sure you cover everything anywhere spray might get. it would be better to remove it. Either way rough up the finish with sandpaper, emery cloth, steel wool etc and give it 2 or three light coats. If you haven't spray painted b4 practice till you get nice even coat and no drips. Voila!

uroboros5, thank you! I debated the tile for a long time and got my heart set on a "mother of pearl" look. This is a natural shell tile and I love it so far - cleans up and really glows, even when the lights are off (we do not have any windows in our kitchen, due to it being on an inside wall (i.e. in our apt. building, there is a hallway behind the kitchen, and another apt. across the hall) so I wanted shiny, sparkly stuff so the kitchen wouldn't seem so dark. :-)

ladyshadowwalker, thanks for the suggestion, but there is no way we can do that - trust me, we will end up ruining the entire kitchen and getting paint everywhere - I am so far from crafty or do it yourself, the lights all flicker and computers freeze up in home depot when my foot steps across the threshhold.

Also, the chandelier itself would look strange with a different metal - the chrome actually looks good with all that crystal - I think a duller metal would be jarring... I just wish the original photo online (I bought this online without seeing it in store) would have shown the ceiling canopy.

This was bright shiny brass, I painted it a couple of years ago.

I was posting the pic b4 I saw your reply... ooops ok then but i so love the lights you wanted for your kitchen. you could always have them sprayed chrome ( just kidding!)

If the flush mount fixtures are available in chrome, I would get those and make all your lighting match. If you think about it, before stainless appliances became the "in" thing in the home, did your light fixtures match your white/black/harvest yellow/olive green/bronze (pick one) appliances? Did they match your cabinet pulls/faucets? I think lighting stands on it's own and is not expected to match faucets, appliances, etc. IMO, the lights should match each other, the appliances should all match each other, the cabinet pulls and faucets should coordinate (not necessarily match) with the surrounding cabinetry and fixtures (i.e. antique brass in a Victorian design with your color scheme & style kitchen would be a no go). There is actually a nice thread on mixing finishes in the bathroom forum right now. I've attached the link & there is a great photo where they've mixed finishes & in the commentary they list out each one & why they work together. Hope this helps! Beautiful tile, by the way & I love that chandelier!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mixing Finishes-GW Bathroom Thread

ladyshadowwalker - your light came out great! It looks like a factory finish. The Possini light I like does come in either chrome (which would match the chandelier ceiling canopy) or brushed nickel (which would look pretty close to the brushed stainless handles and appliances.) I also wonder if I would better off just trying to find a light with almost no metal at all - I will post some in another posting.

mydreamhome, I hear what you are saying - thanks for the link to the bathroom forum discussion and for the compliment on the tile and chandelier. I liked Mongoct's bath photo - I can see how the ORB he used up top also reflects the floor color. I am a bit sensitive to different finishes, though, and the brushed nickel pulls with the polished nickel faucet would bother me (it doesn't look bad at all in that bathroom, I just would personally not get used to it so quickly.)

But I definitely think that especially as most people will not be thinking about this when they see the kitchen, they'll be just taking it in as a whole, that I am probably the only person who gives a darn. :-)

Going to post some options in a minute!

I think you could use the fixtures with the brushed finish to match the hardware and leave it at that.

The chandelier is so completely different than what else is going on in the kitchen that it could be a stand alone piece. It's not contemporary, so it doesn't "Match" the room anyway, so the finish on the canopy doesn't need to match either. I think you will be fine going in that direction.

Ok: here are some options - please weigh in!

Round or square shape?

a little more metal (usually, I like that as it looks richer and more finished, but perhaps given the "mixed metals" issue, I am better off with a mostly glass fixture?

In no particular order:

the possini in chrome:

the meltemi lido:

access lithium square:

access lithium round:

access luna:

meltemi jesolo:

meltemi quadra:

PLC century flush:

nemo italianaluce:
{{!gwi}}

restoration hardware avia flush:

I'd do the rest of the lighting with chrome accents, but try to find pieces that have minimal metal showing. I agree with mydreamhome that lighting is its own animal.
The shiny surface near the light source will help add more bling and will increase the effects of the lighting, which you want.

In order:
1. nemo italianaluce

2. access lithium square

3. the meltemi lido

I can't see the meltemi jesolo or meltemi quadra. They come up as broken pix.

Of these Jesolo or Nemo Italianaluce in addition to your original choice in chrome; generally I think round will work better than square in your situation.

The Lido is very minimal but to me too close to the $20 Transglobe, Seagull functional fixtures that are put in closets and basement stairwells in appearance. I like it...but it reminds me of something very basic.

I love the tiled walls in your kitchen. The Chandelier is beautiful and adds sparkle. The tile and the cabinets read contemporary yet the chandy is very traditional. I love the look. and maybe a more traditional flush mount light would look nice on your ceiling. Shades of Light has an Italian Piastra Waterfall Glass flushmount ceiling light which may look nice. Good Luck your kitchen looks great.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I vote the Possini, any of the Access options or Nemo. The PLC Century Flush is pretty cool looking, but that style seems to crop up as bathroom fans a little too often for me to feel comfortable using it in the kitchen. The other options save for the Restoration Hardware choice look too plain and industrial IMO to put with the chandelier & your cabinetry. Hope this helps!

Thank you for all the suggestions. I agree the Lido looks too basic, it also reminded me of a home depot type cheapie fixture, but thought it was worth seeing what others thought as maybe having zero metal showing would be everyone's favorite.

I'm still undecided on the exact fixture but have definitely narrowed down the choices.

Need to see some of these in person later this week, as sometimes a fixture looks dramatically different lit up "in the flesh" than it does online. I like when the whole glass "glows" versus seeing the spots of light where the individual bulbs are behind the glass, so that is a consideration for me, too.

Will update when we get the final choice made and installed. :-)

I think the italianoluce would look very nice; it has a soft, sophisticated look, and it would give you good light but fade into the background and let your pretty chandy be the star.