Jessie -- I have 2 small pendant lights over my sink, and my husband hates them. I love them, but he says they glare. I do not have pendants over the island -- we have recessed lighting in the rest of the kitchen.

Hey, I'm with you all the way. I'll have to be creative this time around as I have to go fluorescent due to code in my area, but in my last remodel I picked up regular old OLD fixtures at an antique shop (I'd call it a junk shop, but close enough).

Check out the pictures at Rejuvenation.com . They sell mostly "regular old lights" and have pictures from customers. It's mostly period stuff, but so many kitchen elements really are period elements that it only takes a little squinting to picture them in modern kitchens.

And there are a few chandeliers in the FKB. Not quite regular old lights, but at least they aren't cans!

I did have a dangly fixture over an open piece of counter in front of a window in my last kitchen. I'd not call it a pendant, but maybe it was. Anyway, it did have a naked bulb end and it did bother me. I replaced the bulb with one of those little spotlight bulbs that only emit light off the flat end and that helped with the blinding issue.

I think enclosed shades are better in spaces where your eyes might wander, but everyone feels differently.

I can't believe how much better I can see in my kitchen since we installed the recessed lights! It's night and day (pun intended). Not only that, everything looks more dimensional, sparkles more, the granite has come alive. It took one day to get used to it...I don't know why. I guess just something different than what I've been used to for the last 48 years :) It's been 3 weeks and I'm still amazed at what I see that I didn't used to see :o
As you can tell, I won't be much help when it comes to a ceiling mount fixture, but, as for pendants, we just put two over the new peninsula. I don't like nekkid light bulbs and was worried about DH's peninsula lighting decision. At first I put a regular soft white bulb in there. Yuck. Then went to WM and purchased some small, CLEAR ceiling fan lights. Made ALL the difference in the world. Not bothersome in the least. They're 60w each and are on dimmers. EVERYTHING is on dimmers and we love it.
Monica

Here is a link that might be useful: Clear Ceiling Fan Bulbs

All pendants don't have to have bare bulbs...I don't like them either.

Here is our last kitchen...With center fixture and pendants only over the bar. The halogen bulbs were covered with a screen type of thing.

Here is our next kitchen...With enclosed pendants. We put in a few recessed cans, too, but only because DH was sure I'd regret it if we didn't. We'll see. Right now it seems plenty bright with just the 'regular' lights on. He also chose the pendant style of the schoolhouse fixtures...I was going to get the semi-flush ones. But either are great.

I have "regular old kitchen lights" in my brand new kitchen. Over the sink is a double-60-watt bulb fixture. Over the island in the center of the kitchen is a 4' long fluorescent fixture with 4 bulbs in it of the new variety. I also have fluorescent under-cabinet fixtures - 4 of them. Over the dining table I have a chandelier. My OTR MW also has lights of the incandescent variety, though I don't say it's the best lighting I've ever seen.

Code in my area requires so much fluorescent. I didn't want to get into much electrical cost so the only additions were the dining chandelier and the undercabinet lights. But I love the choices in my lights now - we WERE at one 40 watt over-the-sink fixture, one 6-bulb fluorescent tube fixture, and a wimpy one inside the range. That was it.

DonnaR/CA

Here is a link that might be useful: Donna's Kitchen Project

thanks, everyone. all of your input helps! the bare bulbs apparently do bother some people, so they will probably bother me. i will certainly consider the clear bulb and spotlight bulb options if i fall in love with an exposed bulb light.

fori and rhome, i will probably look more closely at the enclosed shade lights. rhome, i really like your enclosed pendants and i'm looking forward to seeing your whole kitchen. and fori, thanks so much for the rejuvenation link...great to see all the possibilities!

donna, your kitchen looks great. thanks for the photos.

anyone else have input and some pics of lights for me?

i will be replacing my regular old kitchen fixture with another in the remodel; that's all my small galley really needs. here is my thread with some contenders. i've limited my search to fixtures that take 3 100 watt bulbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: lights

hey, glad...thanks for the link to your thread, sorry i missed it before now. i think both of your choices are really nice and i bookmarked it so i can remember to check out those companies. have you made your decision yet?

I have a mixture of light in my kitchen. I tried to get DH to do recessed lighting in kitchen remodel, but that was a bit too much for him (he had a hard enough time getting my under cabinet lighting the way I wanted it!) so I picked out this light for the dining room first:
{{!gwi}}

Then picked the laundry room light at the opposite end of the kitchen from the dining room:
{{!gwi}}

Then I decided I wanted something really bright in my kitchen. I'm a light person and love lots of it. So I opted for a large 4 ft fluorescent light. The plastic "globe" does somewhat match the lights on my other fixtures. I also had him replace my over sink light (which was a small fluorescent) with a pendant, which I LOVE. The bare light doesn't bother me in the pendant. I'm not sure what kind of bulb it is, but it's a very soft light.

Sorry, don't have pictures of the pendant or large kitchen light. Just don't have them uploaded yet.

Christy

thanks christy...i really like these choices. the glass is pretty and they go together well. can you tell me where you got them? when you get the other lites uploaded, i'd love to see them too!

Rhome, I didn't even think those fixtures in your second picture were considered pendants--those are what I'd call "regular old lights", though they are certainly not regular. If those are pendants, then I'm a pendant fan. I guess they do dangle.

And even the nakedest of naked bulbs won't bother you if they are at the right height. My old fixture that blinded me didn't bother my taller spouse. If I didn't have to deal with the spouse banging his head, I would have just lowered it.

Christy, do let us see your big fluorescent fixture--I have an 80s box tube light and it's great for lighting and I'm tempted to get a less-homely version of the same thing. So I'd love to see what you found to go with those other nice fixtures.

hi, jessie- assuming i don't find something else - ;) - i'll probably go with the murray feiss; rhome made a good point in my thread about the dolan maybe not being wide enough; that's the kind of thing that can be obvious if you see in-person, but less-so when you're buying via internet pictures alone.

Well, it may have to do with the type of bulb (regular, 100W) and the height off the counter, but I found my pendants to be irritating. So this time I hung them lower, and have a different shaped (larger and more bell like) glass part, and I like them better. They are really great work lights (more important with my old eyes), and both the previous and this kitchen are on dimmers for less intrusion. And I only notice the glare when I'm sitting, which isn't all that often (too bad for others, I guess, although most are taller than I). DH wasn't bothered at all by the old pendants.

jessie - also check out kichler. they have some similar to the murray feiss, but in some more sizes. i wanted one of theirs, because it had more bulbs/wattage, but i am constrained by diameter -- if i go too wide, my cabinet doors could hit the light when opened...

My kitchen has "regular" ceiling lights (boob lights) as I'm not fond of recessed lights. I don't think a single fixture in the center of the room would cut it for me - I had that in the past and hated always throwing my shadow onto the countertop. I now have 5 strategically placed boob lights and the fixture on the ceiling fan. I use flourescent bulbs in them. The lighting is more than adequate and will be even better once we finally get the undercab lights installed. The older my eyes get the more I appreciate good lighting. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: My Eventually Almost Mostly Finished Budget Craftsman Kitchen

Fori, I ordered them pretty short (19"), but you can order them at any length...The default on Rejuvenation's site is 36". The one closest to the camera in the photo (so all you can see is the shade) is actually on a chain and hangs a bit lower to be over the table. DH has it tied up right now so he doesn't 'kill it' while he moves building materials around.

Jessie, here are some other 'regular' lights in our house, although not in our kitchen. I found most of them on Lightingdirect.com. The last ones are in the kids' rooms and I've ordered whiter glass to replace the yucky brownish shades.

robin, i remember your kitchen well...love it...but never really noticed the lights since this wasn't the issue with me before. your boob lights look good! thanks.

glad, although i like both the lights, you are probably making the right choice due to size. and i'll check out kichler.

rhome, thanks for more pics. this thread is really helping me. so many nice choices!!! and i'll be checking out lighting direct too.

Fori (and others, re: code): Rejuvenation offers all of its lovely lights with a cf plug in fixture. The other option (suggested to me by an electrician who works in my town) is to get the cheapest cf-only fixture you can buy, and install it for the inspection. Then put in whatever you want after that.

Luckily, the laws were recently changed in my town b/c we have so much historical housing. So we no longer have to install cf-only lighting (tho we use cf bulbs in out incandescent fixtures).

Francy

I thought I was the only one without cans and pendants. My kitchen is long and narrow with a full wall of windows. I replaced the existing fixtures but didnÂt put in any recessed lighting. I didn't want to pay for the electrical work and I could see just fine before + the new fixtures have more wattage. I have chandelier over my island and a matching semi-flush by the sink. I can't imagine ever needing more light than what I have! We also use compact florescent bulbs in all our traditional fixtures-my husband insists.

Hi, I also love pendants but was concerned about the glare and the annoyance of having them hang too low. I did not feel confident in my ability to figure out just the right length for an open shade (where the glare wouldn't bother me) so I settled on a very short, slim pendant fixture (from rejuvenation hardware), and an enclosed schoolhouse shade (from schoolhouse electric). They being installed within the next week or so and I'll post pictures if it all works out.

http://www.schoolhouseelectric.com/shades-detail.asp?ShadeID=185

Here is a link that might be useful: Brightwood

We did put in recessed lighting and I love it. I also love the pendant over the sink. Ours is from Rejuventation also, its the SPENCER and I ordered it 24", I also used a CF bulb.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Spencer light

fightingoverfinishes, i'm jealous of your full wall of windows!

auntomichael, i LOVE that pendant with the shade you chose. please do remember to post some pics when they are in!! i think those could be an option for over my counter breakfast bar area. my kitchen will still have a regular old light, but i would love to have lights like these too.

randi, we must have been posting at the same time cause i didn't see yours. your pendant does look great. and i love the blue paint.

can i ask, if the light doesn't bother you when you are at the sink, where the light hangs in relation to your eye level?

Jessie/Flori - thanks! Those lights came from Home Depot I believe and the larger fluorescent came from Lowe's? Can't remember.... I can't find it on either website. Both lights pictured above are from the same family of lights. I also got the flush mount to go in my hallway. My pendant is from Lowe's and it's one of those you can make the length you want and the globe you buy seperately. I bought something cheap for now, but I'm keeping my eye out for something else. The only thing, is that it matches the dining room globes perfectly. DH did installed it at just the right length. I looked again last night and it has a clear bulb in it, but maybe only a 40w. My problem was finding a ceiling fan to go with the dining room light since I have a dining room/living room combo, in a Hunter brand (personal preference, I love Hunter fans) with a finish and globe close to the other lights. I did finally find one that was pretty close, but the style wasn't exactly what I wanted. What I hate is you find the perfect fan and they stop making it. We have a the perfect fan in our bonus room downstairs, but I bought it probably two years ago and couldn't find it anywhere!

I wanted nice lighting, but wasn't willing to spend a fortune for them, my house just doesn't "ask" for it. I think my ceiling fan cost more than my chandelier - but our ceiling fan runs almost 24 hours a day, everyday - so it had to be of good quality. Oh yea, the fluorescent has only two stainless "screws" that can be seen from the outside, which I really wanted something dark to go with the dining room lighting, but stainless works with my appliances and sink/faucet. I don't think anyone really notices it anyways since my ceiling is white and it's basically plain & white.

My only complaint. Since my large kitchen light is fluorescent and the others are just regular bulbs, you can see a difference in coloring if they are all on at one time (which rarely happens). But I do like all the light I have in my small kitchen.

I promise, as soon as I get pictures, I'll upload (ceiling fan included)

Christy

aunttomichael, are you still here? i will post a call for you on the main board too and will check both places. just wondering if you installed your skinny pendants yet and if i can see them....

also....christy, did you get pics yet?

After changing my mind a few dozen times about lighting we went with a regular hanging fixture for over the sink. I originally wanted pendants but couldn't decide on a style. We also had 4 recessed cans installed that now light up some previously shadowy areas of the kitchen. We also have a sort of modern ceiling fan that I love but don't have a picture of.

Just checking in with aunttomichael to see if you liked your pendant light once installed? We're also looking for something that size w/ the enclosed shade. Would love to see a picture if you got it up.