My vent hood has 4 @20w built-in halogen bulbs and it's the best thing ever. Between it and the sink lights and the under-cabinet lights (xenon Seagull Ambiance) it's all I need to cook. The 7 @5" can lights are only switched on to turn night into day. Above the sinks are paired 4" cans a foot out from the walls. My ceilings are 9'9". There are also a pair of 2-bulb sconces for mood lighting. I added 5" cans on separate circuits at the back door and the laundry room/basement door, which otherwise would be black holes. Everything is on dimmers.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, even if the expense rivaled the plumbing bill.

Casey

So no potlight in front of hood?

I don't put recessed/canned ceiling lights in front of the frig or stove top. Everything else needs the counter work space lit up.

Well I'm putting lights under the upper cabinets so that will light the work space

I use task lights under the cabinets "and" recessed ceiling lights. A lot of people cook with the ceiling light on and use a dimmer on the under cab lights for a night light effect. Also the recessed ceiling lights create a shadow, not illuminating under the cabs totally.

benjesbride, that's interesting thanks. to be honest i've never had recessed lights but i can't remember the last time i saw a new or renovated kitchen that didn't have them so i assume it was a given and everyone loved them. in theory with the island in the middle of the kitchen, if we have two big pendant lights with frosted glass that would let light out in all directions. do you have an example of what you would recommend as a semi flush over the sink?

My experience (and opinion) is the same as benjesbride's. I do not like recessed lighting in any room, but especially as task lighting in the kitchen.

sj, even if you have under cabinet lighting and the recessed lights are just additional lighting?

I just don't think they throw off very good light - I guess they're fine as "extra" lighting, but in the kitchen I prefer really good task lighting and in other rooms I prefer lamps!

For me, recessed lights don't offer good general illumination. I like general illumination with ceiling mounted lights. They cast light down and can throw light up off of the ceiling. Recessed lights can't give that reflected light. Also, check how many lumens each recessed light offers. Often you need a lot of recessed can lights to reach recommended illumination levels. Recessed lights can offer good supplemental down light over the counter, just watch the can placement so you don't add shadows or just highlight the wall cabinet fronts. Under-cabinet lights are also good supplemental task lighting; they help to remove any shadows at the countertop. I would add a hood with great lights. Addictional lights that can be useful, up-lights mounted above cabinets to bounce light off of the ceiling. Many folks effectively use sconces, and wall or cabinet mounted spot lights to add more layers of light. IKEA has automatic in-drawer lights so you can sneak the ice cream scoop out of the drawer without turning in any big lights!

I love the comparison of recessed lights to swiss cheese - I have to agree every time I look into a kitchen that is new and has 10 can lights in it! We did a combination - I have 2 schoolhouse lights - one in the middle of the kitchen area and one in the middle of the nook area. These are the ones we use 90% of the time and they provide a nice soft light. 2 cans just on either side of the sink do provide great counter/task lighting. You shouldn't need anything else by the hood as the hood will probably block can light coming down anyway - the hood lights are AMAZING. Best thing ever. I have trouble cooking in most other kitchens now since I feel like I can't see anything without them! I do have a little UCL under the uppers that we use as prep space. I don't use these all of the time, but they are great when needed. It's a little funny in that we end up having 6 different switches for different lights, but we very rarely have them all on so it works for us. If you want one switch for all of your lights I guess cans are the way to go. I would do pendants over the island and you could do cans or flush lights over the sink - I have trouble matching too many things so I would probably do a few cans.

My how times have changed. I will be the lone dissenter here and say I love my can lights. No one has ever told me my ceiling looks like swiss cheese. Instead, my kitchen is light, bright, and cheery.

In my ~14x20 kitchen, I have 8 6" cans. I have multiple large windows on two walls (south and east) and few upper cabinets. On a dreary rainy day like today, or at night, my kitchen would be a dark dungeon without my can lights. Having SAD, I crave light, so I can't understand these people who say they can make do with sconces, a few pendants, and UCLs alone.

We have a combination of lighting (designed with GW help from many many years ago), and my can lights are on two different switches (one controls the lights around the L, the other for the walkway in front of the refrigerator/freezer/pantry area). I have dimmable UCLs, two pendants over the island, and two LED lights in my hood. I too have 8' ceilings, and I have a recessed light over the sink - a pendant would block the window, and feel too low over our heads. The pendants and the light over the sink are also on separate switches.

For your plan, I would add a recessed light centered over the sink, delete the one over the hood (as long as your hood has lighting), and add one centered in front of the fridge cabinet. I think your plan is a good start.