I have led track, and like it pretty well for its flexibility. But I prefer to pair it with other sources of light, such as sconces and undercabinet lighting. That gives even more flexibility. Sometimes you want it extra bright for cleaning, sometimes you want it layered and softer, for atmosphere.

I didn't know track lighting ever went out. Having worked in museums for a good deal of my adult life, I am very partial to it and love how contemporary it makes a room. I also like that different shaped fixtures provide different kinds of illumination. I used a short track in my kitchen to hang my pendants. There are three cans and two pendants and it's very good lighting for over my sink.

I like the newer small track lights better than cans. It's so much easier to direct the light exactly to where it's needed. That seems to me is harder to accomplish with cans, even if they are the articulated ones.

My only reservation about using track or rail lights in the kitchen: grease might/will eventually cover the spots, uggh..

Track lighting is a nuisance to dust. I'll never have it again - much prefer pot lights.

Will this be the only fixture, and is it located in the center of the aisle? If so, you may be standing in your own shadow working at the counters. If you also have under-cabinet lighting, or the fixture is over the counters, it would be OK.

Does anyone have a source for track lighting? I've been looking but it seems hard to find much. The big box stores don't seem to carry many options that are attractive to me.

what style are you looking for? No matter, just google track lighting kits, or track lighting systems and you'll find plenty of online suppliers

Don't do it! I've had track lighting in a kitchen at an apartment. It was awful! As DIY2much2do mentioned, it casts shadows on everything you are doing.

The overhead light is meant for general lighting, undercabinets for task, and pendants for accent. Layers of light are ideal if possible.

I prefer track lighting to recessed also. The ability to mix different types of light and change their angles during the winter is great. Some great track lighting manufacturers include:

• Tech lighting
• Juno
• Bruck Lighting
• WAC lighting

I don't find track lighting hard to clean at all. Actually, most people have never cleaned their recessed lights and those have more nook and crannies to get into,

Good luck!

Thanks for all your feedback. These would be the main source of lighting, however, like the idea of under the cabinets. Its for a small galley kitchen in a condo,satin nickel from costco.

I have a small galley kitchen with track lighting down the center. 5 lights, pointed at the sink, stove, pantry, prep area, and fridge/back door. These are PAR38 bulbs, and I got the ones with the widest beam angle that I could find. The kitchen is small and there is enough spillover light that the entire room is illuminated. I haven't had a problem with shadows, although maybe I would if the ceiling were lower or the kitchen weren't so narrow.

Details,

Is there a particular brand if track lighting that you are referring to? Most track lighting that I am familiar with come with a variety of bulbs. Here is a Par20 unit from tech lighting.

Good luck!

homepro01 - thanks for clarifying that for everyone. I had the image of an MR-16 (from my horrible apartment kitchen experience) stuck in my head when I was typing. The LED bulb from the Costco fixture I found said it had a 45 degree spread. It sounds like a lot of people have had luck with their track fixtures. From now on, I will request all info (fixture spec/ floor plan/ ceiling height, etc.) before advising. However, I do still think that under cabinet lighting would be beneficial to have as well.

Details,

The reason I wanted to know which units you were speaking of is because the world of track lighting is always changing. There are tons of LED options that use panels instead of bulbs, wall washers, ceiling washers etc!

Under cabinet lighting is always required, regardless of your overhead source of lighting. I think I would say, layered lighting is required in a kitchen. One source does not cover all the true scenarios for a working kitchen.

This is a collaborative forum, your feedback even if not the consensus of the thread is always welcome. This is how thread tangents happen:-) So, how horrible was this apartment kitchen:-)