its Darker looking than usual since lightning is off in neighboring rooms and it’s night.

Definitely look into under cabinet lighting, with dimmer and diffuser. I love my tape LED when I’m working in the kitchen, but didn’t know and wasn’t informed of diffusers and when in the family room they are visible. Even if you can’t conceal them really well, you’ll be happy to have under cabinet lights.

EVERYONE needs under cabinet lighting, especially with dark countertops! Lots of choices out there. I prefer hardwired where one can turn on one light fixture at a time, as needed; others like them on a wall switch - all on or all off.

Definitely looks like you could use a few more lights in the ceiling, it doesn’t look like enough cans were added. Are you able to get an electrician in and add more ceiling lights? Since the backsplash is dark and the counters are dark, without enough ceiling lighting and with no under cabinet lighting, it looks darker than it might otherwise. For under cabinet lighting with diffusers (and without, just depends on which way you want to go) check out Inspired LED. Email a layout with measurements and they will send you back a plan with the costs. They were very easy to work with and super responsive with questions and the cost was reasonable.

I agree with iamtiramisu that you don't have enough recessed lights. The light over your island seems too dim as well and isn't conducive to task lighting on the island. But with that said definitely look into under cabinet lighting. I put in LED strips on one switch, but they can also be turned on/off individually from the fixture itself. They aren't super hidden, but they give off a good amount of light for working.

I love my under counter lights and I have lots of other light in my kitchen. I use my under counter lighting every day. It makes a huge difference.

you need way more recessed lighting on the ceiling. and yes to under cab lights as well.

The recessed lights are in the correct position along the perimeter of the counter top edge but you need double the qty. I agree that the island light, while attractive, doesn’t provide task lighting for the island. Are the bottoms of the upper cabinets recessed? Could you add LED strips without them being visible or are the cabinet bottoms flush with the doors? If the bottoms are flush you could router slimline LEDs into the cabinet floors so they aren’t visible when standing at the counter.

I do have space under the cabinets. A few mentioned I did not have enough recessed lights. Should I have gotten a larger size of them as well? These are four inches. I was thinking under cabinet lighting was going to be an easier fix and probably make the kitchen more appealing at the same time. Is the overhead lighting going to be insufficient either way?

Beautiful kitchen! Under cabinet lights are a must. How much effort/money you want to put into it is a different question. When we bought this house the first thing we noticed was the need for under cabinet lights. As we aren't in a position to rip into walls or do a renovation, we opted for the battery operated lights that we found at Home Depot - until we are ready for a full scale reno. They work well and provide enough light for us.

4” recessed is the correct size for an 8’ ceiling IMO. LED strip lights will be the way to go for the under cabinet lighting. I’d start there.

Undercabinet would help! Before you commit to undercounter determine how white you want the light (daylight etc) and I highly encourage you to have them on a dimmer as your counter is not a matte finish.

Yes. Yes, you do.