Kinda like the looks of these - but do I want this spotlight type of light? Or would a glass fixture provide better, more uniform lighting in a kitchen? Never had track lighting before nor do I know anyone who's ever had it so I hope yall can offer some advice re what type to get.

You need to think about this in two parts: the amount of light and the distribution of the light. Light intensity is measured in lumens per square foot, aka footcandles. For the work surfaces in your kitchen, you want 70-80 lumens per square foot.

Source: https://www.alconlighting.com/blog/residential-led-lighting/how-do-i-determine-how-many-led-lumens-i-need-for-a-space/

But as you know, having one really bright central fixture may have the right overall lumen output you want, but it isn't going to do a good job delivering that light to where you need it. You need to think about the geometry of the space. How high are your ceilings? How far would the track be from the counters? Will light from a central track cast shadows on the counter from a person standing at the counter? I wish I knew of a good resource for this, other than hiring a lighting designer. For a recent lighting purchase, I had to dredge up my high school trigonometry to figure out if I wanted the 100 degree beam angle version of a fixture or the 60 degree one, and how high I should hang it above the counter.

Well I want to do lighting under the cabinets too because theres no way an overhead light could light the countertops that are under the cabinets. So then its just a matter of nice even light throughout the room which is about 9 x18- not quite a galley kitchen but close. Maybe the track light in my situation could be thought of as an alternative to doing can lights - ie just a way of spreading the light out more evenly throughout the room vs 1 central fixture. So what kind of track head is going to give me that kind of light? Is the above sample supposed to give more of a spot light effect vs. the ones that have glass. or maybe I want one of those LED low profile lighting panels - if I can find one thats long enough and narrow. I

You need a lighting designer. Tract lighting is the last resort for lighting. It’s obtrusive and unattractive. There are far better choices. It’s either a super expensive industrial looking approach to lighting a 25’ concrete loft without a lot of electrical, or it’s low end trailer tacky.

OK trailer tacky it is. Now, do you have an answer to the questions?

Do you have the vertical space for track lighting? It can hang low.

Our ceiling is low so we are considering LED puck lights in order to avoid recessed lighting.

Right now we have the IKEA Barometer light (five positionable lights on two arms, mounted to a single junction box). It is not a great solution due to glare when you are looking toward a bulb pointed towards you.

Why the fixation on track lighting? Recessed or surface mount lighting are much better choices. Track lighting was big around 1980. A lot has improved then.

Just because it seems like it would work well for a long and narrow kitchen (9 x 20) and because it actually looks pretty good in the kitchen in the downstairs apt. which I rent out

However that could be because the ceilings are 10 ft high down there, so light has room to spread out more evenly . Ceilings are only 8 ft tall up here on 2nd floor so now Im thinking no track light or anything that hangs down. Do you have any specific suggestions? This is a 100 yr old house and ceilinngs cant be cut up for recessed lights.

thx June, I like the looks of some of the LED surface mount lights - some have nice vintagey art deco look tht would look good in my vintagey kitchen.

It looks like they each would require its own electrical box though? Is there any way to string 3 or 4 lights together from one already existing box, or would we need to cut 1 box for each?

The 100 yr old plaster & lath ceiling is in remarkably good shape but am reluctant to start cutting it up cos that is asking for trouble. Can you think of any alternative to that? Maybe there isnt, in which case that would be good to know.

Some photos of the spaces that need illumination would be helpful. Track lighting solves problems inexpensively an with less destruction if the aesthetic works for you. In a previous home with 8' ceilings, I chose white tracks and minimal heads so they would somewhat disappear into the ceiling. I had four cans along a counter area, and a 6' track above an island with three LED heads w 36 degree beam. Two were pointed at the 6' island, one at the sink. If you can deal with the ceiling issues for the surface mount fixtures, a combination could work.

Sure, if I can get the construction clutter cleared away I can take photos. In the meantime, now Im thinking of just some simple surface mount rectangular LED panel 4-6 ft long, and call it a day - and then focus on good task lighting over counters and work spaces.

In wandering around the internet, I came across some of the ceiling LED's that seemed to be linkable but dont recall where I saw those - any ideas? Ideally would be nice to have high CRI, and adjustable color temperature. My kitchen is a workhorse and does kind of have an industrial chic vibe going..... so perhaps lighting sold for artists might be a place to look.