I like a lot of light in my house - especially in the kitchen. It's really hard to work when I feel like I'm casting a shadow over whatever it is that I'm working on. Unfortunately it's been feeling a bit dark in my kitchen recently. The lights over the stove are part of the microwave we installed when we first built and moved into the house - and that's been almost 14 years. That microwave has been having some issues, one of those being that the light will randomly go off when I close the door. So I'm always having to turn the light back on so I can see what I'm doing, and the bulbs seem to burn out faster, really leaving me in the dark until I can get my husband to replace them. (The microwave is probably going to need replaced soon, too - or we'll need a range-hood of some kind to replace it)
And the fluorescent light on the ceiling doesn't seem as bright as it used to be... Thankfully I can still get some decent light from the pendant light fixtures over the sink and in the dining room. I cannot imagine being able to work without the light over my sink! I don't necessarily have to use it when I've got sunshine pouring into the window, but the rest of the time it's on. It looks pretty, too - and matches the one in the dining room.
Even after all these years, I still like them. Choosing was hard, but I think we did a good job! There are so many different styles of lighting fixtures that we could have chosen just about anything, which is why it was so hard. That, and the knowledge we would be living with the fixtures we chose for a long time! I think the key is to look at a lot of them and pay attention to the ones you are drawn to over and over again. Narrow it down to the top three (or four) and then choose from those. Most of all - do not forget to check to see how much light they put out, because no matter how great they look, if it's still dark in your house, you need some new lighting fixtures!
