With the various posters here sharing their kitchen remodeling
experiences, I wanted to find out the collective wisdom on a
particular aspect: has anyone got can lights in a 9ft (or higher)
ceiling and also hung their cooking pots off a rack in the center of
the kitchen?

Right now those pots are hanging off a rack over the stove, but we're
gonna install an exhaust fan there, so the pots need to move, and the
designer suggested the center of the room, replacing the current
4-light flourescent ceiling flush mount fixture with the pot rack and
running the can lights along the traffic areas (table in the center,
with rack over it).

I'm thinking of trying this as a means of using available space, but I
worry about the hanging pots blocking the light from the ceiling cans.
The kitchen is about 11.5' x 13', not real big, but we need good
lights for working and for communication. Suggestions and feedback
very welcome!

(we're also trying to figure out our most economical countertop
options, better than Formica, but cheaper than granite, and are
thinking of the quartz composites, like Caesarstone)

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:02:37 GMT, KLS suds.com> wrote:

Are "can lights" the same as track lighting?

Can you hang the pots so that you can reach them, and they don't get in the way
of your use of the table? (Being tall, I don't think I could do that even with
9-foot ceilings.)

IMO, placing lighting over the traffic areas rather than the work surfaces may
cause problems, as your head and body may block much of the light or give you
uneven lighting on your work surfaces.

"KLS" suds.com> wrote in message

I never understood the hanging pot thing. IMO, they belong in a cabinet or
closet.

I don't think can lighting is best for a kitchen. Your designer won't be
cooking there so does not care much either way.

Do you want to be sitting at the table, in partial darkness with pots
hanging above you? Do you hand your shoes over the bed? Toilet paper over
the bathroom sink? Maybe a new designer is in order.

In article <005Ci.1779$z_5.872@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com>,
"Edwin Pawlowski" snet.net> wrote:

I've got 30+ pans. I lacked the cabinet space to accommodate all of
them, being as they are a mix of brands and sizes. I made my own, floor
standing rack. It is s 1/2 feet tall, with two cantilever shelves with
hooks. This holds all my pans, with lower shelves holding the lids and
the stock pots sitting on the top cantilever shelf. This freed up
cabinet space that I now use for casserole dishes and mixing bowls.
What's more, when I wash a pan, I set it for a minute or two in the
drying rack to drip out, then move it to the rack still slightly wet to
finish drying and already put away. Tremendous convenience.

jt

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:29:23 -0400, "Edwin Pawlowski" snet.net>
wrote:

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:14:36 -0400, pltrgyst
spamlessxhost.org> wrote:

No, they're recessed lights (hence "can").

I think so because the table is narrow, 26 inches wide. We already
have the experience of reaching over the stove to get the pots, so
this wouldn't be a whole lot different.

"KLS" suds.com> wrote in message

The doors are the problem, not the size. My small kitchen in my last house
was smaller than yours, but was the most efficient kitchen and "biggest" for
actual work that I've ever had. Two doors, both at the same end. When the
house was built, there was a small table at one end by the window, but we
eliminated that to add more cabinets and counter space. I had 22' of counter
top.

"KLS" suds.com> wrote in message

Careful of that cabinet over the sink. If it is full height you may grow to
hate it as an obstruction. I have a light, but no cabinet there.

On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:59:26 GMT, KLS suds.com> wrote:

Ah. We considered those -- they do look neater. But their single overriding
disadvantage to us was that they are no aimable like track lighting.

Ah again. If the table is narrow, your rack will probably be narrow, so you may
not be able to position lights in the center of the rack. shining down on the
center line of the table.

I forgot to ask

On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:17:52 -0400, pltrgyst
spamlessxhost.org> wrote:

Then maybe we'd rather do track lighting. Interesting new thought.