Hi, I'm hoping for some thoughts from more experienced decorators as I'm a bit stuck! Sorry it's a bit long...
We have FINALLY got round to starting to plan redecorating our open-plan kitchen/dining area, but one of the first things we need to sort out is replacing the lighting, and we're finding it a bit tricky to work out what would work in the space.
Currently the whole area is fitted with recessed spotlights, but they are a nightmare as they are 2 different sizes (the extension bit at the back has smaller ones than the rest), not put in very well and now a mix of halogen and different types of LED bulbs (we were gradually swapping them over as the halogens failed). They still keep failing though so we're constantly having to replace bulbs, deal with flickering bulbs and so on. The fittings are also starting to yellow and some are coming out of the ceiling, so we definitely need rid of them all!
The area is roughly a backwards L-shape: the kitchen is a fairly small galley kitchen opening off to the left from the first bit of the larger room, there's one step down and it has quite a low ceiling (approx 7ft). So we definitely can't have anything that hangs down much in there! The main room (which we usually use as a dining room in one half and general/vaguely sitting space in the other half) is in 2 parts - the first bit when you come in is roughly square, with a bit higher ceiling than the kitchen (about 8ft). So there's a few more options there. Then the second part at the back is an extension, so there is a sort of arch where the walls come in a bit and ceiling comes down briefly, then the extension has a pitched roof which starts off much higher where it joins the main house, then slopes down to end about 7.5ft at the windows. This is the bit with the smaller spotlights currently, and also has Velux windows, patio doors and normal windows, so is quite light. However the kitchen can be a bit gloomy as it only has one smaller window (and is North-ish facing), and the first part of the main room is also a bit darker, as the arch bit stops a lot of the light from outside/from the extension from reaching the inner bit.
The final complicating factor is that (partly due to the shape of the rooms, and the gloomier inside bit) we still haven't quite worked out how best to use the main room! The dining table is usually in the extension bit so we can see out to the garden, but we sometimes move it to the inner bit in Winter when it's cold and dark; but the other half usually ends up being a bit of a passageway (when the table's in the extension), or the extension ends up as a bit of a dead/wasted space if we move the table to the inner part! We have a couple of armchairs in the non-dining bit, but it still doesn't feel as though it has much of a purpose, nor very inviting... I think the way it was extended wasn't ideal, but it was already like that when we moved in and we can't change it at the moment.
So I am not sure whether we are best off just replacing all the spotlights with better/nicer ones (as at least we know that works reasonably well looks-wise), or whether we should try something different at least in the 2 parts of the main room, where there's a bit more headroom - and if so, what sort of thing would work, and whether it would need to be the same in both bits or make sense to have 2 different options (as long as it didn't end up too disjointed). I think in the kitchen it will either need to be recessed spotlights again or at most a very low-profile spotlight bar, otherwise it wouldn't work with the low ceiling... Overall I'm very confused though! Any thoughts very welcome. (I can try to do a diagram if it would help...) Thank you!