In article ,
"John" writes:
I have a long and narrow kitchen which is currently lit with a 5 ft
fluorescent tube. I would like to change it but I don't want to fit
downlighters as it would mean taking up the bedroom floor which is chipboard
(the joists run across the kitchen ceiling)

I am wondering it I could suspend something that has spots fixed to it.
Another idea is 3 or 4 retro glass lampshades (wired to a central rose)

Any imaginative ideas?

One of the best schemes which is often discussed here is to
put fluorescent lighting out of sight on top of the wall
cupboards and have it light the room by bouncing off the
ceiling (brilliant white matt emulsion). You might even be
able to move your existing light there. You can add under-
cupboard lighting too to make task lighting.

The centre of the ceiling is generally not a good place for
lighting a kitchen (except for a long fluorescent which you
want to remove) as you'll be working in your own shadow
much of the time. You could leaving something rather more
decorative than functional there. Personally, I tend to get
rid of the lighting point in the middle of the ceiling (or
in one case, used it just for an emergency light).

Spotlights are for supplemental accent lighting, and make
very poor and inefficient general lighting.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]