above island

above kitchen table

above kitchen sink

Hi Elle, I agree. My primary goal was to raise the cabinets but since our cabinets are so big that wasn't an option, neither was replacing the cabinets or adding smaller units above or below. We thought the tray ceiling was a great alternative to a soffit. This allows the area above the cabinets to come down to average 8' height to meet the cabinets, while keeping the remaining ceiling at it's beautiful 9'.

Paige - I love that these are in the same family but different enough to make the space interesting. Would you use this finish with the stainless appliances?

Oops I forgot about that, they make them in stainless too, something like these could work

island

sink

table

Some other options..

i would go recessed everywhere except the dining nook. its going to be full in there with the try and look smaller so less is more. make the nook piece a wow factor save the money for that. with the 9 foot ceilings keeping it open will be less distracting.

Dinette

Sink
Island
What do you think of these by Hinkley Lighting? All are in polished antique nickel -similar to pewter or stainless steel. Hinkley also has nice detail that does not always show in the photos. The sink pendant can be adjusted by 6" and 12" increments and the island and dinette can also be adjusted by cutting the wire and chain. The clear glass on the island and dinette fixtures will keep them from overwhelming the space.

Paige - the last image (the vintage island pendant) is actually in my lookbook.

downbytheriver - that's exactly the plan. I'm just not 100% sure we need the dinette space. I'm not sold on putting a table there, I think it'll close up the space and create a cumbersome look and feel.

So for now take that one down and just cover it until you decide

just for the record, a tray ceiling recesses above the actual ceiling height. lowering the ceiling to meet the cabinets is the definition of a soffit -- they are sometimes made to run ducts or wires/pipes too, but often just to not leave the top of the cabinets open.

i agree about the table since the door opens in right there. perhaps you could make it a semi flush treated more like an entry light for that area...

acm - although my OP speaks of a soffit whatever this is, is pretty near exactly what we're doing.

I wouldn't necessarily blank it up unless you will be adding recessed cans. You are always better off having more light than not enough and you easily have enough space for a semi flush. Here are three options - the first has an adjustable rod and seeded glass; the second is clear glass with a mason jar look; the third is a more industrial wire mesh frame. All three take 100 watt max bulbs.

We are adding about 8-10 canned lights. All three of these lights are ones that I'd want to see in my space. Can you send a link to the last one please?

I've selected my lighting

island

sink

We love the LED Edison bulbs and think these will look great with the surrounding elements.

They'll arrive Saturday so hopefully I'll have updated pics early next week.

Thank you all for assisting me through this!

My cabinet pulls are in & they're beautiful! They look & feel substantial but the price was 1/5 of what Lowe's sells them for and they arrived in less than a week. My first Houzz purchase is perfect! I LOVE THIS APP! #HappyHouzzing

welp let me warn you clear glass will get so filmy especially in a kitchen

the led Edison are brighter than regular edison, but by design not meant to be bright.

if you dont have a table there will it look odd, which one was for that space?

dbtr- Great points. We took that into consideration when selecting the cage style bulb covers; that unit will go over the island. The clear glass piece will go over the sink. We opted to blank the dinette area. We noticed the Edison bulbs were low light as well. My hope is that having five in the unit, plus the 10 can lights, will counter that.

How big is the island? and how big is that light fixture?

I vote for one in the middle of the tray. And I would encourage you to do something with character! Several of the lights suggested are great, but can be found in many, many rooms. Branch out! Make a statement of your style!