Kitchen Update- Lighting on a Budget

So, we got nothing done over the weekend on the kitchen due to nice gardening weather.  However, I did take Terry to see the light fixtures I was considering at the lighting store.  Like his usual self, he was very nit-picky about the fixtures, but said, it was up to me to make the decision.  Bleh.

Anything is going to better than what we have now, so as long as we keep to our budget and don't buy anything totally unfit style wise, I'll be happy.

I'm definitely going to go with a couple of simple (meaning budget conscious) mini-pendant lights in front of the windows to replace the ugly old fluorescent light.  I would love to buy some lights from Rejuvenation, but we have to sacrifice somewhere.  We're also keeping our vintage ceiling fixure in the middle of the room to save some money.

For under cabinet lighting, I'm considering a couple MaxLite Self Driven LED Lightbar sections.  Since the LED display at the lighting store was less than ideal, I have no idea if the lightbars will provide the light we'll need, but we've lived without under cabinet lights thus far, so something will be better than nothing.  We like that the LEDs don't get hot like Halogen and even Xenon.  They'll a bit expensive, but use little energy.  So, they'll be a good light to use when we want to leave a light on in the evening.

When considering the cost of lighting, I had to take note that the electrician's labor adds a lot to the cost.    

Electrical is one thing we're happy to pay someone else to do.  Today, the electricians are here to do rough in.  It's so nice to hear the sound of progress.