warpmine, I've a couple of friends for whom fluorescent lighting is intolerable.
Luckily I don't have that problem. I buy shop fixtures for $9.00, build a frame out of 1x4s or 6s, turn the fixture upside down and let it reflect off the ceiling. For the back, which faces the floor the choice is to taste, there is no heat so it can be a beer poster, exotic wood, or slats. They cost nothing to run and make good general lighting. My lamps have incandescent bulbs.