In places like kitchens, bathrooms, WCs, possibly hallways and landings where you just want unobtrusive efficient lighting that just gets on and does the job, something like this is ideal:
I know what you're saying about fluorescent strip lights, but they don't have to look like this:
For example the top right one here:
or these:
And these are all from one maker.
Fluourescent lights can be dimmed, BTW. If you find one you like which isn't dimmable, look to see how easy it would be to replace the ballast with a dimmable one (which you can often find on fleaBay).
In terms of basic technology, as well as fluorescent and LED, look into magnetic induction lamps, dielectric barrier discharge lighting (Osram have been sitting on their Planon technology for b****y years, which is a shame), and
Electron stimulated luminescence.
If you want LED, again go for larger sizes, e.g. the Thorn BaseLED.
Think if you could use cold cathode neons:
here's an example of that in a domestic kitchen showing that it isn't only suitable for nightclubs and hotel foyers:
(Ignore the fact that there are also torches in there
)