If you have access to a sandblaster, you can frost glass easily. I've done it many times, including all the windows of my garage, back when I lived in a stick house.
Fluorescent lamps are available in cool white (bluish), warm white (yellowish, but not as yellowish as incandescents), and probably several varieties of each. I like to use, for example, one of each in a two-tube fixture.
LEDs, too, are available in several color-balance variations; but they are point sources, which I think is what you meant by "harsh".
Over my galley sink is a fluorescent fixture installed, I think, by Damon when they built the Diesel Pusher. It's the best light in the place. In fact, it's the only light in the DP that's worth a flip.
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-- Carl
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