placement of recessed lighting cans - help, please!
thndersnow
14 years ago
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needsometips08
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Opinions on recessed lighting placement please.
Comments (6)Since you have so much undercabinet lighting that can work as task lighting, some surface-mounted general lighting might be a viable option, though I think you'd need two such fixtures for such a long, narrow space. If you added six feet, then the room is 70% larger than it used to be; take that into consideration when remembering your old lighting scheme. Since I think you'd need two surface-mount fixtures, I'm doubtful they'd save you much in terms of wattage unless you went with fluorescent... which is, of course, an option. If you went with surface-mount fixtures, you might also want a couple of small recessed lights over the peninsula work area where there are no undercabinet lights. David is absolutely right that cans/downlights are much better at putting a lot of light on a small area than at spreading it around broadly. The light from a can spreads out in a cone shape, so the higher your ceilings are, the larger each pool of light can be. Your ceilings are relatively low, so to light this room solely with cans, I do think you'd need about eight 50-watt fixtures to get enough light and distribute it evenly through the space. I am very glare-sensitive, and I find surface-mounted fixtures bright enough to light up a kitchen (as opposed to a bedroom where light levels are typically much lower), mounted on low ceilings, uncomfortable. Cans can do a better job hiding the light source from view, and they can also prevent a lot of shadows that are inevitable with central surface fixtures. Their inefficiency does bother me, though. If this were my kitchen, I think I'd look into the better fluorescent cans that are becoming available in the wake of California's Title 24 legislation, and I would pair them with dimmable incandescent (probably xenon) undercabinet lights....See MoreTweaking placement of recessed LED lights - please help! [pics]
Comments (1)which dimmer are you using?...See MorePlease help with placement of recessed cans Kitchen...
Comments (6)You did not say what wattage the schoolhouse pendants would be. Also whether they are incandescent or fluorescent lights. Also, how high off the island to you plan to mount them? The schoolhouse pendants in general will give you a great quality of lighting. They will provide lots of ambient lighting, and you will get much more "bounce" from your white ceiling than your current light box. Ambient light is important to give an open feeling to a room. Your kitchen has dark floors and wall, so you do not get much reflected light from them. I am not a fan of recessed lights for general lighting because downlight is not good for people. It creates very unflattering long shadows on the face. Also, you get no uplight for the ceiling. Recessed lighting is great for task lighting. With your schoolhouse pendants, you can experiment with the height you mount the lights if you want more light on the island. If you have the room, you can mount a couple of adjustable recessed lights on either side of the island on the long dimension. Use PAR30 75W bulbs semi-spot, and angle them onto the island. The idea is to create cross lighting onto the island. I think you can get recessed fixtures that angle up to 30 degrees. This may not work because the hanging pendants will interfere with the light path from the angled recessed lights. One more piece of advice is to put the pendants and recessed lights on separate switches. You may find the pendants are enough light and only need to use them. Good Luck......See MoreHelp! Kitchen Lighting Placement/Plan/Recessed Lighting Advice
Comments (3)@Kimberly J, You're on the right track. While you've not given us a ceiling height nor details on materials/finishes (all affect lighting design) please consider the following: • Depending on actual pendant choices, your island could handle 3 smaller pendants & your peninsula could handle 1-2 pendants. These might all be complimentary to the pendant style you choose to hang over the table. • Lighting for sink wall & art wall could all be controlled together via dimmer. • Lights for island & for peninsula should be controlled separately, dimmers. Maybe locate the island's pendants dimmer on the island itself. • Before choosing actual recessed light size & final layout, think about the quantity & quality of the light it produces. The Lithonia Wafer LED comes 3", 4" or 6", and the Philips SlimSurface LED comes from 4" to 7". Each is available round or square, and in a few different color temperatures. I suggest using LEDs that are 2700k (a warmer white light like incandescent bulbs). I suggest the attached image for a possible layout. Less recessed lighting than the original. Please post pics when the project is completed....See Morewa8b
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