Is my recessed LED lights too close to my cabinets?

4 years ago

The cabinets shown do not have the crown molding installed yet.
The middle of the light is 19 inches from the wall - 7 inches from the cabinets and outside edge is 10 inches from cabinets do that would be 22 inches from wall to outer edge of the light.
They glare off the cabinets and make the cabinets look shiny in spots. I will be having dimmers. I've read they should be 25 inches out from wall. Does 25 inches mean to the middle of the fixture?
They weren't centered correctly do they have been taken down and holes patched. I need an answer before they reinstall. Appreciate your help!

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Comments (5)

PRO
Neptune Lighting Design
4 years ago
Yes too close for sure , I try to place the center of the light on the edge of the counter top . This way the light is illuminating straight down above the person working at the counter and the light

is not behind them , they will create a shadow on the work space if it is .

If you can't get the light right above , under cabinet lighting will help solve the shadowing problem .

Centering on the cabinets is nice too , but remember you have ceiling joists above and one might be on center of the cabinet , so you'll have to figure out a way to work around this.

I also use 4" recessed with a 65 watt or higher LED trim . I find that 4" is more of an updated look and my clients like them better . Actually the project I am on now , all the 6" are being changed to 4" throughout the residence .
Pam A
4 years ago
They might be close, my recessed 4" LED puck lights are 10-11" from the center of the light to the face of my cabinet (not including the crown). I don't get a hot spot but there is a "cone of warmth" that shines on the cabinets. If they have to patch the holes anyways ... I would move them back away from the wall.

25" out might be too far, if you work at the counter and lean in a little bit, you don't want your head to make a shadow over your workspace. My GC suggested having the lights centered so they lined up just inside the edge of the counter, and 22-23" from the wall worked well for me. But I imagine it could vary based on the angle of illumination on the light, too.
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homechef59
4 years ago
I put mine at 36" from the wall. But, I was planning for under cabinet lighting as well. Your lights are too close to the cabinets. You will lose about half the benefit as they wash into the cabinet. They need to be moved. But, this would mean removing the ceiling and rewiring. I doubt you want to get into that.
Kathy
Original Author
4 years ago
They have already patched for 5 out of 6 lights so I think m good with them redoing ithe last one.
They also have a light over the refrigerator - is that over kill. Originally they said they don't put one there but then put one there.
2ManyDiversions
4 years ago
Kathy, I stressed over the same thing earlier. DH and I even argued (in a friendly way of course) over this topic. If you do enough searching through the threads here (old and newer) you'll find it's actually a matter of preference. There are no true 'rules' as some might say.

Our lights are 5" cans (remodel lights) which I prefer to the 4". I like light. They are 8" on center (from the cabinet doors - not the frame - to the center of the light). Our cabinets are finished in a satin, and I do have a cone of warmth (nice phrase!), no harsh glare. But we used 2700 K lights.

I am so glad mine are located where they are - when I stand at the counter, my head/body does not throw a shadow onto the countertop (as it did in my old kitchen, where the cans where placed further back). While we still have the undercabinet lighting to install, I want all lights to be productive. In order to see where we should install them, we used a large piece of cardboard as a fake countertop, and one of us held a large light aimed down, from various distances.

Regarding the fridge, yes, we put one in front of ours, not as close, further out. Whether or not some use them does not concern me, I wanted one, and am so glad to have it. I use it and another we added in the middle as aisle lighting. People don't talk about that much, but again, I want what I want : )