RECESSED LIGHTS SUCK AND HERE'S WHY!

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Recessed lights can ruin all the hard work you've done so far and here’s why. They usually go horribly wrong.  Plain and simple.

We’ve all been in that friend’s house that's lit up like Coney Island.  The high hats are everywhere.  But the sparkle flecks of the countertop she agonized over for weeks, are lost in a sea of blinding light.  

Most people pick the wrong type of fixture, the wrong voltage (lumens), spread or trim kit for their needs.   The layout or lighting design plan doesn’t take into account those special features, furniture or details that you may want to highlight, not to mention the ceiling height!

And they’re too expensive, $350 is the going rate for each in my hood!

But, I love them and here’s why:

They can do everything a light is supposed to do.

They can serve as ambient light and illuminate everything. They can serve as task light over what you’re working on and they can serve as an accent light and highlight something that you love.

I’m a designer. I'm allowed to change my mind, so I use them because recessed lights are invaluable in your home design.

Why are recessed lights in every new construction project and renovation projects?

• the ease of decision making
• the profile, or the lack thereof
• the different functions the fixture can perform, task, ambient or an accent light, I just said that!
• they are unobtrusive and don't compete with fabulous light fixtures, headroom in the basement or the tv.
• they also have really cool technology 

It can’t be the only light, though.   

It's not as easy as throwing a line of cans (that’s recessed lights lingo :)) on the ceiling and calling it a day. What you’ll end up with is a sea of shadows and a family that looks like Night of the Living Dead.

There’s a lot to consider in your electrical plan.  Recessed lights or any lighting are often not included in your architectural drawings or blueprints.  Most residential home plans that I see have a bare bones electrical plan, if any.  If you didn't specifically call for a plan, and pay for one, it's "code" approved and not much more.

Remember, when something is, "up to code" =  Passing.

That's a D, if we're back in school.  It's the bare minimum required in your area for building a home.  We can do better.

Decisions regarding your furniture layout, appliance choices, location of fixtures, kitchen and bath vanity plans may be T.B.D. by you, based on purchases you make for your home construction.   If you plan well and have your choices narrowed down, you win.

Stuff gets decided on site if you don't have a plan, walking through, and that’s not the best place to make decisions. 

If you need help getting ready to meet with your electrician, check out my video,  Electrical Walk Thru Secrets Revealed!

See what happens with your electrician during the electrical walk thru for your lighting design.  If you're prepared, you save time, money and aggravation.

Things to Consider:

• What’s the purpose of this light? 
• What type of housing for the light do you need?  Do you want incandescent, low voltage or LED?
• What type of bulb, temperature and degree of light spread do you want?
• How high are your ceilings?
• What type of trim kit will best achieve your goals and look damn good doing it?

There’s all different kinds of recessed lights from incandescent, low-voltage, and LED.  The trim kits, or what you see in the ceiling, are as varied as other lighting fixtures you may be searching for!  

And you thought these were easy!  

Bulbs, the bulbs, oh, the bulbs!

The spread or the angle of light coverageThe color temperature, (Kelvins)or the lumens of those bulbs

The type; Incandescent, LED, low voltage, RGB strips… 

Lower temperature or lower Kelvins, say 1500 -2000 lumens will give a nice warm light.  As we get closer to 5000 Kelvins, you’re gonna get into performing surgery kinda lights, whites and pure.

Did you know that watts is not a measure of light?  It’s a measure of the energy or power needed to get to a level of light. I didn’t, for all these years, but I do now.  Lumens are what we want to watch. 

HOW TO GET STARTED ON YOUR RECESSED LIGHTING LAYOUT

The first thing you wanna do is ask…

WHY?  Why do you want them?

Make a list where you want them and for what task or purpose they will be used.  This is key not to overspend and blow the budget on crappy can lights that wash out your room.

#1. Look at your floor plan first.

What is the furniture layout? Plans for kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and mirrors will help identify where and what kind of lights you need.  

#2. Pick all the other lights. 

Not necessarily the specific light, but the type and where you want it located.

Choose all of the pendants, bath lights, chandeliers, wall sconces, exterior lanterns, porch lights, ceiling semi-flush or flush mounted fixtures.  

Wheew!  

That felt like a lot right?  Not even close to choosing and locating 75 recessed lights!  Start easy!

Whatever other lights are going to go in the space, choose them first and place them first because there’s a whole lot less of them.

 That’ll give you a win and you’ll be ready to tackle the recessed lights.

#3 Light the path, task or accent with your recessed fixtures

Once you’ve decided why you need them, if you do at all,  because, believe it or not, 40 years ago nobody had a recessed light and we lived just fine…then you’re ready to do your lighting layout.

I can’t say this enough ...

Recessed lights don’t work well as the only source of light unless you are auditioning for Night of the Living Dead.  

• they are unflattering.  
• down light makes the ceiling feel low.  
• It casts shadows that washes out the detail.  
• they create a Swiss cheese appearance to our ceiling
• they glow like a runway strip that could land a plane

Now that I’ve gone on on my rant about why not to use these lights as the only light source,

Let's pick some recessed lights!  BUT, choose wisely!

Lots of recessed lights does not equal a well lit home 

Well placed lights create depth and importance to the furniture and people that occupy the space.  A well lit home minimizes the stuff you don’t like to see and emphasizes the important parts of your spaces.

In all the rush to light it up and make a house bright and airy, we forget the beauty in shadows and depth. Bright lights flatten everything, and that thing you wanted to highlight cannot be special if everything's the same.

 Varying the light will give you a greater plan for your home.  Don't trust me? Look at the masters.  Don't be afraid of the shadows, when done right!

Trim kits and Housings

There’s different kinds of housings (the guts of the recessed light).  That’s the metal box that goes inside the walls that holds the bulbs.  whether it’s line voltage incandescent light bulbs, low voltage with its own transformer in the box or LED lights, they all have different kinds of price points and they have different kinds of functions

The trim kits also have different styles, from an adjustable gimbal that you can aim at a cabinet, to a slotted one to highlight a sculpture or special artwork.  A basic can light for ambient light or spot over the kitchen sink for doing dishes.

When you decide how you’re going to use the light, then you can decide what kind of housing and what kind of trim kit would be appropriate.  

Have fun with the bulbs!  This is where geometry comes back out and rears is it’s beautiful head.

Lightbulbs with a pinpoint spread may be a 15° spotlight all the way up to 45°.  The temperature of bulbs is also going to be something that you can play with to suit your environment, your mood.

Warmer lights, which are going to be on the lower end of the lumens scale,1500-2500, are more flattering for the older among us.   (That’s your warm light in your ring light!)

Light bulbs with a rating of 2500 and up to 5000 lumens are going to be more like the office or surgery type lighting.  That’s a bright, pure white light that would work well on artwork or for tasks.  

Be sure a bid from an electrician or your contractor  includes how many, what type of housing and what trim kit is included in the price.   I’ve gotten quotes recently for $350 for each recessed light.  That was for just a regular 4”  incandescent can.  That’s a budget buster when you consider the average new home has over 40 cans or recessed lights.  I have 73.

Think reeeeaaaaal carefully about where you put these diamonds in your ceiling. If you want a smart trim kit, like something from ylighting, that has an LED programmable bulb with color changing, sound sensitive, it’ll scratch your ass features….Those will run you up to $800 per light.

Lighting design generally comes to most homeowners when decision fatigue has already set in. 

They haven’t thought about their lighting layout, except perhaps for that great chandelier or this style of pendant that they might want to put over the island.

There's a ton of other decisions going on at the same time that you have to make. 

• electrical switches
• type, color, style and smart tech
• thermostats
• audio 
• security systems
• exterior lighting and wiring

and thats just from the electrician's list!

I don't know about you, but I shut down or just make bad choices.  We don't want that, so a bit of pre planning and research will ease the stress and regret!

When homeowners haven’t had time to plan or think about how lights are going to function, recessed lights are an easy out. You put them in the ceiling, don’t have to think about them and you’re done. 

When you do that, you affect every other decision.   Every light is not an island (or about the island) it affects everything else around it.  The furniture, the traffic flow, the areas to congregate will be defined by light.

Perhaps, you want to cast a glow on a piece of art in the entry. You might wanna have a spot on a really awesome mantle with a pinpoint. Do you want to spread light, generally, over the path from the back door to the pantry for ease of traffic flow? 

Consider:

• why you want the lights
• what they’re gonna do for your life 
• how they’re going to help you to function in your house and then you can choose one that is pretty!

Lighting can make a cheap room look better and it can wash out million dollar finishes. Think about your lighting before you think about that countertop, because it doesn’t pay to agonize over expensive finishes and beautiful fabrics if you’re not gonna be able to see them in the blinding glare!

Best,

Liz