ᐅ Looking for ceiling and staircase lighting solutions

@Steffen80
Incorrect lighting also applies to interior design.
If you have a good sense for comfort and proportions, you can coordinate the lighting yourself quite well.
If you don’t (which is no shame, as everyone has different skills), you should consult an interior designer.
Many build a stylish modern house but furnish it with relics of country-style decor. Some curtains look like they’re from the 1990s, and plants are scattered throughout the house as if an elderly relative should feel at home.

Best regards in short

I spent at least 10 hours working on this topic, repeatedly drawing, discarding, and rearranging on the computer. Now, I’m satisfied with the result. In the children's rooms, we have twelve GU10 spots with 60° beam angles each as the main lighting. They are switchable and dimmable in two groups using GIRA series dimmers. Given the room size of 7 x 4.5 meters (23 x 15 feet), this works well; otherwise, we would have needed at least two "regular" ceiling lamps. Each room also has additional indirect lighting through floor lamps (I’m not really a fan of wall lamps). When the LEDs are dimmed down, the lighting is quite pleasant too. So, this setup works well as the main lighting!

In the kitchen, of course, you need to know where tall and wall cabinets will be placed and where the work surfaces are. Spots must be positioned above the worktop but logically in front of the cabinets, and in my opinion, they should be spaced closely enough so the light cones overlap sufficiently on the work surface.

We have a long hallway on the ground floor where I purposely placed the spots close to one wall (about 40 cm (15.7 inches)). This creates a nice effect on the wall, preventing the hallway from feeling so "tunnel-like," and it will complement the pictures we hope to hang there in a few days. Light cones generally need surfaces to highlight, which is never the ceiling with spotlights. Windows, carpets, sofas, and most other furniture are unsuitable in my view, whereas our bookshelves work quite well. Consequently, this lighting approach would not suit our living room at all.

What I see as an advantage: If our 80 spots ever become too much, I can simply put covers on the HaloX housings and be done. In any case, that leaves plenty of ceiling outlets available for "regular" light fixtures.

Knallkörper schrieb:
Spotlights need to be installed above the countertop, but logically in front of the cabinets, and in my opinion, they should be placed quite close together so that the light beams sufficiently overlap on the countertop.

We’re still struggling with this. You need quite a lot of spotlights for that, and in the end, your own body casts shadows on the work surface. That’s why the good old lighting mounted underneath wall cabinets is still a strong contender. It costs significantly less and seems to be more effective.

How about simply using LED strips under the wall cabinets?

If there are wall cabinets, in my opinion, ceiling spotlights to illuminate the countertop do not make sense. Either the countertop will be in the shadow of the wall cabinet or of the cook.

ypg schrieb:
@Steffen80
The issue with improper lighting also applies to interior design.
If you have a good sense for comfort and proportions, you can coordinate the lighting yourself quite well.
If you don’t (no shame in that, everyone has different strengths), you should consult an interior designer.
Many build a stylish mainstream modern house but furnish it with relics from a country cottage style. Some curtains look like they’re from the 1990s, and plants are scattered around as if to make grandma feel at home.

Best regards in brief

That's true. In the end, I did it all on my own because I didn’t have time for a professional and it was already too late. But it cost me a lot of nerves and it’s definitely far from perfect.