ᐅ Recessed ceiling lights in concrete ceilings: planning and layout

Hello everyone,

Since construction of our single-family house started a few days ago, we are now planning the ceiling spotlights in the concrete ceiling. I am focusing first on the living/dining area, as this is the most important to me. There were two proposals for this.

Here are a few comments:

• The ceiling spotlights should be centered above the entrance to the area (on the floor plan, the bottom left side of the room)
• From there, we move to the right and left towards the respective outer sides of the room
• In proposal 1, I don’t like that the spacing varies significantly (between 170cm and 200cm (67 inches and 79 inches)) and that the line is not centered above the passage from the dining room to the living room
• I prefer proposal 2 because the spacing is more consistent there. However, this plan includes a total of 3 more spotlights than proposal 1. Do you think that might be too many, or do you find the spacing still acceptable?
• The clear ceiling height is 280cm (110 inches). The room is approximately 12.5m (41 feet) wide and 4.3m (14 feet) deep in total.

Which of the proposals do you think is better? Or would you do it completely differently?

Let me ask you this: what do you want to achieve with the ceiling spotlights?

Basically, there are several objectives:

• Dimmed lighting in the evening while watching TV for a cozy atmosphere
• In the dining room, perhaps slightly brighter lighting when with friends to facilitate conversation
• Normal general lighting in winter/evenings for passing through to other rooms or, for example, cleaning

chr1770 schrieb:

Since construction of our single-family house began a few days ago, we are now working on planning the ceiling spotlights in the concrete ceiling. I’m focusing first on the living/dining area, as this is the most important to me. [...] Which of the proposals do you think is better? Or would you do it completely differently?

Yes (but everyone here probably already knows this): I would do it completely differently, not plan and discuss something as complex as a house in isolated individual aspects; and certainly not "on the fly."

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chr1770 schrieb:

Basically, there are several goals:

• Dimmed lighting in the evening while watching TV for a cozy atmosphere
• In the dining room, perhaps somewhat brighter lighting when with friends to facilitate conversation
• Normal passage lighting in winter/evenings to other rooms or, for example, for cleaning

As I asked, I’ll put it this way:
Every necessary alteration to a beautiful ceiling should be carefully considered.
If you want to highlight a line or pathway, then three, or possibly up to six recessed lights on a track are suitable.
Recessed lights, whether one or several in a ceiling, are not suitable for creating a cozy atmosphere or for conversation.
Yes, dimmability makes sense if the purpose is to adjust brightness. Nothing more.
Those costly holes in the ceiling are completely avoidable before they are even planned.
For the dining table, a dimmable ceiling fixture is sufficient.
Cozy lighting is generally provided by light sources placed lower, such as at eye level. It’s no coincidence that table lamps or wall sconces are proven options. The latter should not be scattered randomly but used thoughtfully.

Passage lighting in living spaces is basically unnecessary since a well-lit dining table emphasizes the active center and main area, providing enough “passage light” for the room.
Additionally, floor lamps and standing lamps, all placed below body height as they should be, are available. For the few times per year when bright overhead light is needed for cleaning or searching, a modern ceiling fixture is enough.

Light from above generally does not create any atmosphere—unless you’ve always dreamed of those 1980s-style recessed spotlights.

The question from @ypg immediately came to my mind as well.

If you go that route, I would choose version 1 with the top edge aligned to the wall clearance dimension from variant 2. That is completely sufficient. Also, there should be at least three circuits. Regarding the recessed lights above the dining table, I find them rather unnecessary and would miss a cozy pendant light setup instead. So, one or two pendant lights. In my opinion, that creates a more comfortable atmosphere.