ᐅ Recessed ceiling lights in concrete ceilings: planning and layout
Created on: 26 Nov 2024 22:54
C
chr1770
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:
Which of the proposals do you think is better? Or would you do it completely differently?
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?
Hello everyone,
Thank you very much for your feedback; it is very valuable and exactly the reason why I asked these questions here.
I will completely reconsider the number and arrangement of the recessed downlights. A pendant light is planned for the dining table, but the specific method of casting the concrete ceiling is not yet important, as only a ceiling outlet is required, and no recessed housing is needed at the concrete plant. The number of circuits is still entirely flexible. I am thinking of having two or three circuits, all of which would be dimmable.
Here is what I am taking away from your input:
Thank you very much for your feedback; it is very valuable and exactly the reason why I asked these questions here.
I will completely reconsider the number and arrangement of the recessed downlights. A pendant light is planned for the dining table, but the specific method of casting the concrete ceiling is not yet important, as only a ceiling outlet is required, and no recessed housing is needed at the concrete plant. The number of circuits is still entirely flexible. I am thinking of having two or three circuits, all of which would be dimmable.
Here is what I am taking away from your input:
- Probably no recessed downlights above the dining table, only the pendant light instead
- Reduce the total number of downlights
- In the living room, perhaps only illuminate the corner above the sofa
I see the risk of planning something (usually better to have a bit more for safety) that later doesn’t fit properly.
Of course, it depends on your personal preference, but I like spotlights for accent lighting or when I want to highlight a picture, an object, or a corner. For example, we have spotlights along the staircase and in the dressing room, or to illuminate a large painting by the stairs – in my opinion, it looks stylish and often serves as simple “pass-through lighting.” In the open-plan area, we have four nice wall lamps, and there is a chandelier in the gallery.
By the staircase is a nice side table with a box on it and a beautiful table lamp that we sometimes turn on when we sit there or just like the soft, warm light filling the room. Somehow, we enjoy using the lighting differently depending on our mood. Some days I like it one way, and other days another.
I find it hard to imagine this spot version working well. Although I like technical and minimalist designs (for lighting), we don’t really prefer spotlights in the living room; in hallways, however, they can work well or provide evenly distributed bright light there.
For example, above the large dining table, I would prefer a long pendant light with warm light, plus one or two floor lamps somewhere near sufficient power outlets for occasional use.
I see spotlights more as a temporary trend and would therefore recommend classic fixtures. They also cost money, but a complete spotlight system is probably not cheaper overall.
1. Yep
2. Or remove them entirely from some rooms
3. I don’t see why the living room should be very bright. Maybe there, just 1-2 floor or wall lamps plus one ceiling light for overall lighting
You can use lighting like furniture pieces that you enjoy having around. Therefore, it’s worth taking the time and choosing them step by step. Until then, a few regular bulbs will do for a while.
Of course, it depends on your personal preference, but I like spotlights for accent lighting or when I want to highlight a picture, an object, or a corner. For example, we have spotlights along the staircase and in the dressing room, or to illuminate a large painting by the stairs – in my opinion, it looks stylish and often serves as simple “pass-through lighting.” In the open-plan area, we have four nice wall lamps, and there is a chandelier in the gallery.
By the staircase is a nice side table with a box on it and a beautiful table lamp that we sometimes turn on when we sit there or just like the soft, warm light filling the room. Somehow, we enjoy using the lighting differently depending on our mood. Some days I like it one way, and other days another.
I find it hard to imagine this spot version working well. Although I like technical and minimalist designs (for lighting), we don’t really prefer spotlights in the living room; in hallways, however, they can work well or provide evenly distributed bright light there.
For example, above the large dining table, I would prefer a long pendant light with warm light, plus one or two floor lamps somewhere near sufficient power outlets for occasional use.
I see spotlights more as a temporary trend and would therefore recommend classic fixtures. They also cost money, but a complete spotlight system is probably not cheaper overall.
chr1770 schrieb:
Here’s what I’m taking away from this:
- Probably no ceiling spotlights above the dining table, just a pendant light instead
- Reduce the total number of spotlights
- Maybe only illuminate the corner above the sofa in the living room
1. Yep
2. Or remove them entirely from some rooms
3. I don’t see why the living room should be very bright. Maybe there, just 1-2 floor or wall lamps plus one ceiling light for overall lighting
You can use lighting like furniture pieces that you enjoy having around. Therefore, it’s worth taking the time and choosing them step by step. Until then, a few regular bulbs will do for a while.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I don’t understand why the living room should be so bright.I guess the idea behind nineteen lamps is to be able to switch off fourteen of them in different combinations for every possible occasion. Besides, every good shopping mall men's lounge has a ceiling spotlights planning café.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Maybe as a reference since you asked about it. I installed the basic lighting with 155mm (6-inch) Osram downlights. They provide nearly 1500 lumens and have a reasonable beam angle. With the lumen value, you can calculate the number of spots needed for the desired brightness, and using the beam angle together with your ceiling height, you can determine the distance from the wall. I’ve done this throughout my entire house and would definitely do it the same way again. In the hallway, I also like using motion detectors. However, even with dimmers, it doesn’t create much coziness there. For that, I would suggest providing wall outlets in convenient corners of the living room for one or two floor lamps.
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