Hello everyone,
My partner and I are currently thinking about the lighting design for our house. We had an appointment with a lighting consultant, but it was quite disappointing. Besides showing us some very beautiful, but also very expensive fixtures, he barely contributed any ideas we hadn’t already thought of ourselves. So, we’ve started making some initial plans on our own. Unfortunately, my partner doesn’t like indirect lighting or similar options :-((((, so our first plan is probably a bit “unusual.” However, I’m very open to (including special) ideas.
We would like to mostly use recessed spotlights and, in the living area, wall lights as secondary lighting. The children's bathroom and guest WC will have simple lighting at the mirror.
We are not happy at all with the master bathroom. Do you have any ideas for that?
Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for constructive feedback.
Greetings from sunny Aachen,
Christian
Legend:
Red – Ceiling spotlights
Blue – Standard ceiling light
Green – Wall light (interior)
Yellow – Wall light (exterior)
My partner and I are currently thinking about the lighting design for our house. We had an appointment with a lighting consultant, but it was quite disappointing. Besides showing us some very beautiful, but also very expensive fixtures, he barely contributed any ideas we hadn’t already thought of ourselves. So, we’ve started making some initial plans on our own. Unfortunately, my partner doesn’t like indirect lighting or similar options :-((((, so our first plan is probably a bit “unusual.” However, I’m very open to (including special) ideas.
We would like to mostly use recessed spotlights and, in the living area, wall lights as secondary lighting. The children's bathroom and guest WC will have simple lighting at the mirror.
We are not happy at all with the master bathroom. Do you have any ideas for that?
Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for constructive feedback.
Greetings from sunny Aachen,
Christian
Legend:
Red – Ceiling spotlights
Blue – Standard ceiling light
Green – Wall light (interior)
Yellow – Wall light (exterior)
Hello Christian,
we also have many recessed spotlights and are really happy with them. But in your case, several things don’t fit.
I’ll try to summarize roughly:
Ground floor:
Hallway is fine if the upper lights are meant to serve as stair lighting.
Home office: spots are arranged incorrectly. One work area remains dark.
Kitchen: lighting over the cooktop is missing.
Living room: this doesn’t work at all. You need to consider your planned furniture as well. Also, you should be able to control them separately. A standard pendant light over the dining table is still nicer. I was skeptical at first, but I’m glad to have a regular hanging lamp there.
In the bathrooms, you generally need additional lighting.
Bedroom: you need to distribute the lights more evenly around the room.
Children’s room: I would stick with regular lamps as well.
In general, you should completely revise your plan and distribute the lights more evenly. Spotlights are also significantly brighter when there is a bright surface (wall) within their beam area (pay attention to a wide beam angle for area lighting).
we also have many recessed spotlights and are really happy with them. But in your case, several things don’t fit.
I’ll try to summarize roughly:
Ground floor:
Hallway is fine if the upper lights are meant to serve as stair lighting.
Home office: spots are arranged incorrectly. One work area remains dark.
Kitchen: lighting over the cooktop is missing.
Living room: this doesn’t work at all. You need to consider your planned furniture as well. Also, you should be able to control them separately. A standard pendant light over the dining table is still nicer. I was skeptical at first, but I’m glad to have a regular hanging lamp there.
In the bathrooms, you generally need additional lighting.
Bedroom: you need to distribute the lights more evenly around the room.
Children’s room: I would stick with regular lamps as well.
In general, you should completely revise your plan and distribute the lights more evenly. Spotlights are also significantly brighter when there is a bright surface (wall) within their beam area (pay attention to a wide beam angle for area lighting).
@Martina: Thanks for the offer. Feel free to send me the contact details via private message. It’s not that far anyway.
@Jochen: Many thanks for your explanation. Do you happen to have some pictures of your installation that you could send me by private message or email?
Hallway: The spots at the stairs are indeed stair lights. The exact setup is still being considered.
Home Office: I’m not quite sure how and what kind of lighting the spots produce with this arrangement. Our idea was for the spots to illuminate the entire room (also dimmed), while the desks would have desk lamps for use when needed. That’s why the spots are evenly distributed throughout the room and not positioned specifically around the desks. Most likely, the two desks will be combined into one large desk in the corner. Should this be considered when arranging the lighting? Is the number of spots sufficient?
Kitchen: Above the cooktop is the (not shown) range hood. That’s why the area there looks empty. I want to have the spots above the countertop and the other spots on a separate switch so they can be controlled separately—one for working and one for lighting the whole kitchen. That was the plan at least.
Living Room: I’m now leaning more toward a regular ceiling light above the dining area—it just looks nicer. That would also make it easier to concentrate the spots better in the living room section (you can clearly see that we initially wanted an even distribution across the whole area). What options are there here? How would you best handle the transition area between dining and living? There’s a transition from spots to the ceiling light and a currently empty area. Or maybe nothing needs to be done there, since it’s not a very long stretch anyway.
Master Bedroom: The spots are arranged like this due to the sloping ceiling (the 2m (6.5 ft) height line is visible). Should we add a second row and distribute them more evenly?
Children’s Rooms: I think we’ll gather some more ideas and take a look then.
General: With the KNX & DALI installation, separate switching and dimming of different lighting circuits is planned and easily feasible. So this won’t be a problem and is already part of the plan.
Best regards,
Christian
@Jochen: Many thanks for your explanation. Do you happen to have some pictures of your installation that you could send me by private message or email?
Hallway: The spots at the stairs are indeed stair lights. The exact setup is still being considered.
Home Office: I’m not quite sure how and what kind of lighting the spots produce with this arrangement. Our idea was for the spots to illuminate the entire room (also dimmed), while the desks would have desk lamps for use when needed. That’s why the spots are evenly distributed throughout the room and not positioned specifically around the desks. Most likely, the two desks will be combined into one large desk in the corner. Should this be considered when arranging the lighting? Is the number of spots sufficient?
Kitchen: Above the cooktop is the (not shown) range hood. That’s why the area there looks empty. I want to have the spots above the countertop and the other spots on a separate switch so they can be controlled separately—one for working and one for lighting the whole kitchen. That was the plan at least.
Living Room: I’m now leaning more toward a regular ceiling light above the dining area—it just looks nicer. That would also make it easier to concentrate the spots better in the living room section (you can clearly see that we initially wanted an even distribution across the whole area). What options are there here? How would you best handle the transition area between dining and living? There’s a transition from spots to the ceiling light and a currently empty area. Or maybe nothing needs to be done there, since it’s not a very long stretch anyway.
Master Bedroom: The spots are arranged like this due to the sloping ceiling (the 2m (6.5 ft) height line is visible). Should we add a second row and distribute them more evenly?
Children’s Rooms: I think we’ll gather some more ideas and take a look then.
General: With the KNX & DALI installation, separate switching and dimming of different lighting circuits is planned and easily feasible. So this won’t be a problem and is already part of the plan.
Best regards,
Christian
Bauexperte schrieb:
I prefer a subtle and targeted approach; @ypg and I share this view again.This is due to our longer life experience compared to most people here.
Here is a quick overview:
Kitchen: At the seating area of the kitchen island, there should be a lamp—preferably something pendant-style, just like above the dining table.
The kitchen area should have recessed ceiling lights, for example arranged symmetrically in the center. Task lights for the work surfaces should not be mounted on the ceiling but at about eye level → kitchen. Separate switches for the kitchen workspace, dining area, dining table, and ceiling lights.
I will leave out the living room and hallway.
For the office, a ceiling light is sufficient; most of the lighting should come from the desk or task lights here.
For the stairs, I would suggest built-in wall lights that can be switched together with the two wall lights upstairs.
Children’s rooms: there are nice ceiling lights available.
Gallery: recessed ceiling lights plus a floor lamp.
Bedroom: recessed ceiling lights (as requested by you) (we have nine in our smaller bedroom), plus two separate lights in front of the wardrobes, switched together.
The bathroom should be newly fitted out, so I will leave that out for now.
Kitchen: At the seating area of the kitchen island, there should be a lamp—preferably something pendant-style, just like above the dining table.
The kitchen area should have recessed ceiling lights, for example arranged symmetrically in the center. Task lights for the work surfaces should not be mounted on the ceiling but at about eye level → kitchen. Separate switches for the kitchen workspace, dining area, dining table, and ceiling lights.
I will leave out the living room and hallway.
For the office, a ceiling light is sufficient; most of the lighting should come from the desk or task lights here.
For the stairs, I would suggest built-in wall lights that can be switched together with the two wall lights upstairs.
Children’s rooms: there are nice ceiling lights available.
Gallery: recessed ceiling lights plus a floor lamp.
Bedroom: recessed ceiling lights (as requested by you) (we have nine in our smaller bedroom), plus two separate lights in front of the wardrobes, switched together.
The bathroom should be newly fitted out, so I will leave that out for now.
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