ᐅ Is lighting design only effective with recessed spotlights?

I recently mentioned that I installed recessed spotlights in my consultation room. That turned out to be a planning mistake. I only turn them on when I need to tidy up or look inside the cabinets. When patients are here and I’m working, I only use standing and desk lamps. Spotlights look awful in residential homes.
I still have some in the kitchen between the work surfaces.
There they are acceptable but are never used as the main lighting. That role is taken by attractive lamps.

I think spotlights are really overrated in private homes. Even in the bathroom or utility room, I didn’t want to have them. Spotlights are useful for illuminating a painting to museum standards.

Exactly... back then I also installed 4 spotlights in the living room. Yes, they are aimed at specific pieces of furniture, but I hardly ever use them.

I like the spotlights in the hallway (with motion sensors) and in the walk-in shower, and I would choose those again. Otherwise, pendant lights, floor lamps, and wall lights.

Make sure to plan enough circuits for fixed light fixtures and possibly include two-way switches depending on the location. Two-way switches are very practical in the bedroom, for example, allowing me to control the bedside lamp and the main light from both the bed and the door. Getting up in the dark in the morning, I can turn on the bedside lamp, go to the bathroom, and turn off the bedside light at the door. Saves bruised shins 😉

I’m not a fan of that either. You can do it in the hallway,... you can do it anywhere, but a small, simple double spotlight works just as well and doesn’t stand out visually or become costly in an unpleasant way. In the guest bathroom, for example, a small spotlight plus the mirror lighting is enough.

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, I’m very familiar with that feeling. You’re excited about moving in – and in the evening, it feels like sitting in a train station or a dentist’s office because the spotlights cast such harsh, focused light. We were even close to buying floor lamps again and skipping ceiling lights altogether.

Before you start tearing up the ceiling or installing expensive dimmers (which can flicker with some LEDs anyway), take a look at light filter films. We added these to our living area spotlights. Essentially, they act as a diffuser that spreads the light wider and softer, combined with a warm tone filter.

I ordered mine online – custom fit for the diameter of the downlights.

Hope that helps!
Best regards, Charlie

It has been 4 years, and I believe the well-intentioned suggestions here no longer make sense in this case. Either the ceiling was already opened up long ago, or acceptance was made with the industrial warehouse atmosphere.