ᐅ Lighting Design for a Multi-Story Apartment with LED Indirect Lighting

With 12V, you will experience a voltage drop over longer distances with LED strips, which causes the lights to become dimmer the further you go. Depending on the strip (as there are differences), I would not exceed 2m (6.5 feet).

goldfisch138 schrieb:

How would you design the lighting in the living room to highlight certain areas? So far, only the sofa and table are fixed. There will also be LED cove lighting in dual white.

I have already shared quite a bit. But I think you and I don’t speak the same language when it comes to interior design and the effect of light and space. That’s not a problem, just two different perspectives.

LED lighting usually isn’t considered very pleasing on its own. That’s why the industry focuses on products with various color temperatures and incandescent bulb effects. LED lighting is already shaping—or will certainly shape—our daily life. There are hardly any alternatives left.
Honestly, I think the term LED is overused here, as if LED is some kind of magic solution to make a space feel cozy. It’s not. Even the small lights arranged in rows, squares, or other patterns—let’s call them spotlights (they exist in various types)—are designed to create an effect. About 12 years ago, I planned some rooms with spotlights, back then still halogen, and I have to say: distributed evenly across a ceiling, they offer no real advantage. Only a few areas benefit from them, for example if you want to accentuate and illuminate a row, a narrow room, or a corridor.

Now, moving away from the magic word—since there’s nothing else anymore—let’s just talk about light: Of course, there is mood lighting, indirect lighting, background lighting that exactly serves to create atmosphere. There is task lighting, directional lighting, and area lighting. The latter is common in modern medical clinics.

What kind of lighting fits your particular setup, only you can really know. A reading lamp, whether floor or table lamp, or even a pendant light like above a bar or dining table in a smaller form, can be necessary in the seating area for each person sitting there. One reads, another does their nails, a third works on crafts. If not today, perhaps in 3 years after the stress of moving, or maybe only in 10 years.
There could be a lamp on every sideboard or dresser, or a floor lamp nearby. Where there’s no outlet, LED candles with a 6-hour timer function can fill the gap. Nobody can really say whether 250 lumens or 470 lumens are enough for a corner – you have to try it for yourself.
Modern living doesn’t mean you don’t have these lamps, just as rustic living can also benefit from clean, linear lighting arrangements like light strips.

goldfisch138 schrieb:

I’ll put it this way: I’m building my first house and have seen a lot online. I want it to feel cozy and might be a bit afraid of under-planning the lighting.

In my opinion, you are focusing too much on the wrong aspect, and probably using the wrong search terms as well.
If your house plan already has a bend disrupting the sightlines, highlighting that won’t help.
Everything else has already been covered by myself and others.

ypg schrieb:

Plenty of power outlets for lamps.

Whether you make them switchable or not—in a manageable living space, say a 20sqm (215 sq ft) room personally I wouldn’t mind going to three corners within a few seconds to turn the lights on. Instead, I enjoy other decorative things. Elsewhere, a timer switch takes care of it. Some people really enjoy using a remote control to play with color changes and dimming functions. In that case, it’s worthwhile to think about how you want to control the lighting.

For us, we hardly use our ceiling lights. In the hallway, we temporarily use stairwell wall spotlights plus a designer console table lamp. In the living room, two different floor lamps plus sometimes a table lamp. Above the TV, two LED candles with timer function. Kitchen: task lighting and extractor hood lighting; when we leave the kitchen, a round table lamp behind a tall cabinet provides a soft background glow in the evening. In the dining area, several stylish table lamps on a sideboard. We don’t even use the light switch in the guest WC because there’s a table lamp on the window sill that turns on at dusk via a timer—enough for quick use. The bedroom has a two-way switch for bedside lamps, which are wall lamps.
We clean during daylight hours.

Oops, today I reread my post and noticed the sentence that I also quoted

goldfisch138 schrieb:

There will also be a LED ceiling cove lighting available in dual white.

It slipped past me.
It reminds me of an old lady proudly wearing her business-style suit from Prada, with Cartier gold jewelry on her ears, a Hermes scarf around her neck, her father's Rolex watch on her wrist, a Dolce & Gabbana handbag, and Manolo Blahnik stilettos on her feet, telling her niece that she’s a bit worried about not being noticed, so she might just put her little crown from Bijou-Brigitte on her head.

Molybdean schrieb:

With KNX and probably the available dimming options, spotlights can create a good effect. It’s better to have more lights slightly dimmed to evenly brighten the room than just a few turned up to full brightness.

But if you want recessed spotlights, check in advance how much each spotlight will cost.

The prices electricians and precast concrete manufacturers charge for this are quite steep.

I think one costs around €70 (about $75) – a bit more with DALI control.

ypg schrieb:

Oops, today I reread my post and noticed the sentence that I even quoted myself.

It must have slipped past me.
I imagine an old lady wearing her trendy Prada business outfit, with her Cartier gold jewelry on her ears, a Hermes scarf around her neck, her father’s Rolex watch on her wrist, a Dolce & Gabbana handbag, and Manolo stilettos on her old feet, telling her niece that she’s a bit worried about not being noticed, so she might just put a little crown from Bijou-Brigitte on her head.

To correct my initially inaccurate wording: I am referring to a light cove that might be installed throughout the entire living and dining area. A similar question was already discussed here in this thread: Lighting the living room in a new build. Seeking implementation tips.

The more I look at it, the more I lean towards a two-part cove (one above the sofa area and another running lengthwise along the TV side next to the sliding element up to the kitchen).

It doesn’t matter what you call it. You are overdoing it with your many possible lighting effects, trying to incorporate them all somehow. And what do you end up with? A flashy apartment overwhelmed by its lighting effects.