Lighting plays an important role not only in how your home looks and feels, but how you use it. Your lights not only have to be functional, but they have to be comfortable. They have to provide the right illumination to suit your needs. And they need to work with the wider aesthetic of your home. So, while recently the focus has increasingly been on lighting as a statement and lighting as art, is there still room for subtlety? And could recessed ceiling lights be the best lighting solution for your home?
Should You Choose Recessed Ceiling Lights for Your Home?
What are recessed ceiling lights?
Also known as downlights, recessed ceiling lights are typically circular in shape, like the Saxby Peake, and fit into holes in your ceiling. They are unobtrusive and have no visible fixtures. But when used correctly, installed at regular intervals throughout a room, they can provide versatile, flexible, and appealing lighting.
How to use recessed ceiling lights
There are three main ways to deploy recessed ceiling lights.
Solo
You can install lights, like the Astro Taro Square, throughout a room. Placed at fixed intervals, they can provide a complete light source, illuminating every corner. They are dimmable, and when installed in groups, you can control different areas of a room. Enabling you to change your lighting according to your needs. And it works wonderfully with the minimalist aesthetic.
Combination
Another popular way to use recessed ceiling lights is as a support act. You have your main pendant lights in key places, then use recessed lights, like the Astro Trimless, as a support act. Either to reach around the edges where the pendant lighting may not fully illuminate. Or to differentiate between different parts of a room, as with a kitchen-diner.
Spot lighting
With ceiling lights, like the Saxby Xeno, you also have the option to use recessed lights as spot lights. You can direct the light according to your needs, enabling you to highlight key features of the room. Whether that’s a workspace or a piece of art.
How to choose recessed ceiling lights
There are a lot of recessed ceiling lights available. And while you will be guided to some degree by personal preference – do you prefer chrome, black, white, or another finish? – you also have to consider the needs of the room.
- How big is the space? This will influence the number of lights you need.
- What sized fixtures are you looking for? Do you want more small lights or fewer large lights?
- What type of lights do you need? Insulation Compatible (IC) fixtures can be placed in direct contact with insulation. Non-IC rated fixtures require a protective cover that will ensure the insulation remains more than three inches away from the housing. Airtight (AT) fixtures are required for lights that are to sit under a ceiling, as they prevent wasted heat and excessive energy use.
- Bulb type. Right now, most people are moving towards LED lighting because it is more energy efficient. The vast majority of recessed lights are now LED based. You just have to decide whether you want integrated LEDs, or lights with replaceable LED lamps.
Recessed ceiling lighting can bring a beautiful simplicity and elegance to your home. Rather than being limited to kitchens and bathrooms as it once was, it can be used in every room. Bringing clear, consistent lighting with versatility and style. And if you choose well, it can be hugely cost effective.
Check out the full collection of recessed ceiling lights available from First Choice Lighting.
