Recessed lights are an inexpensive way to a brighter room.
Whether illuminating a kitchen island or your face in the bathroom mirror, recessed lighting offers an effective strategy for brightening a room. Also known as cans or top hats, recessed fixtures can be used as a primary light source or strategically placed to highlight artwork or architectural details. Recessed cans are most frequently used in kitchens and bathrooms, but don't feel constrained by tradition; many of the same strategies employed in these rooms will easily carry over to your living room, home office or dim hallways.
Instructions
1. Sketch your room's layout to help you visualize fixture placement. Unless your room is a narrow galley kitchen, avoid lighting schemes with two parallel lines of fixtures that may create a "runway" effect. Instead, use recessed cans around the room's perimeter or in a grid pattern. Add rows or clusters of lights over work zones (such as kitchen sinks, shower stalls, food preparation areas or desks) and near interesting architectural details. If the room has a ceiling fan, leave ample distance around the fan's turning radius to avoid a strobe effect. To highlight a piece of art, place one fixture centered 12 to 18 inches from the object or one fixture on either side of it to create dramatic shadows.
2. Choose the size and type of fixture that will best serve your purpose. Generally, use smaller cans (4 inches) for task areas and larger cans (5 or 6 inches) to illuminate large areas. The fixture size also will determine the distance separating them because larger cans offer a wider light spread. If you plan to install cans over a tub or shower, ensure they are rated as "wet" or "shower location." Some fixtures are approved for "damp locations," but this less stringent classification is reserved for outdoor installations.
3. Measure the area where you'll be installing the fixtures to determine how many to buy. Allow approximately 4 feet between 4-inch fixtures, 5 feet between 5-inch fixtures and 6 feet between 6-inch fixtures. Placing recessed cans within 6 inches of a wall will enable you to angle the beam to bathe the wall in light and make your room seem larger. But keep in mind that this down-lighting technique also can cause elongated scallops of light that not everyone finds appealing.
4. Calculate how many light switches you will need. If recessed fixtures are only one component of the room's lighting design, consider how these lights will interplay with pendants, chandeliers and freestanding lamps. Decide which clusters of lights should have a dimmer switch, and ensure that ceiling fans and key task areas (such as kitchen sinks) get dedicated switches. Remember to place at least one switch at every entrance to the room to avoid stumbling and fumbling in pitch blackness.
5. Select bulbs for longevity and natural color rendering. Halogen and modern fluorescent bulbs offer a crisp whiteness that nicely enhances skin tones for flawless makeup application, and they last considerably longer than incandescent bulbs.
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