Recessed lighting, is it really a good look?

[TravelingGal]

It seems that many homes for sale tout that they have recessed lighting. I am not sure if it''s in or on its way out. What do you think of the look? Are holes in the ceiling with light bulbs really a good look?

 

[neatfreak]

Ya know we just "saw" (our realtor took a ton of photos) a house that touted recessed lighting and I really don''t like it. I don''t think it''s a perk at all! Lol.

 

[purrfectpear]

Absolutely. There is no cache to having things hanging from your ceiling.

It may be personal preference, but they are considered an upgrade.

 

[NovemberBride]

I like recessed lighting in certain areas of the house where a lot of light is needed, but where overhead light fixtures or lamps don''t really fit or provide enough light. We have recessed lighting around the edges of our kitchen (in addition to fixtures) and in our family room and I love it. I don''t care for recessed lighting in bedrooms or more formal rooms like living rooms and dining rooms.

 

[Steel]

Oh dear!

As you know I''m building. Well I''m sick of it at the moment and this thread does not inspire my confidence. I hated spots, hated them. But as I want chandeliers in my main rooms and will have wall switched occasional lighting DH and I decided we needed ambient light for the room so put between 4 and 6 spots in every room. That said we have not signed on the dotted line yet so I can still change my mind......

I will keep a close eye on this thread.


Afterthought: Like for example in the foyer and 2 hallways I want chandeliers but know I will be too scanty to run them all the time so we put spots in all those spaces to use for every day. Same really for the kitchen. So would you come in and think that was crap?


Sigh....

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I like pot lights. I think it may be a personal thing but it does the job (lighting) in a more subtle way than a bunch of dome or hanging lights. They cost more (labor) to install so I guess that is how they are upgrades.

 

[April20]

I just had DH install it in our living room. There''s on two different switches so I can highlight different areas and are on dimmers. There is no light otherwise and I think the recessed lighting in this scenario is a much cleaner look than flush mounted fixtures and hanging fixtures wouldn''t work at all.

There are so many different trim options available- some of which I don''t like at all. I think it can be done right and look great or done wrong and look awful.

 

[bebe]

They have their place. Too many and your ceiling looks like cottage cheese.

I think the trend is towards the smaller diameter cans and newer bulbs that put out just as much
light as the larger, 6-8" spots.

My pet peeve is a white/ivory can trim on a dark ceiling or on a wood stained ceiling. Ugh, why
not paint the trim? I did this on a regular basis when I was working with clients and building. It''s so easy!

 

[ladypirate]

We''re putting recessed lighting in upstairs in our new house because the ceilings are not super high (around 7.5 feet) and K is 6''7". Downstairs where we have 10 foot ceilings, it''s not an issue so we''re staying wtih fixtures.

 

[Elmorton]

I like them in basements only, but I think it really depends on the house. If you have a bunch of vaulted ceilings, I''d want recessed lighting for the reasons PP described. Otherwise, I could really leave ''em more than take ''em.

 

[KristyDarling]

Hi TG!

I would guess that if you surveyed the general population, most would consider recessed lights a contemporary, desirable look. I live in a neighborhood of 80-90 year old homes and many of them have "upgraded" with recessed lights. Depending on how it''s done, it can look nice. However when people overdo it and slap those cans all over the place with only inches between them, it starts to look a little too Times Square.

We considered adding recessed lighting to the living room of our 82-year-old home, but when we thought about the room''s original details (textured plaster walls, intricate old-school molding, etc), we didn''t think that recessed lights would ''mesh'' with the obviously old age of the house. We decided to leave the original ceiling intact and stick with floor lamps.

I think that whether recessed lighting looks good depends on HOW the cans are placed. I think the best possible scenario is to have only a few strategically placed cans that don''t overwhelm a room, but rather, enhance its focal points, with some beautiful wall sconces or lamps to light up the rest of the room.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Though they can be *brilliant* in certain uses and spaces, I think that in many homes they were overused and poorly executed frequently in the last ten years.

I am reminded of this one high-end remodel of a Victorian in SF. Those buggers were everywhere, including --23-- in the kitchen alone.

First off, that's a lot of holes in the ceiling. No room ever has twenty-three points of interest. Second, it's terribly energy inefficient. And third, spotlighting makes no sense in the kitchen. And fourth, with the rapid changes in lighting and illumination products in just the last few years, those fixtures circa 2002 are already becoming dinosaurs.

That said, I do think they're great in rooms that display art on the walls, and they're far superior to tracklighting or individually wired top lamps for that purpose. But in terms of home sale marketing of your question, I think that having 50+ holes in the ceiling, throughout every room in a house, just shows that there was a homeowner who had some extra money (or home equity line) to try and buy happiness via a remodel circa 2000-2008. Realize that, and you'll realize a lot about how the sellers think.





If you've ever seen "Roger Dodger", you'll understand if I refer to them as Cargo Pants for houses.

 

[TravelingGal]

Kristy! So good to see you back here! How you doing lady?

Yeah, I know they are still considered an upgrade, but I wonder for how long? I mean, aren''t granite counters on the way out? I think recessed lighting is very practical, but from an aesthetic point of view, I gotta wonder. There are holes in the ceiling!

Anyone want to post pics of what they think is a good recessed lighting job and what is bad?

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 5/21/2009 3:15:44 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Kristy! So good to see you back here! How you doing lady?

Yeah, I know they are still considered an upgrade, but I wonder for how long? I mean, aren''t granite counters on the way out? I think recessed lighting is very practical, but from an aesthetic point of view, I gotta wonder. There are holes in the ceiling!

Anyone want to post pics of what they think is a good recessed lighting job and what is bad?

Really? What is replacing granite? I love granite, and I''m wondering what is the up and coming thing after granite?


I do like recessed lighting, and always have. I have no idea if it''s on it''s way out... I''d definitely like it if a house I were looking at had it.

 

[pennquaker09]

I like them, but I am also a HUGE, HUGE fan of chandeliers. I remember when we did our Philly remodel, I got a custom chandelier from this place in New Orleans. I miss that thing so much. Anyway, I think recessed lighting is great in certain rooms, especially the kitchen. Another great way to add some lighting with style, sconces.

 

[zhuzhu]

Recessed lighting can make a room look bigger and cleaner, if properly placed. However personally I prefer the charms of personalized lamps and hanging lights, of which I can use energy-saving light bulbs with.

Those light bulbs for recessed lighting waste a ton of energy.

 

[butterfly 17]

I have recessed lighting in my kitchen, but not in my breakfast nook, my master bathroom and also in my family room.

I don''t like it in the family room because it is in an odd place, right in front of the fireplace, but we have a tv over the fireplace so it sort of makes sense bc if we had a hanging light in that area, it would block the TV. AS is, I am not sure if I like having a TV over the fireplace, but it came that way when we bought the house and they gave us the TV, so we left it.

I do like recessed lighting in the kitchen and bathroom, but other areas, I like hanging lights as it helps to add a bit of decor to a room.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/21/2009 3:24:12 PM
Author: elledizzy5

Date: 5/21/2009 3:15:44 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Kristy! So good to see you back here! How you doing lady?

Yeah, I know they are still considered an upgrade, but I wonder for how long? I mean, aren''t granite counters on the way out? I think recessed lighting is very practical, but from an aesthetic point of view, I gotta wonder. There are holes in the ceiling!

Anyone want to post pics of what they think is a good recessed lighting job and what is bad?

Really? What is replacing granite? I love granite, and I''m wondering what is the up and coming thing after granite?


I do like recessed lighting, and always have. I have no idea if it''s on it''s way out... I''d definitely like it if a house I were looking at had it.

I have no idea...I just read it might be on the way out. Personally, I''ve been checking out recycled glass countertops. It looks retro to begin with and is green!!

 

[applequeen]

I think it depends on the room. We put some in our kitchen to frame the cabinets.... I have terrible eyesight and I needed some extra light. Our ceilings are pretty low so recessed lights were a good option for us.

To be honest I think it just depends on the room and the "personality" of the room. In some rooms they look great and in others not so great. I personally wouldn''t consider them a great selling point but in some rooms they work.

It figures that I finally get granite countertops and they''re on their way out... no wonder I got such a good deal on them

.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/21/2009 3:49:41 PM
Author: zhuzhu
Recessed lighting can make a room look bigger and cleaner, if properly placed. However personally I prefer the charms of personalized lamps and hanging lights, of which I can use energy-saving light bulbs with.

Those light bulbs for recessed lighting waste a ton of energy.

The spots we looked into allow for energy saving bulbs - we chose 11w bulbs. They will cost €6 each. Because we chose energy saving we were nto allowed to use a dimmer which was sad but because we have a max of 6 spots per room even with them all on it is 66w per room.

 

[purrfectpear]

"Builders" granite is out (aka Home Depot Uba Tuba, etc.) along with Stainless Steel appliances.

Quality granite, carrera marble, honed soapstone, etc. won''t ever be "out" because they were always classic.

The latest in trendy is recycled glass resin (very attractive IMO), cement (prone to cracking - now that they''re been around for awhile), and other recycled product counters.

I think people are just sick of seeing "flipper" remodels with beige/brown granite, cherry cabinets, and SS appliances from Sears.

I will be doing Euro cabinetry in Wenge with marble countertops.

 

[April20]

Here''s a pic of what was installed in my living room. The only lnatural ight is from the bay window. The only way to light the room was with floor or ceiling lights, which really didn''t work for me. If we''re just lounging, the lamps are fine, but for any activity that needs to occur, lamps alone are not enough light, hence the recessed lighting.

I think they look more obvious in the photo than they do in reality. They are 4" open cans with trim. I like the open cans because then you just see the top of the bulb rather then the guts of the light.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/21/2009 4:24:16 PM
Author: April20
Here''s a pic of what was installed in my living room. The only lnatural ight is from the bay window. The only way to light the room was with floor or ceiling lights, which really didn''t work for me. If we''re just lounging, the lamps are fine, but for any activity that needs to occur, lamps alone are not enough light, hence the recessed lighting.

I think they look more obvious in the photo than they do in reality. They are 4'' open cans with trim. I like the open cans because then you just see the top of the bulb rather then the guts of the light.

April - do your light fixtures have a colour/stainless steel trim? It is hard to see in the photo with the lights on!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/21/2009 4:23:14 PM
Author: purrfectpear
''Builders'' granite is out (aka Home Depot Uba Tuba, etc.) along with Stainless Steel appliances.

Quality granite, carrera marble, honed soapstone, etc. won''t ever be ''out'' because they were always classic.

The latest in trendy is recycled glass resin (very attractive IMO), cement (prone to cracking - now that they''re been around for awhile), and other recycled product counters.

I think people are just sick of seeing ''flipper'' remodels with beige/brown granite, cherry cabinets, and SS appliances from Sears.

I will be doing Euro cabinetry in Wenge with marble countertops.

Yup, I love this. Here''s a site that does it. If I have a chance, this is what I want for my home.

http://www.vetrazzo.com/

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/21/2009 4:24:16 PM
Author: April20
Here''s a pic of what was installed in my living room. The only lnatural ight is from the bay window. The only way to light the room was with floor or ceiling lights, which really didn''t work for me. If we''re just lounging, the lamps are fine, but for any activity that needs to occur, lamps alone are not enough light, hence the recessed lighting.

I think they look more obvious in the photo than they do in reality. They are 4'' open cans with trim. I like the open cans because then you just see the top of the bulb rather then the guts of the light.

April that looks great, I love your house!!

 

[mia1181]

I love recessed lighting because it make my diamonds sparkly!!!

Those recycled glass countertops are cool Tgal!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

We did the bare minimum can lights that we could get away with in our kitchen (4, wish we had done more, but it would have looked crowded), living room (18' ceilings, 4 cans, so we never turn them on because FORGET changing them

) and our media room, which only has 2 cans on the screen side of the room, and a ceiling mounted copper-esque fixture on a dimmer in the middle of the room.

I think they're nice to have in the kitchen, totally unnecessary in our living room because it gets so much natural light, and was just an aesthetic (kitzchy choice) in our media room.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 5/21/2009 4:24:16 PM
Author: April20
Here''s a pic of what was installed in my living room. The only lnatural ight is from the bay window. The only way to light the room was with floor or ceiling lights, which really didn''t work for me. If we''re just lounging, the lamps are fine, but for any activity that needs to occur, lamps alone are not enough light, hence the recessed lighting.

I think they look more obvious in the photo than they do in reality. They are 4'' open cans with trim. I like the open cans because then you just see the top of the bulb rather then the guts of the light.

April, your living room looks lovely, and so homey and comfy!

 

[KristyDarling]

Yup, those recycled glass countertops are pretty sweet!! I love the green speckles. We researched those for our kitchen remodel (completed last Christmas) but since we were trying to stay true to the 1920's origins of the house, we avoided anything that was obviously contemporary, except for our appliances which are thoroughly modern. So, instead we got soapstone counters (unpolished -- we like the rustic, chipped, slate-gray look). The only recessed lights we have in the house are in our new kitchen, but we also have pendant lights (the classic schoolhouse kind) hanging over the dining table.

So...I hadn't heard that stainless steel appliances were now "out."

Ours are stainless and industrial-looking -- the line is commonly found in professional kitchens (Wolf). We figured that the stainless appliances that the pro's use are classic and weren't going to all of a sudden become passe'. Right?

What would be the alternative to stainless steel appliances? All-black, or all-white covered? Regardless, we didn't buy our appliances for the "look," but rather for what they can do, and we were very impressed by Wolf's products, all of which are stainless, I believe.

ETA: April -- your living room looks so warm and inviting!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 5/21/2009 5:39:56 PM
Author: KristyDarling
Yup, those recycled glass countertops are pretty sweet!! I love the green speckles. We researched those for our kitchen remodel (completed last Christmas) but since we were trying to stay true to the 1920''s origins of the house, we avoided anything that was obviously contemporary, except for our appliances which are thoroughly modern. So, instead we got soapstone counters (unpolished -- we like the rustic, chipped, slate-gray look). The only recessed lights we have in the house are in our new kitchen, but we also have pendant lights (the classic schoolhouse kind) hanging over the dining table.

So...I hadn''t heard that stainless steel appliances were now ''out.''

Ours are stainless and industrial-looking -- the line is commonly found in professional kitchens (Wolf). We figured that the stainless appliances that the pro''s use are classic and weren''t going to all of a sudden become passe''. Right?

What would be the alternative to stainless steel appliances? All-black, or all-white covered? Regardless, we didn''t buy our appliances for the ''look,'' but rather for what they can do, and we were very impressed by Wolf''s products, all of which are stainless, I believe.

ETA: April -- your living room looks so warm and inviting!

Kristy, I know, I was surprised to see/hear about SS becoming a little outdated, but I don''t think prosumer appliances are going anywhere soon. I have seen more kitchens with cabinet matching refrigerators lately, and even this really interesting "black stainless steel".

I love our granite, but I can see that it''s becoming more common, and would love unpolished soapstone or caesarstone of some sort.

Your kitchen sounds gorgeous - care to share some pics?