See the Light, not the fixtures! Less is More!

I know how I feel when I am faced with a ceiling full of recessed lighting fixtures and it is not pleasant. Especially when the fixtures are the tradiitonal builder-style 5 or 6 inch cans. To me, this looks like a ceiling that is suffering from "lighting acne."

Recessed lighing (aka hi - hats) is a wonderful general or ambient lighting solution. Recessed light fixtures can also serve as a source of accent lighting to illuminate artwork or wash a wall with light. They can be fixed or adjustable. We can discuss this more in another posting.

I urge all of you to work with your own Designer and/or electrician to carefully lay out recessed lighting. I would also like to recommend that you specify 3.5" diameter fixtures, rather than the traditional larger diameter cans you find at the home improvement store. Use less, rather than more fixtures. Low voltage fixtures emit powerful clean beams of light. This type of light also uses less energy! A bonus!

Please remember that general or overall illumination is just one layer of lighting. Use only what you need to move through the space. Then, add other layers such as accent lighting and task lighting in the form of table lamps, floor lamps, uplights or sconces. This will create a well-balanced feeling in the space.

I would also recommend that you place all fixtures on dimmers so that you can control the amount of light and the mood that the various lighting solutions will create.

Then--enjoy!