When decorating your home, you want to make sure everything looks perfect. After all, you’re going to have to live with the results! Lighting plays a solid role in the design feature of your home or office interior. Needless to say that the place where you spend a good portion of your daily hours needs to have the right lighting. If you choose the wrong lighting, your space can look dark, small, and even unpleasant. Read this article to determine whether you need recessed lights or ceiling lights – here’s how to choose what’s best for your space.
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Differences Between Recessed Lights and Ceiling Lights
These two types of lights are used in most houses. They have different purposes and also look different.
- Ceiling lights are attached to the ceiling, but recessed lights are fixed into the ceiling (using a recessed lighting calculator for proper placement.
- Recessed lights are not very noticeable, whereas a ceiling light hangs down, making it the focal point of the whole space. For example, a ceiling fan with lights is a prominent part of a room.
- Recessed lights are usually small, but ceiling lights can be any size.
Types of Recessed Lights
There are three types of recessed lights.
- Ceiling: Recessed downlighting is the most commonly used style.
- In-Ground: Usually used to illuminate pathways and landscape outside.
- Wall: Used at an angle to illuminate pathways and steps.
Types of Ceiling Lights
There are mainly three types of ceiling lights: flush-mount, semi-flush mount, and hanging lights.
- Flush-mount ceiling lights: These ceiling lights sit against your ceiling without gaps and give a minimalistic look. Flush-mount ceiling lights should be used on low ceilings for better light. They look great in small spaces such as bathrooms and hallways.
- Semi-mount ceiling lights: Nowadays, semi-mount ceiling lights are commonly used instead of chandeliers for a low ceiling. They extend a few inches from the ceiling and provide an elegant, decorative look.
- Hanging ceiling lights: High ceilings look great with hanging lights such as a chandelier. They can drop as much as six or seven feet from the ceiling. They look best in large entryways, dining rooms, or living rooms.
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When to Use Ceiling Lights
Ceiling lights become the room’s focal point as they stand out more than recessed lights. They can be big, small, decorative, or minimalist. Ceiling lights are usually used for aesthetic purposes. You will find different types of ceiling lights to match your home. They are used in large rooms with high ceilings as they provide a lot of light. You may prefer a chandelier for a very high ceiling. It will illuminate the room as well as beautify it. Whichever ceiling light you feel is the right choice for your space can also be personalized by adding unique light fixtures to complement the aesthetics of your home decor. Although this requires spending extra on buying and installing the fixtures. But hey, this is your space, so please yourself! Installation of ceiling lights can be costly. Don’t forget to set up ceiling lights so that every corner gets light; otherwise, the space will have dull and dark areas.
When to Use Recessed Lights
Recessed lights are usually installed between the ceiling joists, but some retrofitted recessed lights can also be fitted into spaces with holes in the ceiling to accommodate wiring. Recessed lights look best in small rooms with low ceilings because they don’t overpower the space. Moreover, it can brighten up a room always in use, such as the kitchen or the living room. If you are an artist or art enthusiastic and want to highlight your pieces, recessed lights are best for you. They should be placed at an angle of thirty degrees to avoid glare. Even if you are not highlighting art, you can use it for your fireplace mantle. Harsh lights can ruin a room’s atmosphere. You can use recessed lights by downlighting them near a wall. The light will bounce off the wall more pleasantly and illuminate the space. It’s much better than direct downlighting. Recessed lights will not add a decorative element to your space as it’s not quite visible. Moreover, large rooms may seem dark if you install recessed lights. You may also need to buy more recessed lights to illuminate the room.
Where Do Recessed Lights Look Flawless?
You always have to consider functionality and aesthetics together. Ignoring either will leave you unhappy and unsatisfied. Recessed lighting is perfect for the kitchen, hallway, basement, and backyard. You can also use recessed lights in other rooms by mixing and matching them with different ceiling lights. It will look great and add a modern touch.
Placement of Recessed Lights
If you have decided upon recessed lighting, here are a few tips to get started.
Tip 1:
Use a recessed lighting calculator to get the perfect placement of recessed lights in a room. Otherwise, you might get an airport runway look that is not really aesthetic.
Tip 2:
If you want to focus on something particular, place the recessed lights twelve to eighteen inches in front of it.
Tip 3:
When setting up recessed lights over a reading area, make sure to place them right over the head to avoid distracting shadows.
Tip 4:
You can use recessed lights to make a room look larger. How? Wall-washing recessed lighting fixtures can be used around the perimeter of a room to “extend” the walls. It will give the illusion of having a larger space.
Be Cautious About Lighting
It’s your home! You can use whatever lighting suits your taste. But before installing any lights, you must know the construction of your home. If you are going to change your lighting, it’s essential to contact an electrician who will let you know details about bulbs, wiring, transformers, or if your house is IC-rated. If you are having trouble fixing lights, it’s better to leave it for a qualified electrician. Have fun decorating!corati
ng your home, you want to make sure everything looks perfect. After all, you’re going to have to live with the results! Lighting plays a solid role in the design feature of your home or office interior. Needless to say that the place where you spend a good portion of your daily hours needs to have the right lighting. If you choose the wrong lighting, your space can look dark, small, and even unpleasant. Read this article to determine whether you need recessed lights or ceiling lights – here’s how to choose what’s best for your space.
