Recessed Lighting Ideas For Your Home

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of your home. It accentuates furnishings, creates ambience and appears to be built into the room, enhancing the aesthetics of your space.

In recent years, recessed lighting has become very popular. In a nutshell, recessed lighting is lighting that is installed directly inside a ceiling, wall or countertop, as opposed to hanging by a cable, for example.

In this guide, we summarise the benefits of recessed lighting and show you how to use it effectively in your home.

1. Types of recessed lighting

The first thing you need to understand is how recessed lighting is constructed. The lights have three components: the housing, the trim and the lightbulb.

The housing refers to the part of the light that is hidden inside the wall and contains the electrical wiring. The trim is the portion that is visible on the outside of the surface. The lightbulb, of course, is the part that produces light.

The main difference in recessed lighting is in the various trim options. Here are the main types you will need to consider.

• Open trim: when the lightbulb is flush with the surface in which it is installed so that the trim is not visible to the eye.
• Reflector trim: features a reflective surface that enhances the light produced.
• Baffle trim: the light bulb is inside a black ribbed trim that minimises any glare from the bulb.
• Pinhole trim: this type of trim funnels the light into a narrow channel, creating a cool and contemporary feel.
• Eyeball trim: an adjustable trim that allows you to choose the angle of the light.
• Gimbal trim: similar to the eyeball trim, but the lightbulb sits deeper inside the surface, allowing the housing to block some of the light.
• Canless trim: allows the light to plug directly into your electric system.
• Shower trim: trim for wet or damp spaces where the bulb is protected by tempered glass.
• Wall wash trim: features a shield that blocks some light, allowing you to focus the remaining light on key areas.

2. How to install recessed lighting

While it’s possible to install recessed lighting yourself, we wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a qualified electrician.

The basic steps include drilling holes in the surface using a template, connecting your new recessed lighting wires to your electrical mains and patching up any damage once the lights are secure.

At FCI, we’ve been designing interiors and installing fittings since 1985. We have a qualified electrical team who can come and install your new recessed lighting fittings safely and in perfect style.

3. Ideas for using recessed lighting in your home

When you decide to install recessed lighting, you immediately access an array of benefits that amplify the atmosphere and add better functionality to the lighting in each room. Here are some of the best ways to use recessed lighting in your home.

Accent Lighting

 Install lights along the edges of your living room or bedroom to create accent lighting. The downlighting creates an atmospheric ambience that can be further enhanced through the use of dimmers. You can also direct the lights to highlight special features or artworks.

Task Lighting

These lights are installed to provide illumination for any tasks that you need to perform. The most common areas for task lighting are desks, kitchen countertops and tables. The lights direct down onto the workspace, allowing you to clearly see what you’re doing.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting refers to the general lighting of a space. It must be both functional and enhance the mood of a room or area. Recessed lighting is great for ambience as individual lights are tucked out of sight and can be angled and finished according to your style preference and needs.

4. Pros and cons of recessed lighting

We asked our interior designers to provide us with a list of the pros and cons of recessed lighting.

Pros

• Unobtrusive: Recessed lights are tucked away into ceilings and walls, creating a subtle effect that allows other features and furnishings to shine.
• Energy efficient: In many countries, it is standard practice to sell recessed lighting with LED bulbs, creating a greener lighting option.
• Safe: Lighting fixtures that hang from the ceiling or lamps that sit on tables can get in the way or break, while recessed lighting remains safely out of the way.

Cons

• Difficult to install: It is certainly easier to buy a table lamp than to install recessed lighting, which requires drilling and electrical wiring. however, if you get professionals to do the job, you won’t have any difficulties.
• Can be cold: Certain styles of recessed lighting can have a cold and sparse effect. If you chose recessed lighting with pinhole trim, for example, it’s best to go with warm LED bulbs to offset this.

5. Tips for choosing the right type of recessed lighting for your home

There are 4 key aspects to consider before choosing the best type of recess lighting for your room.

• Indoors or outdoors: if you want to light up an outdoor space, be sure to choose recessed lighting that can withstand wet weather and is resistant to the elements.
• Dimmers or no dimmers: when you’re lighting up areas like bedrooms or living rooms, we advise selecting options with a dimmer so you can control the amount of light in the room as the natural light outside changes.
• Sloped ceilings: there is a specific type of recessed lighting housing that can accommodate sloped ceilings. The angled opening allows the trim to sit flush with the sloped ceiling instead of sticking out.
• Damp areas: recessed lighting in the bathroom must have tempted glass to protect it from damp seeping in.

Lighting Advice at FCI

If you’re not sure where to start with your recessed lighting journey, chat with us.

Our advice to obligation free and we’ll guide you to create the most visually appealing, functional version of contemporary lighting in your home.