My husband also wanted downlights. I don't like them so told him no. I have ceiling pendants and lamps.

I can see why dome folk would want them in a kitchen, again I said no and we have pendants and wall lights.

Sorry, it doesn't really answer your question, or perhaps it does.....

Good afternoon,

Thank you for reaching out!.

Little overview of lighting theory :

There are four types of lighting; ambient, feature, decorative and task and a good design covers all of these in the room.

Here is some advice relevant to your question:

- dimmers are a great choice for flexibility of mood

- your lamps are classed as decorative and possibly task if placed around shoulder height for reading. I agree these will be inviting at a low level

- consider glare - wherever possible ensuring that the source of the light is not visible as this can lead to headaches, with downlight this can be fixed utilising baffled fixtures

- In order to suggest types of fixtures and placement we need to think about what you are trying to achieve with these downlight. Is it task lighting and if so what is the task that this is for? Is it ambient lighting to brighten the room overall and show faces or areas to clean? Is it feature lighting to highlight art, it probably isn't decorative and therefore I agree that blending in with the ceiling is the aim.

-ambient lighting is important and this can be achieved in many ways not just these downlights.

-kelvin ( colour ) choice depends on the use of the room and the colours within the room. Would you like to feel awake or settle down for the night in there. Would you like a certain colour to show up clearly in the room?

-with the beam angle, a wider beam is useful for ambient light whilst a smaller beam will focus on a feature better but downlight are not your only option for what you wish to achieve

Where are you based and when are you starting your project? Please feel free to PM us. We would love to create the perfect ambience for you!

Ellen Utley

www.ellenutleyinteriors.co.uk

Thanks Ellie but I am happy to have some downlighters.
Just trying to get the balance right.

Also now debating central light.
I am thinking a flush mount shade.
Husband likes the long led feature lights but they maybe a bit bling for me!
He is trying to go very modern but I am less keen....

Thanks Ellen. Very helpful.
There is nothing in particular we want to highlight so it is really for function as in when cleaning or if we need main lights on for some other task.
I can not imagine sitting in the evening with these on. Possibly some with the aid of dimmers but much prefer to settle down in evening than feel uplifted.

The ceiling is not 100% smooth and because it’s a large area have been told it would be impossible to achieve.
We don’t want light to highlight this so downlighters seemed like a good option along with lamps.

Good point about headaches I hadn’t realised but that makes sense.

Electrican is meant to be starting Monday - so I may have left it too late...

If these are to be used to aid cleaning and down lights are your choice, a general well distributed grid is best for overall ambient light.

White light will give energy to the cleaner whereas warm is more relaxing.

As you do not like the light patterns on the walls you are best using a frosted bulb/fixture which spreads the light out rather than creating shapes. These may not come with baffles but baffles are only important if you are sat down and possibly looking up.

The turn around for an innovative light design can be around a week. There is always next time if you’d like to give us a go.

Enjoy your project!

Ellen

Thank you Ellen.
I never knew lighting was so involved!
I wish I had given this more consideration and sought advice earlier. Project has already been stalled through lockdown so when electrican slot became available I took it.

Thanks again