Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Aug 16, 2009 4:26 pm I was wanting to have my downlights in the kitchen/living area in 2 rows, positioned like in the picture below. I've since heard from an sparky that downlights should go directly over the kitchen top. If this is the case, should I only have one row of downlights? Or 2 rows, but the width between the lights smaller and then greater off the walls? I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions! On a side note, he also mentioned he usually puts 4 downlights in bedrooms. I think it would look pretty, but would it be too bright with 4 lights? The room is roughly 3x3.5m. Thanks Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 2Aug 16, 2009 7:45 pm I've just gone through the lighting plan for my extension ... some things that were mentioned to me ... don't light areas you don't need huge amounts of light for ... eg. in your kitchen ... you will need light over the bench/island for specific tasks (reading recipes, avoiding fingers when chopping) but you don't need that level of light in walk ways. I took the advice and my lighting runs over the bench. But if you chose to go aeadh with the lights you have ... would you do under cupboard lights as well? re: number of downlights in bedroom ... will totally depend on the downlight used ... like globes, there are differing levels of light depending on what is installed ... and of course the size of the room. What other lighting are you planning ... think of reading/studying in rooms etc. Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 3Aug 16, 2009 9:19 pm Thanks for your reply. I've made some concessions... I'm going to stick to the plan as is and yes, there will be lights under the kitchen cupboards. The two lights that are above the kitchen bench will be downlights, but movable, so that they will point towards the bench. I hope it all works out as planned! Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 4Aug 26, 2009 7:18 pm After re-visiting some display homes, I've changed my mind and we're now moving the two downlights to be above the kitchen bench, and then we will have a single downlight between those 2, almost in-line with the hallway lights. Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 5Aug 27, 2009 3:29 pm We've got: - 3 standard lights above the kitchen L-shape (we will most likely install pendants here) - 4 downlights inside the kitchen (one directly in front of pantry, another in front of fridge, other two are nearer the L shape) - 2 downlights placed directly above the bench at the wall (in front of the overhead cupboards), one to light each side of the bench to either side of the range. If you wanted to do the same to your kitchen I guess you would have 2 lights above the island, 2 above the benches either side of the range, and then maybe one in the middle to light the fridge and pantry (which is on the left in your plan? That yellow is difficult for me to see). Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 6Aug 27, 2009 3:56 pm lina_321 After re-visiting some display homes, I've changed my mind and we're now moving the two downlights to be above the kitchen bench, and then we will have a single downlight between those 2, almost in-line with the hallway lights. Good decision. The original plan would have created nasty shadowing on the benchtops as you were trying to chop things other than your fingers. The new setup will work well if there are also lights in your rangehood. Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 7Aug 27, 2009 4:26 pm We have 3 downlights directly over our main kitchen bench area and one above the bench beside the stove. ( we don;t have a rangehood) we have normal lights down the centre of the room for general lighting. These will eventually be oyster lights. These get used when you are just going in and out of the kitchen but the downlights are used if you are working in the kitchen at night or in low light so you have light directly above the work area. We also have a light in our pantry. the blue spots are normal lights and the orange ones downllights. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Blog http://wherethehearthis.blogspot.com/ Build https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6634: Yard https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27687&p=378401#p378401 Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 9Aug 29, 2009 9:24 pm As an aside, our builder told us he always puts the two downlights in bedrooms on the diagonal so that one is in front of the built-in robes. This way some light shines into the robe. I've never lived with downlights before so I dont' know if this is of any real benefit. Kylie Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 10Aug 30, 2009 10:34 pm Hi there all, Quote: As an aside, our builder told us he always puts the two downlights in bedrooms on the diagonal so that one is in front of the built-in robes. This way some light shines into the robe. I've never lived with downlights before so I dont' know if this is of any real benefit. mmm... i wouldn't put money on this one! There are a variety of downlights in the market, and these can offer various beam spreads. The maximum being an FNV giving 60degree beam spread of light. So quite simply, there is NO reason to plaxce them on a diagonal, as: 1 - this will create dark spots in the room, and 2 - aesthetically incorrect. Therefore, if you cannot get away with centering them in a room, then this may mean that you require more than 2 downlights in that room. Alternatively, an additional downlight, or even a wall light, can be placed inside the robe. From a lighting perspective, this would be a better option. Quote: After re-visiting some display homes, I've changed my mind and we're now moving the two downlights to be above the kitchen bench, and then we will have a single downlight between those 2, almost in-line with the hallway lights. this is a wiser option, as you will hate the shadows, if you create them. Shadows are nasty!! Therefore, cabinet lighting, and well diffused fluorescents are an ideal option. These days, you can find some really nice fluorescent oyster lights that are T5 technology. You might want to have a look at this link - http://shop.micaunited.com.au/cat/2047647.html Hope this has helped. Re: Where should downlights be positioned in kitchen/living? 11Aug 31, 2009 6:35 am MICA There are a variety of downlights in the market, and these can offer various beam spreads. The maximum being an FNV giving 60degree beam spread of light. So quite simply, there is NO reason to plaxce them on a diagonal, as: 1 - this will create dark spots in the room, and 2 - aesthetically incorrect. Therefore, if you cannot get away with centering them in a room, then this may mean that you require more than 2 downlights in that room. Alternatively, an additional downlight, or even a wall light, can be placed inside the robe. From a lighting perspective, this would be a better option. Thanks for picking up on this, it's hard to tell when a builder is speaking from experience or from habit ("we've always done it this way so it must be good"). We haven't reviewed the electrical plans yet, so still have time to work out what we really want. Kylie Can anyone suggest a house layout where the kitchen-dining - living runs the length across the rear of the house left to right where our best view will be we… 0 4344 hey there! π so, itβs kinda common for standard drawer depths to be around 500mm since most cabinets use this size to fit the usual runners… 3 20890 I would be wary. Is you site demilished but nothing else done? Sounds like liquidity problems to me. Our builder did the same. Got hundreds of thousands of dollars of… 2 15390 |