What else is there beside downlights?

Would love to see photos of people's lighting choices that aren't downlights.

I really don't want any, but I'm not sure what else I would like in my living areas. Bedrooms will be oysters, garage, laundry and bathrooms will be standard batterns, and entry and above kitchen counter will be pendants.. but for other areas like living, dining, hallways and kitchen what are the alternatives?

What would look good with pendants in the kitchen?

Can't help with pics, but there are a few options.

- LED Panels. They come in many shapes and sizes but you probably would need to buy them online as they aren't common. Example: http://www.sal.net.au/led-battens-panel ... etail.aspx
- Spotlights and track lights. Not common for lighting living areas due to directional nature: http://www.discountlighting.com.au/spotlights
- Oysters. Nothing to add here. These are by far the most common, especially T5 tubed fluoro's.
- Battens.
- Pendants. Not really suitable for lighting large areas unless you look for a multi-light unit with little or no shade of the actual bulb.
- Chandeliers. Not really what you are after, need high ceilings generally.
- Wall lights. As per name, they sit on the walls. Not good for large open areas.

Maybe there is something else out there, but generally thats all i know of. Possibly LED strip lighting, but that would look weird and the amount of strips required would be high.

So...everyone else has LED downlights?

I like that LED panel, but don't know if my builder would go for it. I'm worried an oyster and pendants in the kitchen will look a bit odd.

Guess I will just stick with downlights

We sat down with the sales consultant and chose the layout where we wanted our down lights, which he drew into paper, turns out I now have 12 flying UFOs in my lounge kitchen area (ceiling batten lights). Our sales consultant really f*cked things up for us, def needed more training... I also wish I knew what a ceiling batten light was. Lol oh well live and learn.... My advice is don't do that lol

I saw that photo, sorry but it was bl##dy funny.

I think I saw that photo too!

But yes, I will try not to do that, I thankfully do know what a batten is (THANKS H1!!).. I know some people purposely do that to get the LED done later for cheaper.. but if you didn't intend to do it then that sucks.

Lol thanks! I see the funny side now but seriously as if someone wouldn't mention something to you...

Yeah we are lucky one of my partners mates will fix this for us

It's a great story (and photo) to have, but yeah I wouldn't have been impressed if it happened to me!! At least you can laugh about it years down the track D

I love how you called them UFOs XDD

I still can't make up my mind!

Pros:
- Already included in my build cost
- Flat ceiling look
- They seem popular
- Can't think of anything that would look better in that open living area

Cons:
- Fire hazard
- Loss of insulation
- Might not be pretty light

So I just go with it?

Fan with light in it in middle of room and some nice up/down lights on the walls?

For what it's worth I really like the look of lots of down lights so I reckon if that's what you end up with it will be fine

I was totally against down lights in my open plan living/ kitchen & dining area. I didn't want them in my ceiling

We opted for pendants above the island bench. A concealed LED strip will run within timber shelving either side of our range hood and the range hood light.

We have a fan with a light in the lounge and dining area as well as 2 strategically placed LED wall uplights. I am so happy with the wall lights. Their output is at least double the fan light. Some of the wall light also spreads into the kitchen area. Our walls and ceiling are white which also help with the throw of light.

We also ran extra electrical cabling incase we changed our minds down the track e.g. need an additional wall light or I cave and get down lights.

I would stay clear of wall lights that only project light down, as these will generally just light up what is directly beneath them.

Hubby and electrician did convince me to install down lights in the hallway, outside the front door and above the bathroom vanities. I'm ok with this, as they are rarely on. Bedrooms have fan with a light and beside lamps or ceiling pendants.

Just make sure that whatever light fitting you get has a good strong throw and output of light (lumens).

Good luck.

Curtain pelmets with concealed LED strip lighting. Throws a nice ambient glow around the room. Needs supplementary lighting though as it's not heaps of light.

Wall mounted up lights.

Directional downlights with adjustable tilt positioned near walls to shine on the walls/artwork etc.

Lighting track with LED track spots. Highly flexible. Looks a bit interesting.

LED strip concealed under cupboards, benches etc.

I have a combination of all of these in my place. I am a big fan of applying light to where it's needed. I do not much go for what seems to be the common practice of having grids of downlights everywhere. It is a waste of light, waste of energy, and is poor lighting design.

I also tend to go for lighting that doesn't really stand out as a feature in and of itself, with the exception of a few pendants in selected areas. My basic principle is that I want to use light to enhance the architecture and interior design. I don't want the light fittings to be a feature, generally speaking.

I also don't want to flood the whole area with light so that the architectural and interior design features are washed out with everything else.

When you walk into a space with excellent lighting design, you probably won't even notice it. You'll just really enjoy being in there...

Re the cons. LED downlights can be installed with out loss of insulation, Not really a fire hazard if installed correctly and being a pretty light is opinion based. Check out the Isolite downlight guard and driver housing if required. It vents the driver, the rear of the LED downlight and insulation can be placed up against it so no loss of insulation. This prevents it being a fire hazard as well. Well no more than most other electrical items.

Your lighting sounds awesome, do you have photos?

Sounds like I need to do more research. I wouldn't mind fans, but can't afford them just yet so would stick with oysters. It's more the kitchen I'm a bit lost on. I'm thinking pendants over the counter top and under bench LED strips.. but would an oyster in the middle look odd.. or be okay?

Otherwise I can do 2 LED downlights in the kitchen, 2 in the dining and 4 in the living and one or two in the hallway...

Sorry OP to hijack, but can we please see this photo?

Gonna have to look into these LED Panels more, they seem popular.

Ooh, and thanks for the website link. Very useful.

I'm not having downlighting because it doesn't appeal to me -- style or effects. We are having all batten lights installed by our builder and swapping out to pendants (groups of them in some places), track lighting (for accenting features) and LED panels or bars in utility areas.

I think the LED panel will be great in the centre of the kitchen teamed with your pendants over the island bench. Of course I do coz that's what I've planned for my kitchen With LED strip lights under the overhead cupboards.

You will probably feel more confident after doing a bit of research on lighting for interiors/design. This BBC Design Rules episode on lighting is really informative and easy to watch. It helped me

I'm not having any downlights either. Is beacon the only lighting store around?