WWYD with these recessed lights?

10 years ago

Our kitchen is 16 x 11.5. We are reusing the old 6" cans and bought CR6 inserts for them. The old kitchen had a light right over the sink and one light on either side - this is the short 11.5' side of the kitchen. The 16' side only had 3 lights.

In the new kitchen we didn't know what to do about the recessed lights and how to work them around the range and hood. The range will be such a focal point in the kitchen that it seemed you either needed to have a can centered in front of it, or have them equal distances away on the sides of the hood. This made it so that the light to the right of the hood was really close to the light to the left of the sink. DHs solution was to nix the light to the left of the sink. so now it's quite a distance from the light over the sink to the first light on the long wall run. maybe it looks OK. I am not sure. My idea would be to leave the light to the left of the sink and have 4 lights on the 16' wall and 3 on the 11.5' wall. we will also have 2 cans over the pantry/fridge wall which I don't have shown in these photos, and 2 pendant lights over the island. Plus LED under cabinet lighting.

Also it's worth noting that the sink light is on its own switch. So if you don't turn on the sink light and just flip the switch for the other canned lights (on the perimeter) there will be a big distance between the light to the right of the sink and the light in the corner where the long wall starts.

So I guess I am asking if this is OK? Should I try to talk DH into adding another can to the left of the sink? Even though it would be very close to the light in the corner?

I'll add more pictures below this. The range/hood will be right between
The 2 framed window boxes.

Do you see how there 2 joist channels to the left of the sink with no lights? There used to be a can in the joist channel that is closest to the sink, but still to the left of the sink. The can was pushed as far left as it would go.

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Comments (7)

Kristen Hallock
Original Author
10 years ago
this is the long wall where the range will be located. The framed in boxes are for the new windows.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
10 years ago
This pictures shows the sink light turned off. There is a big gap between the light at the right on the sink and the light in the corner. (If you didn't flip the light for the sink)

This post was edited by khallock on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 21:45
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williamsem
10 years ago
I feel your pain! It took me and the crew quite a while to place the lights here with the joists and pipes.

How far are your cans off the range wall? Will that wall have UCL? I can't recall all the details of your plan at the moment. You might be able to shift them over one joist and keep them all the way left. Hard to say from those pics.
breezygirl
10 years ago
I'm very tired so this may not make sense. As you know, your layout is similar to mine. I started by centering a can over the cleanup sink. Then we placed two cans equidistant from that on the perimeter appropriate for the 6" can light spread. Cans are placed on equidistant on either side of the range hood also. You don't need a can in front of the range hood. The result is two cans close together in the corner to the left of the cleanup sink. Somehow I didn't see this as a very big issue on paper, although I don't like how it turned out IRL. I'm not sure there was much I could have done about it though. My motto is always that more light is better than less light. I'm a light junkie.

Maybe this photo will help.

Light plan made by lighting specialist taking into account our already-overloaded, can-filled LR.

Note that I do NOT have the sink can switched separately. I didn't want to place yet one more switch in an already difficult location, and I wouldn't be able to do any work at the cleanup sink with just one can on anyway. I stressed about this decision, but it's been great the way it is.

Edited to add this photo of the range wall for a look at the cans from a different angle.

This post was edited by breezygirl on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 5:03
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks. I like more light too. DH lights LESS light. DH is doing the lighting work. Thats where this becomes a problem! I think we need a light to the left of the cleanup sink just to make the lights look more even. BUT in all fairness it seems like there is plenty of light now, and we dont even have the new LED inserts in the cans. Plus we will have those 2 new windows once they are installed. And 2 cans on the fridge wall. Plus 2 pendants over the island. And the range hood has a light in it. Plus UCL.

I mapped out the lighting on the layout below. The yellow ones are 6" cans and the red are pendant lights. I guess it looks OK.
Anne Harris
10 years ago
For what it's worth, when we built our house, we put the can over the sink on a separate switch next to the sink. The sink has a window above it like yours. The other cans in the work area of the kitchen are all on a separate switch. If I had it to do over, I would not put the can over the sink on its own switch. Just adds one more light to turn on, and as a result, I don't turn it on that often.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
10 years ago
Williamsem - We just moved the lights on the range wall to that joist. Before they were on the joist closer to the wall and that made them about 21.5" from the wall on-center. Which I guess is too close to the wall. So now they are 32" from the range wall. That joist runs pretty much right thru the prime area for canned lights. So we are stuck with either having them much too close, or a little farther away from the wall than the ideal spacing. I have read 24-30" from the wall on center is a good range.

Anne - I agree. I never turn that light on! I would love it if it was on the same switch as the rest of the lights. But I dont want to ask DH to do more work than he is already doing since this is all DIY. I dont know how much effort it would take to put it on the same switch as the other lights.

We will have UCL LED lights on that wall. Plus the range hood has lights in it too.