Please review kitchen lighting layout

12 years ago

Hi everyone,

We're rushed to complete the lighting layout for our kitchen remodel (cans are going in tomorrow). Pease provide any advice or suggestions to improve our lighting layout.

We've bumped out the front gable to expand the kitchen by 9 feet. The new expanded kitchen will have a vaulted ceiling (8/12 pitch -- 8'3" on the sides and peaking at 12.5' in the center of the kitchen ). We'll have white cabinets, dark counters, hardwood flooring, and stainless appliances.

Our contractor and electrician have already purchased recessed boxes for a sloped ceiling. These will take halogen or regular incandescent flood lights. If I had researched this earlier, perhaps we would have opted for LED. Maybe we can use LED bulbs in the fixtures in the future. but we really can't change much but the spacing/layout at this point.

Specifics:

1) Six 6" cans (circles in pic) in the middle vaulted ceiling kitchen area for general lighting. They will sit at ~10.5' above the floor.

2) Two 5" adjustable cans left/right of the sink and window wall counters (~11' off the floor).

3) Two pendants(TBD) centered over the peninsula(boxes with "x" in pic).

4) Three 5" cans in the flat 8'3" ceiling at the end of the kitchen.

5) Undercabinet lighting for more task lighting and primary countertop work lighting.

6) All of the sets above will be on separate switches and 1-4 will be dimmable.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Comments (6)

triphase
12 years ago
I'm a little distracted by the layout and the position of the cans. I'm liking it, and at the same time not liking it. If you get sloped ceiling cans, you can eliminate any good LED insert in the future. I know of none at the moment, and from the reps I talk to, know of none in the pipeline, and this includes about 2 years out. Just not enough interest to build them. The cans are vastly different. You can only use incandescent trims with these. 44 inches apart is fine though in the rows, and the spacing is correct, but I don't like the light or can choice. Do you not have to have any kind of code for normal type lights where you are? In California here, you have a title 24 law which is very poorly written and outdated.
David
12 years ago
The Cree LE6 could be used as the lens can be adjusted between 10 - 30 degrees.
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triphase
12 years ago
The Cree LE6 cannot be used in a slopped ceiling can though. Unless the cans are typical cans.
ralphs95
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks tri and david. The cans are from Lightolier and are not slope specific (Lightolier 1104ICX). I think it's the specific trim that would allow the light to be directed straight down (~34 degrees) from the 8/12 vaulted ceiling. But I'm not sure what options there are for LED or CFL bulbs with the trims for sloped ceilings. The are some adjustable recessed trims that can accomodate a 30 degree slope which might open up some options. I think pointing the lights straight down is what we want/need here. So I'm not sure of other/better options with the vaulted ceiling.

One concern I have is the placement of the 6 cans 39 inches from the wall. I know this might produce shadows if you're standing at the counters, from the lights above and behind. But they will be up at 10.5 feet above the ground and I was thinking that these are for general lighting. If you're really working at the counters, you could use the undercabinet lighting to address any shadows. Is this a reasonable expectation?

Thanks again for you help.
David
12 years ago
You could look at the Cree LE6 in that case.

Most of the time, the main lighting in my kitchen is not used as the UCL has proven to be more than adequate. They get used more often than the general lighting.

Having said that, there are time where having all the lights on is better.
David
12 years ago
Have you considered the possibility of using cove lighting? If well executed, your kitchen would be unique since most folks use some combination of surface mount fixtures, pendants and recessed lighting.