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How to Plan Your Kitchen Recessed Lighting

You know you need recessed lighting in your kitchen—but where do you put it? How many lights do you need? How far apart? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here’s everything you need to know about installing kitchen recessed lighting in your kitchen.

Why Kitchen Recessed Lighting?

The kitchen is an active place in your home. Whether the kids are making a snack or you’re cooking Sunday dinner, the kitchen is a room that is guaranteed daily use, and requires light across a wider area than most rooms. After all, you need to be able to see exactly what you’re doing when you’re working with knives, hot stoves, and seasonings that might look similar at first glance.

We all love our dining room chandeliers and kitchen pendant lighting for adding personality and charm to our homes, but when it comes to task lighting, recessed lighting is the best choice to get the job done. These compact fixtures tuck away into your ceiling and can spread light far across your space without getting in the way of your more decorative lighting pieces.

Recessed lighting spread light without getting in the way of your more decorative lighting pieces

Recessed Lighting Spacing

Because kitchen recessed lights are small, you can place many of them in one room to provide the most effective lighting. The general rule of thumb for recessed lighting spacing is to place four feet between each light. We recommend making a map of your kitchen (that takes the square footage of your kitchen into consideration) to plan your kitchen recessed lighting layout.

When thinking about where to place your recessed lighting, you'll want to think about how you use the space. The kitchen recessed lighting should be installed over the areas that you'll need the light in the most. For example, if you primarily use your island to prepare your meals, you will want to place the recessed lighting in that area, with one light centered on the island and two more four feet apart. If your food prep is done on your counter tops, then you'll want to place the recessed lights closer to them.

How Many Recessed Lights?

In general, a 12x12 kitchen will use a minimum of three to a maximum of nine recessed lights to illuminate the needed area.

Exact lighting needs will vary, so keep your kitchen’s layout in mind when deciding the number of lights you need for your unique space. For example, if you have an island chandelier over your kitchen island, you may not need recessed lighting in that area.

Fortunately, recessed lights are some of the most affordable lighting options on the market, with many models available for under $50.

Types of Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting is available in a variety of options, and these options are best broken down by the major components of the light: housing, trim, and bulbs.

1) Recessed Lighting Housing

The housing is what makes the actual recessed lighting fixture. It is installed above the ceiling and holds the trim and bulb in place. There are several types of recessed lighting housing:

New Construction housing is used before the ceiling is installed, built into the structure of the building.
Remodel housing is designed to be installed into an existing ceiling.
Insulation Contact (IC) rated housing can come into direct contact with ceiling insulation.
Non-Insulation Contact (Non-IC) rated housing requires three inches of clearance from ceiling insulation.
Shallow Ceiling housing can be used in ceilings with 2”x 6” joists
Sloped Ceiling housing can be used with sloped ceilings

When choosing the best kitchen recessed lighting for your home, consider the construction of the ceiling. This will determine the type of housing that will be the most compatible for your home.

2) Recessed Lighting Trim

The trim is the most visible part of the recessed light, and comes in a variety of styles, sizes, and shapes to suit your home. Though recessed lighting is generally inobtrusive, keeping it in line with your décor as much as possible is always a good idea!

Baffle Trim has a ribbed interior, and is the most common recessed trim
Reflector Trim uses a mirrored surface to make the most of the light; some have tinting available
Open Trim places the bulb nearly flush or flush to the ceiling, offering unrestricted light from the bulb
Eyeball Trim can be adjusted to provide light where you need it, and can function as accent lighting or wall-wash lighting
Gimbal Trim is similar to Eyeball Trim, but doesn’t extend as far from the ceiling and the housing may block some of the light when fully turned
Pin Hole Trim keeps the light focused to a narrow beam, which is useful for spotlighting certain areas
Wall-Wash Trim blocks slightly more than half the bulb to focus the light in a specific direction, most often used for accent lighting
Shower Trim has a tempered glass lens that is best for wet locations such as bathrooms; it can be used in kitchens too if desired

All these trims come in various colors, shapes, and sizes. Think about how you want the light to be used when choosing your trim type, and then explore the array of options in that category to find your perfect kitchen recessed lighting.

3) Bulbs

The bulb is, of course, where the light comes from. Recessed lighting bulb types are available with LED lights, dimmers, and color temperatures. Make sure that you purchase the correct bulbs for your recessed lighting, just as you would with any other lighting fixture, and you can’t go wrong.

We Have the Best Kitchen Recessed Lighting

The great thing about recessed lighting is that you can make sure you get light exactly where you need it, without intruding upon the décor and aesthetics of the kitchen itself.

At 1stoplighting.com, there are a lot of options to choose from and a lot of things to think through in your planning process. If you need help, our customer service team is here to help! After taking your measurements, give us a call at 1-866-203-5392 and we’ll make sure you get the best kitchen recessed lighting for your home.

How to Plan Your Kitchen Recessed Lighting

Why Kitchen Recessed Lighting?

Recessed Lighting Spacing

How Many Recessed Lights?

Types of Recessed Lighting

1) Recessed Lighting Housing

2) Recessed Lighting Trim

3) Bulbs

We Have the Best Kitchen Recessed Lighting

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Ideas & Guides

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