Feedback on lighting planning for a single-family house desired

Hello everyone,

we are currently working on the electrical planning for our single-family house. The focus is currently on the lighting planning; network and socket planning are also done but will follow separately.
As with most people here, this is the first time we are doing such lighting planning. We have looked at many things "live," read and informed ourselves, and after numerous adjustments and several months, the plan below has been created.
I would like to get your feedback on it – I am sure, despite intensive planning, to get some valuable suggestions here. I am not yet 100% satisfied especially in the entrance area and the kitchen.

Before we get to the nitty-gritty, a small request from my side: Please no general comments on the floor plan, the layout of the living space, etc. – that is fixed, cannot be changed, and should remain as it is.

About the house:
- Single-family house with 2 floors without basement
- approx. 183 sqm total living area
- timber frame construction

Ceiling height ground floor:
In the entrance area 2.4m (hallway, bathroom, technical room – rises after the passage to kitchen / living room)
Rest of ground floor 2.5 m

Ceiling height upper floor:
2.5 in the hallway (lowered due to attic)
Rest of upper floor: at the outer walls knee wall approx. 1.85 m
Roof slope from there to the hallway interior wall up to approx. 3.8 m height

Miscellaneous
- On the ground floor under the stairs there is a storage room; of course, a light source is planned there, but I have left it out here for clarity.
- The LED stair lights are basically "strips" on every 2nd or 3rd step; for clarity, I have not implemented this exactly here.
- The T-wall in the upper floor bathroom will only be about 2.30 m high; the rest remains open to the top so that light will also reach the shower and WC.
- Our (visual) requirement is to never have more than 3 switches (up to 6 split) at one place. In addition to the lighting planning, there are sometimes switch assignments for outdoor power and electric shutters, which is why, for example, at the patio door and directly to the right around the corner, there is each a switch with "only" 2 assignments.

I hope I have thought of everything.

Many thanks in advance for your feedback

Best regards
Michael

A brief addition on my part: the plans are not to scale, but the dimensions shown on the sides are correct. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to do it differently in the representation, since I have been adjusting the floor plan in an online planner "parallel" to the architect from the beginning and based the electrical planning on that.

A word about the kitchen .. ceiling spotlights at the work row by the window should be closer towards the wall, otherwise the person working casts shadows on the countertop. And only 2 spots over 4 m seems a bit tight to me. Kitchen, I would also consider a "cozy ambiance" setup, for example if you are sitting at the dining table and only want some light in the kitchen.

Just about the kitchen .. ceiling spots on the work row at the window should be closer towards the wall ...

But only a little. You place them exactly on the edge of the countertop.

Have you ever thought about which light fixture you want to hang over the living room table? Likewise, in the bedroom, the two lighting outlets at the lower corners of the bed? What do you hang there? Bathroom – exactly the same... no mirror lighting and what do you want to hang from the ceiling there? The person standing at the washbasin has shadows on their face from the ceiling light...

I would think carefully about WHICH lights you like, what you want to achieve with them. Then I can also consider where the cable should go. That doesn’t seem to have happened here.

Sometimes I think the "planning" always only refers to spots and at all other places no one knows what to do. And then “you just put a cable there first.”

Also plan enough sockets – possibly also switchable ones – for cozy lighting. Floor lamps, small table lamps. When sitting comfortably watching TV, you don’t want to have a light on above the living room table, do you? (although I have never really understood the purpose of a light fixture in that spot...)

Likewise, I would reconsider the motion detectors. For example, in the dressing room next to the bedroom. If you maybe don’t want to disturb the others, the light will always go on (regardless of the fact that a cramped dressing room is annoying anyway, but the floor plan is not to be discussed )

Play through your daily routine. When do you want what kind of light...

Have you ever thought about which light fixture you want to hang over the living room table?

Yes, we have. It will be a square, not very deep pendant lamp made of concrete.

Also in the bedroom, the two light outlets at the lower corners of the bed? What do you hang there?

Either pendant lights or globe lights – possibly there will be only one light point, we are unsure about that.

Bathroom – exactly the same... no mirror lighting and what do you want to hang under the ceiling there? The person standing at the washbasin has shadows on the face from the light fixture on the ceiling...

In the bathroom there will also be either one or a second pendant light. The mirror cabinet will also have a built-in light, which I omitted here since it is connected via an outlet. But in general, we have considered them.

I would really think about WHICH lights you like, what you want to achieve with them. Then I can also think about where the cable should go. That doesn’t seem to have happened here. Sometimes I think the “planning” always only relates to spots and in all other places people don't know what to do. And then “you just put a cable there.”

And you come to this conclusion based on your three questions above? Actually, we know which lamp, or at least which type (pendant, hanging, track, etc.) will be used for almost all cases.

Also plan enough outlets – possibly switchable ones – for cozy lighting. Floor lamps, small table lamps. When sitting comfortably watching TV, you don’t want a light on above the living room table, do you? (although I have never understood the point of a lamp in that spot...)

If you look, you will see that for coziness in all relevant rooms there are wall lights for indirect lighting, in the living room also indirect LED backlighting of the television as well as a floor lamp in the living/dining area. The outlet planning will be done separately as described at the beginning – there will be no shortage of them.

I would also reconsider the motion detectors. For example in the dressing room next to the bedroom. If you don’t want to disturb someone else, the light will always turn on (independent of the fact that a trapped dressing room is disturbing anyway, but the floor plan is not to be discussed )

You are definitely right about the dressing room; my better half also criticizes that. For the hallway on the ground floor, it is designed so that when entering this area, the indirect wall lights turn on – only if you really want festive lighting do the spots come on.

Thank you for your feedback!