Lighting in hallway and kitchen: Are recessed ceiling spotlights needed?

Hello,

we are currently planning our lighting in the hallway as well as the kitchen.

The developer offered us the installation of recessed ceiling spotlights in the concrete ceiling, which are GU10 sockets for up to 50W bulbs.

One spotlight would cost about €150, which is why we only want to plan as many as necessary.

The spotlights are already marked on the attached plan - however, I am concerned that it might become a bit too dark.

The kitchen island will be a bit further to the left and aligned with the window and the kitchen unit.
There will be 6x 2W LEDs under the wall cabinets and there will also be lighting under the extractor hood.

In your opinion, is it sufficient if I use 5W LEDs in the GU10 sockets?

Or should I completely do without the spotlights, since for the money (€1500) I could also get a nice track lighting system?

What do you think?

Is that really desired? I mean, such a hallway always somehow gives me a waiting room feeling...

I would still go for a classic wood-burning stove, or indirect light with LEDs...

Or 20cm LED panels... I have these in my hallway...

The spots are enough. We have 6 LED spots in our 16m2 kitchen and they are more than sufficient.

PS: I don't like rail systems at all.

3 watt spotlights are sufficient. In the kitchen, however, I would position them more towards the workstations, as otherwise, you will stand in the light.

Our hallway is very long; due to the L-shape, multiple light sources need to be planned. In the kitchen, I am concerned that because of the distance to the work surface, the only light source there might be one's own shadow. On the upper side of the kitchen, starting 1.3m from the left, there will be tall cabinets (1.5m high). The dimensions of the kitchen area are 4m x 3m. Would you leave the arrangement around the island as is? Or would you plan for 2 more spots per room? Maybe you could also show me alternatives. LED panels? How should I imagine that?

That looks really great with the LED panels!

For us, however, if anything, the spotlights should be recessed into the concrete ceiling - without suspending the ceiling!

That’s also why it’s so expensive, and the developer already needs to know the positions of the spotlights before construction starts.

Alternatively, we skip the expensive recesses and plan for regular light points. But then retrofitting later in the ground floor would be very complicated – I think suspending the ceiling would be easier than milling holes and slots into the ceilings.

Especially in the open kitchen with island, as well as in the hallway with L-shape, I fear that we won’t get decent lighting with simple light points.

I wouldn’t have thought that something like this would cause me so much worry in advance...