Lighting planning single-family house with LED recessed spots - quantity and position

Hello everyone,

I am currently working on the lighting planning for our single-family house construction project because the ordering of the ceilings is slowly approaching. The general floor plan planning thread was here:

Attached are 3 pictures with the marked lighting which should hopefully be self-explanatory.

First, as general information: We like it brighter than maybe some other people. I often consider rooms too dark; too bright has never happened to me. Furthermore, my wife has a strong aversion to LED panels, LED strips, and anything along those lines. Smart Home, presence detectors, etc. are not planned.

In general, our basic idea is that every room should have a "primary lighting" adjusted in brightness according to the room's use:
Work rooms (bathroom, kitchen, hallway, office, cellar, garage): very bright
Living, dining, sleeping: "cozy"
Children’s room: somewhere in between

Additionally, we plan a "secondary lighting" for coziness when you don’t want it so bright.

The number and placement of the built-in LED spots have been discussed "roughly" with our electrician.

Brief explanation of the rooms that are a bit more complex:

Parents’ bathroom: Spots for primary lighting when bright light is needed. Mood lighting opposite the bathtub for when you want to cozy up in the tub or just quickly use the toilet at night without much light. Light outlet at the mirror for mirror lighting.

Children’s bathroom: Same as parents’, just without mood lighting.

Bedroom: bedside lamp/reading lamp at the bed, small table lamp or floor lamp in the corner, and a cozy ceiling light. A few spots in front of the wardrobe so the wardrobe is well lit and you can see the clothes well when choosing and dressing.

Hallways: Ceiling spots for when very bright light is needed (e.g. dressing, shopping, carrying things), the table lamps on the sideboards as constant lighting in the evening hours when just passing through.

Upper floor hallway: The gap in the spots is because there is an attic pull-down staircase there.

Stairs: Small mini LEDs in the walls above every second or third step for accent lighting that stays on permanently in the evening hours. When it should be bright, a wall lamp on each side. Alternatively, on the upper floor a ceiling outlet above the landing for a long pendant lamp.

Living / dining / kitchen: 6 built-in spotlights are installed under the wall cabinets in the kitchen. Then 6 LED spots so that the countertop and stove (peninsula) are well lit. At the 3 ceiling outlets, there is a counter where 3 small pendant lights are to be installed. Above the dining table, a large pendant lamp. In the corner between the fireplace wall and dining table, a larger floor lamp. Opposite the fireplace wall, to the right of the sliding door, a wall lamp, just like on the left and right of the window in the right area (living area). The window is a seating window. Above the sofa a reading light (wall-mounted) and next to the sofa possibly a floor lamp with a shade and a small reading light so one can also read well in the armchair.

That is our considerations so far; I hope for some creative feedback on the following points:
1. Number and arrangement of the LED spots in hallways and bathrooms – does that fit from your perspective?
2. I have seen that in hallways the LED spots are sometimes not centered but rather close to one wall and then one wall is illuminated more strongly. Has anyone had experience with that? Good or bad?
3. Would you omit the first row of LED spots in the bathrooms in front of the washbasin if you plan a mirror with lighting, or still install them?
4. Do you think the upper floor stairs can be well lit with a pendant lamp at the ceiling outlet and then the wall lamps can be omitted?
5. Does the wardrobe lighting in the bedroom fit from your perspective? Or is there a risk that too many shadows will be cast and it won’t be bright enough inside the wardrobe?
6. Does anything generally stand out? Any room planned with too much or too little lighting?

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Welcome to the forum,

Furthermore, my wife has a strong aversion to LED panels, LED strips, and everything along those lines.

and you are planning to punch holes in the ceilings with LED spots, that contradicts itself.
Choose some nice lights and plan the lighting of the different rooms and areas with them.

Thank you very much!

and you plan to drill holes in the ceilings with LED spots, that contradicts itself.
Just find some nice lights and plan the lighting of the different rooms and areas with them.

No, that's actually something completely different. Recessed ceiling spots convey, at least for us, a rather conservative classic image and complement table lamps or floor lamps with large fabric lampshades well, etc. Whereas LED ceiling panels and LED strips have a more modern, purist style and therefore probably do not fit our decor very well. Of course, that may be a subjective perception. We currently have halogen ceiling spots in the bathroom and hallway and find them (apart from the power consumption) very nice. We don't have any in the kitchen, and it's always too dark for us there.

In the hallways, we are actually considering doing without spots and simply using 3 ceiling outlets on the ground floor and 1-2 ceiling outlets on the upper floor.

I once created a ground floor and upper floor plan without hallway spots. I could imagine it like this at the ceiling outlets.

In the kitchen area, I would be afraid that I wouldn’t get it bright enough without casting some kind of shadow.

In the bathroom, I find it difficult to find nice ones that have the appropriate protection classes (especially for in the shower). If you mix them, it could possibly end up looking fragmented quickly....

We only have ceiling outlets in hallways and bathrooms, the fixtures provide shadow-free light. We have LED panels, dimmable, 3000K (switchable to 4000/6000K, max 2000lm), the pictures show them dimmed and night light with motion sensor. Almost all fixtures in our place have E14/E27 sockets, allowing for any lamp technology. In the kitchen, there are spotlights that shine both upward and downward, also for no shadows.

strong aversion to LED panels, LED strips

Is that now because of the LEDs? Without them, it would be difficult to impossible nowadays.

1. Number and arrangement of LED spots in hallways and bathrooms - does that seem okay from your point of view?

Which spotlights have you planned for that? It mainly depends on beam angle and luminous flux as well as the desired brightness. With the currently planned number, you are probably looking at the usual 300 - 500 lm GU10 variants, right?

2. I have seen that LED spots in hallways are sometimes not placed centrally but rather close to one wall, thus illuminating one wall more strongly. Does anyone have experience with that? Good or bad?

A bare illuminated wall does nothing (to me), but if there is a nice picture hanging there etc., it can have a very different effect. Consider the lighting in connection with your planned furnishing. Otherwise, for typical traffic areas, I tend to prefer an even bright illumination.

3. Would you skip the first row of LED spots in the bathrooms in front of the washbasin if a mirror with lighting is planned, or do it anyway?

Well, bathrooms are a case of their own with sometimes double-digit numbers of spotlights. If you are planning a illuminated mirror anyway, they can stay as they are; otherwise, I would move them closer to the wall to avoid casting shadows.

4. Do you think the upper floor staircase can be well lit with a pendant lamp at the ceiling outlet and the wall lights can be omitted?

As always: it depends on the luminaire, which must emit light in several directions and accordingly have enough power. I would probably take two outlets (one per flight of stairs). But the wall lights usually serve a different purpose. If you do not want to use that, I would omit them.

5. Does the closet lighting in the bedroom fit from your point of view? Or is there a risk that too many shadows are cast and it is not properly bright in the closet?

No, it is too far away from the closet, which leads to shadows. But of course, you can also provide lighting on/in the closet itself to compensate for that.

6. Anything noticeable in general? Any room planned too much or too little?

As written here already: think about the sheer number of spotlights. With "proper" (stronger, wider-beaming) specimens, you can drastically reduce that. Also, you should already think about how you want to group the different lamps. Without programmable support, this will probably lead to larger clusters of switches.