Hey everyone! I've got a living room measuring 225 by 149 inches with an 8-foot ceiling, which isn't very tall. I'm planning to install 6 recessed lights and will add some floor and desk lamps to supplement lighting. I've laid out the lights and the distances should be: approximately 31 inches from the side walls, 34 inches from the top and bottom walls, and around 81-82 inches apart from each other in both directions. There's a light situated above the sectional sofa and beside the side chairs; I could remove the side chairs if needed, but this sectional layout seems to be the best fit we've found. Given the layout and measurements, do you see anything that stands out as an issue, or any adjustments you'd recommend? Thanks a lot!
1 Answer
I’d suggest that the spacing between your lights might be a little too wide. Personally, I think you could benefit from having more lights—dimmable ones are a great option! I typically recommend spacing lights about 24-30 inches from the wall with 4-5 feet between each light. Based on your room size, you might want to consider using 8 to 12 lights, depending on whether you prefer 2 or 3 rows.
That sounds like way too many to me! In my family room, the lights are roughly 10 feet apart and it lights up just fine.
I looked up a recessed lighting calculator and it recommended:
* About 37.5 inches from the side walls
* 37.5 inches from the top and bottom walls
* Around 75 inches of spacing between lights
Do you think this spacing works better? I’m leaning towards keeping the 6 lights for a more minimal ceiling look.