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May 30, 2006
Recessed lighting for kitchen
Looking to add recessed lighting in our kitchen... what do people have? Is fluorescent, halogen, incandescent, or xenon the way to go? We will also hang 2 pendant lamps, in addition to the recessed lighting.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Comments
we used MR-16s which are good for high ceilings, since the cone is narrow. put them on dimmers and they are energy efficient giving nice light, particularly supplementing something like pendants.
Posted by: mcteague at May 30, 2006 9:47 PM
different poster, what are MR-16s? i'm looking into the same thing.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 31, 2006 9:32 AM
We also have MR 16s and they really look great, split them on different dimmers so you don't have to have them all on if you just want light in a certain section. They MR 16s are fashionable, efficient and they compliment any fixture.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 31, 2006 9:36 AM
they are low wattage halogen fixtures, used for accent lighting artwork, etc. they throw nice light on specific areas (larger areas as the ceiling gets higher), and they are energy effcient.
Posted by: mcteague at May 31, 2006 10:08 AM
We also have the recessed MR16's in our renovated bstone kitchen. These are ultra-small halogen bulbs, so they are used in ultra-small, sleek-looking fixtures.
In general I hate recessed lighting, especially when it's the bulky flood-lamp variety. But we put a couple of MR16 recessed halogen lights over our kitchen island, and also a couple of MR16's in the hidden range hood, all on dimmers, and the effect with the high ceilings is seriously cool, not to mention that they can throw off a good bit of work light. It's one of those items people said we didn't really need, that I am glad we insisted on going the extra mile for. I also like the quality of the light much better than floresent.
Posted by: Miguel at May 31, 2006 10:17 AM
Miguel is spot on.
Posted by: mcteague at May 31, 2006 11:17 AM
We are finishing a reno and did the same thing here http://www.flickr.com/photos/39465010@N00/
and we also put them througout the house. Best thing we could have done. We were on a very tight budget for our reno and I found a place called Cash & Carry on Flushing which sells the whole kit for -I think $30 or $35 each.
Posted by: Stacey0768 at May 31, 2006 12:05 PM
FYI, the recessed fixtures themselves don't cost much, it's the installation that bites, since you are usually putting them someplace where there was no light fixture or wiring to begin with and with original plaster, blah blah, you get the point. As with all reno, it's a bit more complicated than it looks. You also need to put the transformer somewhere (about the size of a brick).
Try to encourage your electrician to make small holes, LOL, so your painter doesn't have to do too much follow-on repair work. Also, it pays to get the type that can be focused/swiveled, especially for kitchen where you want the light on a fairly specific area.
For dimmers, we got the type that look just like a regular flip switch, but with a little tiny, barely perceptable nod off to the side that you slide up and down
Posted by: Miguel at May 31, 2006 1:53 PM
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