Need to move a recessed ceiling light - where to put it?

12 years ago

We realized today that the position of one of our recessed lights is not going to work when they put the trim up on our cabinets. This should have been caught before the lights were put up (when they were looking at the plans) but it was not. We currently have 3 lights evenly distributed on one side of the kitchen and 2 lights on the other side in between. (see pic). The light closest to the doorway needs to be moved. The question is - should we leave it in the same location (so that the three lights are still evenly distributed) but just move it out on the ceiling, or should we move it out but also center it in front of the refrigerator cabinets?

Do you think it would make a difference visually/aesthetically or functionally either way? Also how far 'out' should we move it - to the center of the doorway?

This post was edited by rjkidwiler on Thu, Sep 12, 13 at 12:45

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Comments (7)

rjkidwiler
Original Author
12 years ago
adding 2nd pic - different angle
oldbat2be
12 years ago
It's hard to understand the angle but it might be ok. (It looks like a good 6+ inches of trimwork would be required before any overlapped the light).

Figure out how the joists run (if you haven't already). It seems that it would be fine either way to just move it out (if you have to) or out and over.

We've moved two (maybe three!) reccessed lights. It's fairly easy to patch the hole (this part, I can do myself, DH does the electrical). What's more embarrassing is that one of my most accessible three way switches, control(s) a single overhead can. (Sigh). Just one in a long series of lighting mistakes (I went a little overboard in the zones and wiring choices).

The middle light here is the one which had to be first omitted and then moved out to accommodate the hood trim:

Now it's gone....

If you look closely you can see my patching job:

Ha! I'd forgotten about these. The island and backsplash colors are photoshopped but look at all the patched holes in the ceiling!! (Yup, more mistakes on my part).

Eventually I asked DH whether we could add the light back in, moved out slightly:

Best of luck! oldbat2be
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joaniepoanie
12 years ago
I would move it out about 8-10" from the cabinet and center it over the fridge.
rjkidwiler
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you! Kind of nice to hear I'm not the only one who had this issue :-) oldbat2be your kichen is so pretty! I wonder what backsplash you finally went with? The angle doesn't show well in the picture, but the light is actually closer than it appears and I was assured it had to be moved :-(

Thanks for your thoughts joaniepoanie - I like that suggestion. Maybe having it centered over both the fridge and the doorway would be too much like having a spotlight coming down on you when you walk into the kitchen!
Amy Sumner
12 years ago
I would center the light over the fridge but not centered with the doorway. It seems to me that the light would then be behind you, casting shadows. I'd pull it out 8-10 like Joanie suggested. We just placed 20 recessed cans as part of the reno we are midway through. It is amazing how detailed and important this process (lighting) is... Good luck!
rjkidwiler
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you - it is so nice to get other people's thoughts - it really helps with the decision making - - Gotta love this forum!
akl_vdb
12 years ago
Same thing over here, just waiting for the old area to be patched and painted.