I can think of better ways to spend $540.

Any room in my house that has cans has at least 4, so that would be a minimum of $2160. I can think of even more things I'd rather do with that money.

And the one room I think I might care most to have trim free is the living room, where there are 10 cans. And I can really think of a LOT of things I'd rather spend $5400 on.

I am definitely not a fan of canned lights of any sort, so I wouldn't spend the money on them.
Diane

I have put small ordinary mass-subdivision grade recessed lights in my sink area on un-mudded drywall, left off the trim rings, textured the ceiling, and am fine with it. Take some care, use a sponge to blend, and it's easy and clean.

EDIT: Note that this sort of method is prone to show circular cracking down the road if you're not thoroughly proper with it.

This post was edited by grubby_me on Wed, Jan 14, 15 at 13:47

I think this is one of those products that just highlights the growing discrepancy of discretionary income: when you could spend $60K on recessed light fixtures.

I am not a fan of the overuse of recessed cans but if I had the money, this is the sort I would use because they are very discreet. The funnel shaped ones almost disappear when they are off because there is no edge anywhere.

I thought about using these in my bathrooms, which are very small, have a ceiling slightly under 8 feet, and everything is very noticeable. But one of the recessed fixtures would be in the shower, and I am not sure the one I would use comes in wet-rated. One other reason I would use these in a bathroom is that the trim is one of the things that degrades and discolors in a humid environment like a bathroom, and there *is no trim.

But the problem I see with using these selectively is potentially that they make the ordinary recessed trim, which is perfectly fine otherwise, if you buy a decent one, look "inferior" by comparison.

powermuffin, I am with you. I have tried to use them selectively. But my BIL/GC *loves* them. It's kind of a running joke how much he loves them. So I think I'd have a fight on my hands if I tried to have none at all.

In a large room like a living room or kitchen, a single fixture isn't going to properly light the room. And having half a dozen flush mount fixtures would be worse than 9-10 potlights. Or, a single giant fixture doesn't really work when your ceilings are only 8-9' high.

So sometimes you really have no choice, other than darkness. In those cases, I think trimless would be nice. But for the price, I'd rather get a really nice couch to distract your eyes away from the ceiling. :)

I see them used mostly in the lobbies of multi-storied office buildings.

I wouldn't pay that much more. At least I can't imagine the circumstances where I would. What happens when the fixture fails? Do you have to patch up the ceiling too?

I do alot of lighting specification but have never heard of these, nor could I find any such item with a Google search. Could you provide a link showing what these look like both by themselves and after installation?

I have used one-piece LED modules extensively. These do show a trim ring around the opening, but eliminate the gap between the trim baffle and the light bulb, because the bulb and baffle are a single piece that is inserted into a can. They do provide a cleaner appearance, and thanks to the falling prices of LEDs you can now get good ones that don't cost any more than a separate trim baffle and floodlamp bulb would. There are also some that are square and flush with the ceiling, some which appear trimless although it really is just done by carefully aligning the lamp/trim module with the ceiling.

The round ones shown are in commercial environments and are using colored LED or lenses. These are Pure Lighting. ELP Lighting and WAC are other manufacturers.

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They look like bumps....are they recessed, or not?

My main finish requirement, and how I judge the quality and worth of many things, is the transition between two different materials, or the edges and trim between two materials. The open hole with a bulb is not, to me, as pleasing an edge treatment / transition as the ring, which looks more finished. But as with many new products, these may grow on me :-)

Can you find a picture of them with the lights off? That might be what sells me.

Here there is no transition between materials, one material folds, either with a crease, or smoothly, into the hole or opening. The same material is on the ceiling and inside the aperture for the fixture.

They come in squares!!!???

Circles, squares and linear in 3" increments from about 1 foot to ten feet. I will look for a picture with them off. Here is the linear:

Pure, Off:

I just checked out their website and I really like the linear application. I think I am ready to let "the drywall do the talking". I think it is a much nicer look and I would consider it for a kitchen over conventional cans.

Ah, I see. Youtube below explains installation and how they look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESyymvtL5E

I like the linear LEDs from this company that are built into ceilings and walls, highlighting transitions, stairs, and framing better than the recessed cans - gallery below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pure Lighting

If you really want to go crazy, this is it's cousin, in outlets. (Bocci 22, another company is Trufig). Look under the chalkboard next to the bench.

They are very cool, especially the squares. But I would wear a headlamp before I paid $600 per light.

I LOVE those outlets. Genius!

Love the outlets! Why hasn't it always been done like that?!

Perfect for living room lighting! Love it! I would spend the money. Recessed lighting without the trim is not much cheaper when you are looking at LED modules. The LED lights I own from Contrast lighting costs about $150/unit. Not having to look up at a recessed fixture and a slightly simpler installation make the linear modules advantageous. Cleaner installation in a kitchen too!
Thanks for the link Palimpest. I am considering Bocci 14 for my dining room table!

These require a special tool to mount them and un-mount them. It is circular and fits around the outlet.

You could probably figure out a down-n-dirty way to do this with Sillites, but they have two little screws in the face of the round outlet.

i like recessed lights, but gotta say I'm not crazy about the metal rims, so I like the look of these... all the shapes!
but, for 10 X's the price, I'd keep the rims... just wouldn't make a big enough difference to me to pay up for the round! not sure if a square hole with a round bulb would look good... if i had the right room and wanted a certain look, i could see putting in some of linear recessed lights tho...

The outlets appeal to me way more.

Very interesting, but not in my budget for sure. I find that I don't spend a lot of time looking at the ceiling so things like can lights just go away...

Same thing when I saw the $100 light switch covers. They were very interesting, but they don't make the cost/benefit equation for me.

I would only be able to justify them if I were using them in place of art work to create a living art room rather than spend the $$ on art.

I like them in a contemporary setting, but they wouldn't look right in my house at all.

Probably ultra modern settings and possibly certain antique houses where some ceiling lighting is a necessity and most pendants or close to ceiling fixtures would also look out of place. Typical houses maybe not so much.

Love those outlets!!!
Diane

Each duplex outlet is $225.

A Lutron Satin colors duplex outlet and plate, which is probably more "high end" than most people do routinely is $20.

A big box store duplex outlet is $0.75. and a white outlet cover is $0.39

So expense wise we are talking about a factor of Ten over high end-ish outlets, a factor of One Hundred over the basics.

Just outlets and recessed fixtures could add $100,000 to your budget,

I'm going to turn my dark hallway into a scene from the original Tron!

While you're at it, price "linear diffusers" vs. ordinary hvac registers. Same kind of thing for "the look".
Casey

Ooo I like those Bocci outlets, but it's their built-in light switch that really floats my boat. Here I was thinking I was being stylish with my Honeywell Tap-Lite switches, which put a single pushbutton in a clear plexiglass frame held in place without screws so the surrounding paint or wallpaper shows through (shown below). But now that I know I can get just the Bocci 22.3.2 button {{gwi:2137522}}, I may have to rethink my sense of light-switch chic. (the Trufig products do show a frame but are still way cool).

I'm currently redoing a bathroom with Legrand Adorne switchgear and outlets I bought at Lowe's - you should have seen the look on the cashier's face when as I bought a $90 light switch (hey Lowes dude, it's a dimmer!), but it looks and feels like a $90 light switch and is one of those details that just makes the room, and it's the first and last thing you see and touch whenever you enter or leave the room. And they have a neat hidden outlet too. Not cheap, but far more affordable than the Bocci outlets.

I have 4 square WACs installed in my house - although they have trim. They were specified by my architect in our lighting plan and I overlooked the fact that they were $300 each! I lost track of some items with all we had going on and I would not have used these had I focused on the price. But now we own themâ¦. We have a historic home and the 4 WAC lights sit in a square pattern in the middle of a coffered ceiling. We have four other semi flush mount lights as well, near the four corners of the room, and they are are in antique brass. My architect was definitely keen to use the WAC lighting for its square "cool" factor.

@marinagal… do we have the same architect?!? Lololol