Recessed lights in a small bedroom with a Ceiling Fan - Bad Idea?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hello,

Our daughter's room is nearly 11 1/2 feet square. There is a ceiling fan that does not have a light. We don't want to swap it out for one that has a light because the fan runs silently and ceiling fan lights are ugly. We are trying to decide whether to add a 4" recessed light in each corner or just purchase a floor lamp or table lamps.

We were planning to space recessed lights about 45 1/2" apart to evenly light the room. However, after doing some research, it seems that this spacing would put the lights too close to the fan, causing a strobing effect.

In such a small room, would it be possible to avoid the flickering problem by placing the lights closer to the walls? If so, how close? At 36" from the corner, the lights would be about 32" from the end of the fan blades. Would this leave a dark area in the center of the room and cast weird light on the built-in shelf which extends out 12" from the wall? I believe the black dot in the photo is placed 40" or 45" from the corner. I am terrified to mess up the ceiling

by cutting holes in the wrong place. Would it be possible to use stick-on battery-operated puck lights in different positions to test how ceiling lights and fan would interact?

I read that the biggest issue with recessed lights in bedrooms is sound transfer to other rooms. I would be more concerned about sound transfer into my daughter's bedroom than out. She likes it quiet. Our other daughter, whose room is down the hall, has Down Syndrome and likes to sing loudly (out of tune, of course). I suppose we could build drywall boxes around the lights but this involves a lot of extra labor.

So which would be better - recessed lights, table lamps or a floor lamp? There isn't really a good place to put a floor lamp. The one she has now is in the way of a chest of drawers. Maybe table lamps on the desk and chest of drawers or wall lamps? Our daughter likes to rearrange her room from time to time which complicates the placement of wall lamps. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Featured Answer

remodeling1840

3 years ago

Overhead lighting is much harsher than table and desk lamps. It can cast shadows over the pages your daughter is reading. For other activities in her room, my personal feeling is lamps seem cozier than can lighting. I prefer lamps for reading and homework. There are cute lamps for girls at Target, for example. It might be a fun activity for a Girls’ Day Shopping trip where you can guide her into appropriate choices, a teachable moment of style and budgeting. As a bonus, two good lamps will be less expensive than installing can lights.

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Comments (7)

kendog2
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you Remodeling1840. I was thinking of installing the can lights and adding table lamps later. I'm not sure if this room has an outlet that can be operated from the wall switch. It's super annoying to have to walk across a dark room to turn on the current floor lamp. I will check out Target. Our daughter is college-age so the lamps she would like might not be less expensive than can lights. Lol.

I was also thinking that we could use the recess lights in the winter and table lamps in the summer when the fan is in use. I am such a perfectionist that I can't decide where to place the holes.

Can anyone offer suggestions for nice, modern table lamps that would sufficiently light up the room? Thanks.
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decoenthusiaste
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Cans should be about 3' away from the wall so they don't do that overlapping shadow thing. Then divide the height of the ceiling by 2 and you'll get the distance apart the lights should be. I don't think this small a room can handle a proper installation. See about getting recessed LEDs for underneath that shelf on the side. Move the desk under the shelf and keep the bed on the other side. Here are lots of images for under shelf lighting. See what your local hardware store has in stock.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=under+shelf+lighting&atb=v181-1&iax=images&ia=images
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PRO
Everything Home
3 years ago
Why not try some lamps instead of looking at recessed lighting. Below are some of our bedroom designs with lamps that might aid you with this dilemma.
Aberdeen Living · More Info

Luxe Living in Zionsville · More Info
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la_la Girl
3 years ago
If you dislike walking across a dark room you can use smart light bulbs in your lamps and operate them from an app - the colors and dimness can be changed from the app which is super fun for kids - we put them in all the lamps in our basement and got an echo and now i can yell ”Alexa turn off the lights!” from the top of the stairs lol
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wdccruise
3 years ago
- How Many Recessed Lights?
- Recessed Lighting Calculator
I don't think recessed lights are needed in a bedroom. My bedroom has a dresser that extends most of the length of one wall. Two lights on it (actually, they're the first-generation IKEA Symfonisk speaker lamps) with 600 lumen bulbs are plenty to light the room.

You could reduce the chance of strobing from recessed lights by using deep baffle lights (example) and even further by using dark reflectors

You might consider tape lights attached to the topside or underside of the wall shelf. Put them in a channel to improve their appearance if they'll be visible.

I'd add a desk light.

"It's super annoying to have to walk across a dark room to turn on the current floor lamp."

TRÅDFRI Remote control kit, white spectrum

"Can anyone offer suggestions for nice, modern table lamps that would sufficiently light up the room?"

IKEA Table Lamps
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maddielee
3 years ago
I would try lamps before going to the expensive of having can lights nstalled.

The young girls I know would love to have some white Christmas lights under that ledge/shelf. Heck, talk her into centering her bed between the wreaths and install some stronger lights under the ledge for reading.
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