Sheet E-103 / Circuit 3

Lighting design and install.

Most rooms have one light in the middle of the ceiling and a lot of shadow everywhere else. We draw a ceiling plan first, then light the room in layers. Recessed lights run $180 to $320 each. Whole projects land between $1,200 and $9,000.

Plan my lightingSee the three layers

Layers of light, drawn as a plan.

Every good room has the same three layers. Each one gets its own switch, so you can cook under bright light and eat under soft light in the same kitchen.

Layer A / ambient

The room

Recessed lights on a grid, about four feet apart and two feet off the walls. This is the light you turn on when you walk in.

Layer B / task

The work

Pendants over the island and LED strips under the uppers. They put light on the counter instead of on the back of your head.

Layer C / accent

The mood

Toe kick lights, a lit shelf, a wall washer on the art. Small, dimmable, and the reason a room feels finished at night.

A white kitchen with recessed ceiling lights, three glass globe pendants over a grey island with brass stools, and a dining nook beyond
Photo 5: Sample photo. An ambient grid plus three pendants, each on its own dimmer.

Kitchens first.

The kitchen is where bad lighting hurts most. A typical remodel in town gets ten to fourteen recessed lights, two or three pendants and under cabinet strips, which lands around $3,500 to $6,000 with patching.

Dimmers

We put LED rated dimmers on every layer. Cheap dimmers make LEDs buzz or flicker at the low end, so we match the dimmer to the fixture and test it before we leave.

Colour temperature, in plain words

Lower numbers look warmer. 2700K feels like an old bulb at dinner. 3000K is our default for homes. 4000K looks crisp and can read like an office. Pick one number for the whole house and stick to it.

Old house, no ceiling boxes? See how we fish wire without opening walls. Lights flicker already? That is a repair visit first. Or send us your room.