# What size recessed light do you prefer?



## htabbas (Oct 25, 2011)

We need to decide on which size recess lighting to use for our kitchen and living room. Our kitchen is 10 x 15 ft (those tiny California ranch house built half a century ago, thus the tiny kitchen :furious, living room is 26 x 15 ft. 

larger sizes such as 6" will be more efficient in illumination. However, both me and my wife think those 3" or 4" looks a lot better. We are pretty neutral to either one now. 

6" not good looking, but bright
3" good looking, but not bright.

thus, I'd like to see what you guys think. What size cans do you put in your kitchen and living room?


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## picflight (Aug 25, 2011)

Combination of 6" & 5".


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

They all have a place. It depends on what you are lighting. Most lighting manufacturers have a selection guide somewhere in their catalog.


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## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

Larger light offer better general illumination, while smaller ones provide more localized light. While the bigger lights are...bigger, you'll need fewer of them to achieve the same amount of light.

I think it is really a matter of what character of lighting you want rather than what you want your ceiling to look like.

I'm redoing our kitchen/dining/family room right now and I've put in 6" lights through out and a few smaller eyeball wall washers. I wanted more light and fewer lights.


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## acerunner (Dec 16, 2009)

don't get 3" or 4". Way too dim. They are meant for accent lighting, not so good for general lighting. My friend has 4" in his kitchen and living room. I took a look at his setup for ideas when I did my renovation. He regrets getting such small lights. I had the same dilemma as you. I like the look of smaller lights. I ended up using 5" in the kitchen, 6" in the living room. It is much much better. Put dimmers on it, and you have the option of dimmer light when you want it.

For what's its worth, I did use 4" around the perimeter of the dining room to light up the walls. It complements the center chandelier over the table.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Depends on what kind of light source. Small halogens give off lots of light and are a fraction of the size of fixtures that hold more traditional bulbs. I think the canisters look more in scale with small kitchens. Heat is the issue to a point. 

Have you looked at "wire type" track lighting? The wires almost disappear. The lights float on the track wherever you want them.


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## ratherbefishing (Jan 13, 2011)

I just had to make the same decision. I ended up with 6". More light, more trim options, and the cans cost less.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

htabbas said:


> We need to decide on which size recess lighting to use for our kitchen and living room. Our kitchen is 10 x 15 ft (those tiny California ranch house built half a century ago, thus the tiny kitchen :furious, living room is 26 x 15 ft.
> 
> larger sizes such as 6" will be more efficient in illumination. However, both me and my wife think those 3" or 4" looks a lot better. We are pretty neutral to either one now.
> 
> ...


The size of the can is secondary to the amount of light the room needs. The smaller the can, the lower wattage bulb.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Ron6519 said:


> The size of the can is secondary to the amount of light the room needs. The smaller the can, the lower wattage bulb.


Careful. A tiny low watt halogen will kick out as many lumens as some large incandescent floods.


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