Recessed lighting blends comfortably into any decor just by its unobtrusive nature. Its effects can be bold or subtle, dramatic or subdued. Recessed lighting can provide dramatic, low-profile illumination for every room of your home. These fixtures are set into the ceiling, so there are no cords, switches, or bulbs to disrupt your view. Different varieties of recessed lighting can provide ambient, accent, task, and flood lighting depending on their bulbs, housing, and trim.

General Guidelines
Choose the type of lighting that best suits your needs then select the appropriate trim. Different trims may have different maximum wattage. Recessed housings covered with insulation are restricted to a lower wattage lamp than housings in non-insulated spaces. Consult the label inside the housing for the maximum wattage allowed for a particular trim and application.

General / Task For uniform ambient lighting or concentrated light on work surfaces. For general room lighting use a 65 BR 30 reflector floodlight.

Wet Location Choose either IC (insulation covered housing) or non-IC shower trim for maximum wattage. Shower trims upgrade the housing's UL listing from damp to wet. An enclosed trim should be avoided in areas such as under outdoor porches and soffits where insects and debris may create a maintenance problem.

Accent / Sloped Ceiling Directs the light at an angle to highlight specific objects such as a piece of art. It can also wash the light across wall surfaces to expand the room visually. Select a PAR-type reflector lamp as accent lighting to highlight a painting over a fireplace. This type of lamp provides a more precise beam of light.

The area of floor space illuminated by one recessed light is equal to the height of the ceiling where the light is installed An eyeball trim should be used to direct light straight down on sloped ceilings up to 8-12 pitch. When highlighting an area such as a fireplace mantle, the distance from the light to the wall should be 60% of the distance from the ceiling to the object. i.e. - measurement from ceiling to mantle is 5ft, multiply this by .6 = 3ft., therefore the light should be 3 ft from the wall.

To achieve an even light distribution throughout a room, lights should be spaced 6'-8'. If you are looking for a softer, ambient light, spacing should be 12'-14'. The first light should be placed about 3' away from the wall. Placing the light closer to the wall will generate more reflection into the room making it feel brighter. Placing the light further away from the wall will make the corners appear dark thereby visually lowering the ceiling. Task lights in the kitchen should be centered above the island, however, counters with cabinets above them, should be lit with the lights centered over the edge of the counter. To illuminate evenly, space every 3'-4'.