While the process of installing lights in faux beams is fairly straightforward, the planning that goes into your DIY project should include some careful consideration. Here’s a quick guide to working out just how to space recessed lighting in your beams.
Spacing Tips for DIY Recessed Lighting in Ceiling Beams
Installing recessed lights in faux beams is easy - but spacing them properly is key.
One of the great advantages of choosing our beams is that they’re hollow, so you can seamlessly install recessed lighting inside them, while also hiding the wires.
But before you whip out the power drill – how many lights do you need? And how far apart should you install them?
The first thing to realize is that recessed lighting generally spreads its light in a conical pattern, from the ceiling to the floor. Once you realize that, you can start working out how many lights you might need to effectively illuminate your room.
The light from a single recessed bulb would not be sufficient to light up a whole room.
Take a look at this graphic (to the right.) It demonstrates the "cone" of light from a single recessed light.
As you can see, it wouldn't do a great job lighting up an entire room - more recessed lighting would be needed.
Using the cone as a guide, you can work out just how many more lights you'll need.
Three recessed lights provide the optimal lighting installation for this beam.
As this graphic demonstrates (to the left) about three recessed lights would be optimal.
A good rule of thumb is to plan out your lighting so that the "footprint" of each light overlaps with the next on the floor.
Once you've worked out how many lights you want to have installed, the next step is to measure out the distance between them.
There should be an equal distance between each recessed light, and the distance between the final light and the wall should be equal on each side (although that might not match the distance between the lights themselves.)
In practice, it's a fairly simple and straightforward process to go through - but to make sure your false beam installation looks as good as it should, definitely plan the layout BEFORE the drills and screws come out.
Have you fitted recessed lighting in your own beam project? If you have, we'd love to see pictures - and hear any tips you have. Email them to us at info@fauxwoodbeams.com. We can't wait to read them!