Extension lighting - alternative to recessed spotlights?

[WorrisomeHeart]

Hi all

In the detailed planning stage for a kitchen/diner/living extension. We have terrible recessed spots all over the house at the moment (legacy from previous owners) and really wanted to find another alternative for the new work. But I am struggling to find a solution that would provide the base lighting for such a large space (approx 45msq). We will have a trio of pendants over the kitchen island and some form of standing lamp in the living area. Should I just accept that recessed spots are the best basic option or has anyone done anything different which worked well?

Wall lights could be good here on dimmers?

What don't you like about the existing recessed spots?

Be careful about using dimmers with led bulbs. They sometimes are not compatible and flicker. Sometimes dinners can make the lighting seem very yellow. I’m not a fan of dimmers.

I am a fan of layered lighting. The receded spots provide a layer but could be used sparingly. We have them around the outer edge of our dining zone but an Arco floor lamp over the table. In another area we have a Tom Raffield ceiling light. Again, recessed lights around the outer edge only. We have lots of table lamps. In other rooms we have no central lamp but wall lights only with table lamps.

Make sure you have more than 3 lights to illuminate working areas. Make sure the light is directly on the work surface. Not shining from behind you. Again layers of light works. Overall light, task and mood.

LED colour temperature doesn’t change if they’re dimmable. This is a quirk of filament light bulbs and the physical temperature of the filament.

Only the brightness of the LED is different when dimmed so a 3000 kelvin LED is of that temperature regardless of brightness.