[meegwell]

As I recall when doing my basement the whole recessed lighting size decision was really about taste, looks (4" vs. 6" in my case). I went with 4", particularly because of the low ceiling in the basement renovation. I'm now doing a total gut job of the kitchen. It's painful and we uncover surprises every day but back to the point - a big difference with the kitchen is the ceilings are 10' high. I'm thinking the looks are not as relevant compared to the 7' basement ceiling...is there any performance or other issues I should consider (size related, Im good on other stuff like voltage, IC, etc)...just kind of curious . Yeah, they'll be some sort of a/v system in the kitchen as well.

 

[ctviggen]

For kitchens, I like 4 inch near work surfaces like counter tops and 6 inch to light up the other areas (including work surfaces like an island, though hanging lights also look great here). The problem with any recessed light is determining what the size of the beam will be at the location you want to illuminate. The best thing to do is to go the bulb manufacturer's website and download their information for whatever bulb you want to use.


Also, I chose low voltage 4 inch lighting for my kitchen, but even using expensive ($4) bulbs, they buzz. At 10 feet that might be less of a problem, as compared to less than 8 feet for my kitchen. Also, mine buzz more in winter (they're in the attic, although they are covered with 8 inches of insulation).