Architecture and interior design thread

Don't do a grid system - get directional spots and light things (pictures or features) instead of rooms generally.

Get dimmers.

Get baffled downlights (they produce a nicer light).

We just did a whole house renovation and this is the advice we were given by a lighting designer friend of mine.

Our house previously had grid system spots in certain rooms and we never turned them on as the light was awful.

Not whole house but the place I bought has a lot of spots.

First thing is you're very limited if you want to change them, you've a load of holes in your ceiling and a limited number of options of what to put in them, it's not like changing a lampshade. This goes double if you go LED spots because you can't even switch the bulbs.

Definitely go for dimmers, the light is just glaring otherwise. Bear in mind that if they're LEDs you need dimmable LEDs and drivers, two different components. Also not all dimmer switches play nicely with all lights.

Also have a think about whether you may want any smart home integrations. You're a bit more limited with spots on what you can do.

I would treat them as one half of your lighting. Downlights are good for supplementing light levels but ideally should be used with other lighting types in the home (wall, pendant, table etc). Other than the kitchen you'll rarely want the amount of light you get from a row/grid of downlights in the evening. Even when dimmed they create very flat lighting which is fairly unappealing at night.

Remember you can light most rooms with a couple table or floor lamps at night but the downlights are very useful for the daytime when you do not have masses of daylight. I would caveat the use of daylights in the day with home offices though. Pending the glare rating they can be uncomfortable to work under.