How many recessed lights do I need in my room?

Rule of thumb: ceiling height divided by two equals the spacing between cans. So a 9-foot ceiling wants cans about 4.5 feet apart, and you'd want a can roughly every 20 to 25 square feet of floor. For a 12-by-14 living room you're typically looking at 4 to 6 cans. We'll lay out the right number for your room before any work starts.

Will my ceiling need to be patched?

Sometimes — depends on whether we can fish wire from existing access (an attic above) or have to make a small access hole. If we do open the ceiling, we patch and primer it. Final paint match is on you (or a painter), since we don't carry your wall color.

Yes — recessed LED is best when paired with a smart dimmer rated for LEDs. Cheap dimmers cause LED buzzing and flickering. We'll spec the right dimmer for your bulbs and install it as part of the job.

Recessed Lighting in Atlanta, GA — SmartWire Solutions

Recessed lighting installation in Atlanta — clean ceilings, real light.

Add four cans to a kitchen, six to a living room, twelve across an open floor plan — we space them evenly, run the wire cleanly, and finish the ceiling so you can't tell we were there.

About this service

Recessed lighting is mostly about the ceiling

If you've ever had recessed lights installed and ended up with patches of drywall mud on the ceiling, you already know the hard part isn't the wiring — it's the holes. We cut holes carefully, fish wire through joists without opening up the ceiling more than we have to, and finish so you don't need to repaint the whole room.

The default for residential is four-inch or six-inch LED downlights, dimmable, in a warm color temperature (2700K to 3000K) so the room doesn't feel like an office. We can do anything else you want — adjustable gimbals, square trims, larger eight-inch cans for high ceilings, color-tunable smart bulbs — but for most Atlanta homes the default works beautifully.

What we do differently

We plan the layout before we cut anything. Even spacing matters. The rule of thumb is height-of-ceiling divided by two for the spacing between cans, and half that distance from the wall — but the right answer depends on the furniture below, where you actually need light, and where the joists are running. We'll walk through it with you before we touch the drywall.

For dimming, we strongly recommend a smart dimmer that's compatible with whatever LED you're using. Cheap LED-incompatible dimmers are the leading cause of buzzing recessed lights in Atlanta homes. We'll spec the right dimmer for the bulbs you're using.

What to expect

Walkthrough: we look at the room, talk about how you use it, and sketch a layout. Free.
Written estimate: number of cans, trim style, bulb spec, dimmer, drywall cleanup, total cost.
Install: typical kitchen or living-room install runs four to six hours. Most of that is fishing wire, not cutting holes.
Cleanup and walkthrough: we patch and primer any necessary drywall, vacuum, and walk through the dimming and switching with you.

Free quote, usually same week.

Tell us about the job. We'll get back to you with a written estimate — no obligation, no upsell.