Recessed Lights 10' ceilings Modern/contemporary home. Exterior 4 or 6"?

Hey guys, What size lights do you recommend for contemporary style home with 10’ ceilings? Most new homes here in Iowa have 5/6" so I thought 4" was getting pretty crazy… But it seems that a lot of newer homes are doing 2/3". Also, for exterior soffit lights, would 4 or 6" be better? Please let me know your thoughts, Thanks!

For a contemporary home 4” should be the max size, honestly the smaller the better. Anything that you can get that will push approximately 650ish lumens will be fine as 10’ ceilings aren’t very tall. Recessed fixtures are vastly overused and I honestly can’t wait until the trend falls off a little. You should put the bare minimum amount of recessed fixtures in to handle the ambient lighting, then supplement with task and accent lighting. If I were you I would be less concerned with the recessed fixtures and more concerned with the supplemental lighting. Things like track lights, wall sconces, linear lights, chandeliers, pendants etc, will be what makes the lighting have a ‘vibe’.

@Payton
What is a linear light?

Kameron said:
@Payton
What is a linear light?

+1

Vega said:

Kameron said:
@Payton
What is a linear light?

+1

Presumably tape light, in most cases in a metal housing for temperature dissipation and covered in the front with a diffuser panel to make individual LEDs look continuous. They sell continuous tape lights as well.

@Payton
I should use the bare minimum of recessed lighting but if I want 2-3" I would need quite a few more than if I did 4-5" correct?

Vega said:
@Payton
I should use the bare minimum of recessed lighting but if I want 2-3" I would need quite a few more than if I did 4-5" correct?

It’s all relative, and the end of the day the light would be measured in lumens per foot, you could achieve that with more lights with less lumens, or less lights with more lumens.

It depends on several factors, however generally speaking I can say that 4" is big by modern standards, and 6" is archaic for anything other than very specific uses or commercial. Beyond that, there are many factors to consider - namely layout, lighting plan, and budget. Take your time and find help. Lighting can kill the most beautiful of architecture.

@Vaughn
Yep, for a contemporary build I am looking at 1-2 inch as my standard. In and out.

Bailey said:
@Vaughn
Yep, for a contemporary build I am looking at 1-2 inch as my standard. In and out.

I am pretty glad I took your advice about how 1 or to a lesser extent 2" lights require attention to detail to make sure they line up, because a quarter-inch off on a 1" light will be way more apparent than a quarter-inch off on a 3" light.