Ceiling light slots: how to use them without overdoing it
A single continuous line that turns the corner and runs down the wall. The light slot is the detail that in recent years has replaced spotlights and chandeliers in many contemporary homes. It only works if designed together with the architecture.
What it is
An aluminium profile recessed in plasterboard, flush with the ceiling, with an LED strip behind an opal diffuser. Off, it is a one-centimetre slit; on, it becomes an even blade of light with no hot spots.
Where to put it
Along the route: in the corridor, above the bed, marking the passage between living area and kitchen. A simple rule: one line per room. Two parallel lines work in the kitchen or bathroom, where more light is needed; in the bedroom one is enough.
Colour temperature
For relaxation areas 2700 K, a warm light close to incandescent lamps. In kitchen and bathroom 3000 K. Never higher: at 4000 K the house looks like an office. A dimmer is almost mandatory.
The most common mistakes
Running the line too close to the wall, where it casts a hard shadow; using cheap LEDs with visible dots; forgetting that the profile must be planned before the plasterboard goes up, not after.
In the villa the light slot runs along the first-floor corridor, bends onto the bedroom wall and drops to the floor. It was traced on the 3D design and checked on site when the profiles were fitted before skimming.
