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    Need suggestions for light Fixture/setup

    So, I have a rack that faces into my living room (pic attached). When I redid the central closet that the rack actually sits in, I didn't think about lighting the rack. I would like to add a light at the top of it to "light" up the rack. I would like it to be controlled via homeseer. I do have some some hurtles I think.

    The rack is framed in by 2x4 all the way around (covered in drywall). So, any recessed fixture has to fit within the 3.5" depth of the 2x4 and be able to be secured with its 1.5" thickness.

    The space above the rack will be cut out and a recessed box will be placed in it (this will house my Z-net). The recessed box is a spare one I had for my TV. I hope to install a dimmer in 1 of the 3 cutouts to power the light. Of the other 2, 1 will be for pulling POE for the z-net, the last will be covered. This box will face into the closet, so it won't be visible from the living room.

    Some ideas I've had:

    Use a philips hue light strip (this will give me color and a choice of whites). This also means I only have to install an outlet in the box. If I did this, i would want to install it in a 45 degree holder. The other downside is there would be A LOT of waste!

    Use a mini recessed light (I've found some, most aren't dimmable though).

    Use a puck light. I've found some 120v which are dimmable, but you aren't supposed to run the wires "through walls" (in this case about 3" of wall). I have also found some 12v, which state they are dimmable.

    If I use a puck or recessed, I would like it to be aimable so that it is focus more on the rack and not straight down.

    I am of course open to other suggestions if anyone has any.
    Attached Files

    #2
    I can think of a few solutions.

    look for a picture light. typically these extend from the wall to shine down on a picture. There are various styles.

    Here is an example of a page with a few pictures http://www.lampsplus.com/products/re...ht__5w381.html

    Another example showing extendable arm wall sconces
    https://www.beautifulhalo.com/aged-b...-p-246625.html

    finally you could install a light on the ceiling a few feet in front of the rack and adjusted to illuminate it. For that I'd use either a bullet light or recessed ceiling light with eyeball trim
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      #3
      Personally I would go with LV 12VDC lighting right at the top with no dimming and just an on and off with the transformer in the back and LV wires along the top and adds of more lighting if that is not enough.
      - Pete

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        #4
        I'm not clear on the effect you want to achieve, but the rack looks quite tall. I'm wondering whether a light at the top will provide the lighting you want.

        Expanding on jmaddox art light suggestion, you could consider a projector light mounted on the ceiling that will allow you to adjust the lighted area to precisely match the area of the rack. Not cheap, unfortunately.

        https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlisto...jectortli.html
        Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
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          #5
          Originally posted by Pete View Post
          Personally I would go with LV 12VDC lighting right at the top with no dimming and just an on and off with the transformer in the back and LV wires along the top and adds of more lighting if that is not enough.
          I'm thinking that might be best as well. at least with 12v I can run it in wall without issue and keep it somewhat stealthy. Non-dimming gives me a few good options for "mini recessed" lights as well.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Uncle Michael View Post
            I'm not clear on the effect you want to achieve, but the rack looks quite tall. I'm wondering whether a light at the top will provide the lighting you want.

            Expanding on jmaddox art light suggestion, you could consider a projector light mounted on the ceiling that will allow you to adjust the lighted area to precisely match the area of the rack. Not cheap, unfortunately.

            https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlisto...jectortli.html
            I'm looking to "wash" the rack in light (highlight it basically). It is somewhat tall. The opening is 5'1" tall, by 20.5" wide, however the bottom 1/3 is drawers. This light isn't really for those though. They each have their own light that turns on once the drawer is more than half way out (using Ikea lights with their build in proximity detectors).The biggest issue I have is that it is "dark" and gets lost because it's a recessed and everything is black, especially at night.

            My hope was to highlight it, especially when in "movie mode" (the rack is the back of the room, so won't affect viewing). It's a completely unnecessary light that offers no real functionality. That is why I was thinking of going with RGBW, to add a bit more "flash" if I wanted to. At one point I was going to put in wall washers along that wall, but since we added an Ikea Kallax on that wall, they would be too far back anyways and not work.

            I've attached a pic of the wall it is on. You'll have to excuse the mess, I just finished making the lights for that top row of the Kallax and just installed it on the wall (we hacked it so that it sits on legs, which don't look like much, but it's bolted to the wall and has 5 more solid wood legs across the back).
            Attached Files

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              #7
              Understood Frank.

              I am guessing that there is no crawl space or basement in your home today.

              This morning working on one 22/2 wire LV project. It is simple and just putting in a NO switch in a door frame. I am doing this one differently and methodology might work for your media in wall cabinet. Rest of doors are using switches in the header or threshold. The header wires go to the cavity of the wall.

              I pulled off the frame / trim. It was nailed to the wood. There is a gap between the door frame and the drywall with enough space to run the 22/2 wire so using this space to run the 22/2 wire from the header down the side of the frame to the basement.

              In your case you could maybe pull the wood frame off on one side. Drill through the 2 by for 4 to the back of it providing a tiny chase for the 22/2 wire. Just a 1/4-3/8" hole would suffice. From the front section with the trim off maybe drill a pocket 1/2" in to the 2 X 4. Marking it then you can drill a small 1/4" hole in the inside of the wood frame and use this chase for 22/2 wire for LED lighting. You could also put in a small for 12VDC connector in the wood that would be aesthetically pleasing. Here have a variety of drill bits sized from about 12" to 60" or so long which I have used for these sort of endeavors.

              Lemme do a picture of what I am describing above. You would be just hiding the 22/2 wire in the wood. 22/2 would suffice for the LED lighting.

              [ATTACH]60808[/ATTACH]
              Last edited by Pete; April 24, 2017, 11:00 AM.
              - Pete

              Auto mator
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