Trimless Downlight
A trimless downlight is a plastered-in light fitting that hides the rail and frame of the fixture. It’s the designer’s and perfectionist’s choice for minimalistic designs where the light itself plays a dominant role.
The housing is plastered in at the stage of first fix electrics and becomes a part of the wall/ceiling. It’s a great solution to reduce glare while allowing you to maintain the look and style of your lighting.
Clean Ceiling Aesthetics
Trimless downlights offer a contemporary cleaner aesthetic to a room, as the frame and rail of the light is not visible. They are a designer and perfectionist’s choice for those who wish to create a seamless, quality finish to their project. This style of recessed lighting can be more expensive, as it requires a plastered-in fixture with a larger aperture in the ceiling.
Marc LED’s range of recessed trimless downlights are a popular Trimless Downlight option for this purpose. With a contemporary design and field-selectable CCT (color temperature) options, they offer a high end look without the need for housing. They are installed into a gypsum ceiling with a perforated, die-cast plate (mud-in trim) which prevents mudding inside the aperture. The mud-in trim is then plastered over, leaving no visible flange, and creating a clean trimless appearance.
This method of installation also allows for the lights to be installed at 2nd fix if required, and can then be ‘feathered in place’ with fine plaster to conceal the frame and fixings. This method is more labour intensive but can be a cost-effective solution to achieve the clean and stylish architectural lighting design that you require. A great choice for new build and refurbishment projects.
Architectural Integration
A trimless recessed downlight is a light fitting that does not have a visible frame around the light, rather it is plastered in to become part of the wall or ceiling. This is commonly done at the stage of first fix electrics when the housing for the light is plastered into place but it can also be achieved with some products after they are installed in the ceiling or wall if they are designed to be ‘feathered’ into place with plaster at 2nd fix.
This enables the lighting designer to bypass a traditional downlight trim for a more seamless architectural integration into the ceiling or wall. It is a very popular design for modern, minimalistic, architectural lighting designs in commercial office spaces, galleries, hotels, restaurants and residential homes.
Some trimless downlights have an internal part that can be ‘feathered’ into the ceiling with plaster to achieve this look and this is often the best way to integrate them for a more seamless aesthetic. It is important to avoid using a product that will leave gaps or holes in the plaster after it has been finished as this can cause issues with the plaster and lead to cracks later on.
The Flos Light Shadow trimless downlight is a good example of this type of product and it features innovative low-glare optics that can be feathered into the ceiling to provide an elegantly integrated lighting solution. This is particularly useful in areas where the light is needed to highlight art or other architectural features within a space.
Reduced Glare
Whether in residential applications or commercial spaces, the light fixture should blend into its Trimless Downlight surrounding architectural composition and not draw attention to itself. Trimless downlights omit the flange of traditional fixtures to create a clean ceiling aesthetic. This sleek look is highly sought after by upscale retail stores, modern offices, high-end residential spaces, and prestigious hospitality environments.
The flangeless design also makes it easier to reposition a downlight later for maintenance, without having to access the housing in the ceiling void. Flangeless downlights are often preferred in new construction, and they are a great choice for retrofitting into existing drywall and plaster.
When selecting a recessed downlight, consider the amount of light needed for your space and how you intend to use it. For example, you might want to consider a downlight with a gimbal, which can be adjusted to aim the light in various directions. This is useful for highlighting artwork or architectural features in your space.
Another important consideration is the amount of glare reduction your fixture offers. A downlight with full regression will minimize glare, which is a benefit for spaces where the lights will be frequently used. A glare-reducing downlight is ideal for restaurants and hotels, as customers may be spending a lot of time in the room. This is possible with a regressed downlight like our Lotus Sloped LED Gimbal Downlight, which features a deep flange to reduce glare and an anti-glare PC lens.
Energy Efficiency
The trimless downlight design allows for a much more energy efficient LED luminaire. This means that you will save on your electricity bills and reduce your maintenance costs. They are also able to achieve a higher CRI with their directional LED light output. This is important because it will give off a more natural color and a better overall lighting experience.
While recessed lighting can be a great way to add ambient lighting to your home, it can also be used to highlight specific features or areas of interest. For example, gimbal eyeball downlights and LED ceiling spotlights allow you to direct the light to a specific area of your room. This is ideal for creating a focal point in your space or drawing attention to a particular art piece.
What makes a trimless downlight unique is that it does not have an exposed flange. This is in contrast to the classic recessed lighting fixture which has a self-flanged reflector trim that holds itself tight against the finished ceiling surface. This allows the downlight to appear as if it is simply shining from a hole in the ceiling and creates a seamless, integrated lighting design.
This recessed downlight is a great choice for new construction or remodel projects that require a recessed downlight without a visible frame in the ceiling. It is IC rated meaning that it can be installed in insulated ceilings with minimal heat transfer to the insulation above. It is available in three lamp temperatures and is dimmable with most standard drivers.
