Alternatives to Downlighters – What to Use Instead of a Downlight

Downlighters have become indispensable within interior design; they are a powerful versatile discrete source of light and easily installed. However, there has been an over reliance on the downlight as the easy option, too commonly spoiling interiors with their overuse and overlighting.

An alternative to downlights is sometimes the better option easily missed for the sake of convenience. So what alternatives can you turn to as a substitute or if you cannot accommodate recessed lighting?

Quickly benefit from our alternative solutions to the downlighter for all the important areas of the home.

Quick Reference:

Image	Name	Type	Check Price
	Astro Kos Surface	Alternative to Recessed Downlights on Solid Ceilings	Check UK Price
	Finn Scandi Metal Floor Lamp	Alternative to a Downlighter For a Low Glare Light Source	Check UK Price
	Astro Cambria 380 Pleated	Alternatives to Downlights to Create Ambient General Lighting	Check UK Price
	Astro Cyl 260	Alternatives to Downlights to Create Ambient General Lighting	Check UK Price
	Astro Park Lane Floor	Alternative to Downlights in a Living Room	Check UK Price
	Astro Ascoli 4 Bar	Alternative to Ceiling Spotlights in a Kitchen	Check UK Price
	3000K Warm White LED Strip	Alternative to a Downlighter to Create a Focal Point to a Room	Check UK Price
	Borgo 35 Trimless 2700K Wall Light	Alternative to Downlights in a Corridor	Check UK Price
	Hashira Drop Pendant	Alternative to a Downlighter to Create Task Lighting	Check UK Price
	Astro Amat 320	Alternative to Downlights for a Home Office	Check UK Price
	Monroe Wall Light	Alternative to a Downlighter to Create Accent Lighting.	Check UK Price
	Astro Terra Round 28	Alternative to Downlighters in a Wet Room	Check UK Price
	Astro Mondrian 600 LED Bronze	Alternative to a Downlighter to Light Artwork	Check UK Price

Downlight Substitutions in the Home

There are a host of lighting solutions that can be considered as alternatives to using downlights. We argue that you should not always turn to the downlighter as the main source of light as all good lighting designs will mix lighting techniques and lighting sources, so challenge yourself with these substitutions and learn what to use instead of downlights.  

That does not mean however that you will banish them altogether, so where you do use them we recommend you learn How to Use Recessed Downlights as you are bound to need to use them somewhere despite all these great substitute ideas!

Alternative to Recessed Downlights on Solid Ceilings

• Lighting Objective: Create multiple sources of light without recessing into the ceiling
• Downlighter: Recessed ceiling downlight
• Alternative: Surface mount short depth ceiling light with GU10 lamp

Astro Kos Surface

Minimal depth surface mounted GU10 lamp – use to send lighting downwards. Available in black too.

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Alternative to a Downlighter For a Low Glare Light Source

• Lighting Objective: Create good levels of directed light and minimise the risk of glare from strong light sources. 
• Downlighter: Darklight Downlighter, a black baffled downlight
• Alternative: Dark shaded walls lights, metal shade pendant lights where the bright light source is hidden revealing only the reflected light out of the fitting.

Finn Scandi Metal Floor Lamp

The metal shade focuses the light downwards for a low glare accent light source.

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Alternatives to Downlights to Create Ambient General Lighting

• Lighting Objective: Create a general light source in any room
• Downlight: Downlights often mistakenly positioned in a grid in the ceiling to light everything in the room.
• Alternative 1: When the ambient lighting is adding an extra layer of light to the other light sources in the room, use white glass or a light fabric shaded ceiling lighting that spreads light widely. The light source should be positioned to infill light in between the other lights so do use multiples where needed.

Astro Cambria 380 Pleated

White Pleated Fabric Ceiling Light with 2 qty lampholders. Plain Putty & White options are also available.

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• Alternative 2: When the ambient general lighting is the main or only source of light for the room use a recessed linear LED strip to create homogeneous lines of light in the ceiling.

Astro Cyl 260

White Glass Wall Light

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Alternative to Downlights in a Living Room

• Lighting Objective: Light curtains and backs of furniture to enliven color
• Downlighter: Recessed black baffled 2700K dimmable white adjustable downlight
• Alternative: Table and Floor Lighting with light colored fabric shades positioned near furniture and curtains to cast light across the fabrics.

Astro Park Lane Floor

Modern universally styled floor light that casts light over furniture and curtains.

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Alternative to Ceiling Spotlights in a Kitchen

• Lighting Objective: Create a bright general level of light 
• Downlighter: White recessed downlight using an LED lamp
• Alternative: Alternatives to recessed lighting in a kitchen would build up lots of light from task lighting on counter tops from LED Strip under wall cupboards, ambient lighting from reflected light onto the ceiling positioned above kitchen cupboards and pendants over island and other working surfaces.

See: The Ultimate Guide on How to Light a Kitchen 

Astro Ascoli 4 Bar

Neatly styled 4 light bar spotlight – use to highlight and create focal points of interest.

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Alternative to a Downlighter to Create a Focal Point to a Room

• Lighting Objective: Focus light onto something to draw attention and be one of the brightest parts to the room.
• Downlighter: Adjustable medium to narrow beamed downlight focused onto the object or area. 
• Alternative 1: Surface or track mounted spotlights with a tight beam width or uplight/downlight from a hidden linear LED strip.

3000K Warm White LED Strip

Easily create linear lines of light with LED strip

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The Best Downlights Buying Guide!

Looking for the best downlight for your project? Make the right choices with our full buying guide & reviews of the top rated LED Downlights to suit all budgets

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Alternative to Downlights in a Corridor

• Lighting Objective: Light a narrow space with limited positions for lighting
• Downlighter: Medium beam white downlight 
• Alternative: Create interesting repetitions of light from smaller sources within LED wall lights or in ground floor uplighters.

Borgo 35 Trimless 2700K Wall Light

In built LED lighting looks so impressive repeated along a corridor or stairs, creating contrasts of light and dark.

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Alternative to a Downlighter to Create Task Lighting

• Lighting Objective: Create a concentrated pool of light for a high luminance and lumen level on the working surface. 
• Downlighter: Group of medium beam width downlights directed onto a working surface. 
• Alternative: Drop pendants fitted with high output lamps that direct light downwards well. 

Hashira Drop Pendant

Uses a downlight style GU10 lamp to push downwards a strong light.

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Alternative to Downlights in a Shower 

• Lighting Objective: Comfortable useful lighting to wash by
• Downlighter: IP65 wet rated 3000K downlight
• Alternative: Hide IP65 linear LED strip around the edge of the ceiling to reflect light down the walls or light upwards and reflect light off of the ceiling.

Alternative to Downlights for a Home Office

• Lighting Objective: Create enough light to work at a desk and use a PC
• Downlighter: 3000K Medium Beam White Downlight
• Alternative: Wall Uplighter to reflect light onto the ceiling and back down into the room. Use a desk lamp for task lighting. 

Astro Amat 320

Sophisticated take on a classic white ceramic uplighter with a useful up and down light.

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Alternative to a Downlighter to Create Accent Lighting.

• Lighting Objective: Create lit spaces and objects that add individual interest in a room. 
• Downlighter: Wide or medium width downlights used to create specific pools of light onto an interesting part of the room or an object.
• Alternative: Wall lights positioned either side of the object to allow light to spill across it.

Monroe Wall Light

Decorative reeded glass wall light when used with a low output warm white LED lamp will cast a cosy illumination.

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Alternative to Downlighters in a Wet Room

• Lighting Objective: Comfortable useful lighting to wash by
• Downlighter: IP65 wet rated 3000K downlight with medium beam width.
• Alternative: Create a series of tiled alcoves lit from the top inside with IP65 niche lighting for pockets of light for visual interest and reflect light out into the shower. Hide LED strip in recess around the edge of the ceiling to reflect light back into the space.

Astro Terra Round 28

IP65 niche light to create pockets of light in bathroom alcoves and recesses.

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artwork">Alternative to a Downlighter to Light Artwork

• Lighting Objective: Light Artwork, Pictures and Photography
• Downlighter: Adjustable 3000K high CRI wide beam black baffled downlighter
• Alternatives: Track Mounted Spotlights with wide beam high CRI 3000K lamps, wall mounted artwork lighting, carefully placed table and floor lights.

Astro Mondrian 600 LED Bronze

Fabulously popular modern version of a classic picture wall light.

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See: The Best 5 Ways to Light Artwork & Pictures on a Wall

Andrew Orange , the owner of Orange Lighting qualified and worked as an interior designer in 1993 before specialising in lighting working on high profile projects based in London. Since starting Orange Lighting Ltd in 2003 he has been sharing his knowledge and unique teaching style mostly to his designer clients, offering practical real life advice born from running a busy consultancy and lighting supply business. Launching in 2020, his blog has evolved into Quick & Easy Lighting, curating some 25 years design experience into making the lighting choice and design process achievable and easy to understand for all.