What color recessed trim should I use?
Recessed lighting can be complicated. After all the searching and the choosing of the perfect product, you come to a final question: What color trim should I use?
White Trim: For starters, white is the most popular trim color, because most ceilings are white. But even if you’ve decided to use a color above your head, an all-white trim is still the easiest to transform with your favorite go-to paint.
White Reflector: A crisp white reflector does an excellent job of reflecting light into the space. And when the fixture is switched off, it blends almost invisibly into a white ceiling.
Black Reflector: A black reflector does a nice job of reducing glare from the downlight. As with any contrasting color, black does absorb some of the light, and therefore will slightly reduce your lumen output. But many feel black disappears into the ceiling when the light is on or off, and they enjoy that look. Which explains why it is one of the oldest interior colors going back to the invention of recessed fixtures.
Chrome Reflector: A chrome reflector does a splendid job of reflecting the light while also reducing the glare. This has become a popular choice primarily because chrome has no color. When turned off, it picks up the colors of its surroundings, and tends to disappear. When turned on, it appears to be dark from another room, even though it’s reflecting as much light as possible!
Haze Reflector: A haze reflector does a nice job of reducing glare similar to that of the black reflector. When the light is on the reflector still looks very calm and when the light is off the haze does not stand out much. It doesn’t have the shiny finish, but it doesn’t get scratched like some anodized finishes.
Black Trim: An all-black trim is typically used in all-black ceilings, such as nightclubs and bars. It also may be used in wooden ceilings to match the hardware or to emphasize the trim lines. The ceiling trim color will have no effect on the light output, or the color of the light. In these instances, the goal is to illuminate the space without drawing attention to the lighting fixtures.
Bronze Trim: Bronze trims, as with black ones, are used in many wooden ceilings to match the background tones of the wood or the darkness of the ceiling. These are particularly attractive in rustic surroundings, such as a mountain cabin.