HouseOfChandelier

I presume you are referring to LED downlights right? Generally speaking, 8 x 8W downlights in a living room is quite bright. Don't expect it to be super bright though. However, brightness perception varies from person to person. What is bright for me might be too dim for some one else. Usually we recommend 8-10 x 12W though. This is assuming the downlights are your only light source in the living room. Also, like bepgof above, many people installed downlights that are too yellow/orangey (warm) and end up not using because not practical. Warm white is a range of colour temperature which varies from 2700k to 3500k. It is probably more advisable to get something closer to 3500k (less yellow but still considered warm white) as a general lighting. This will give you a warm enough feel without being overly yellow/orangey. I always advise my customers to see the lights in a home setting before buying (I don't even let them buy without seeing the downlights at our residential showroom). This way you can know how it will feel like to stay in a home with that sort of lighting. Lights are almost a permanent fixtures which are troublesome to change out and it helps to get it right the first time round. If you need more advice can always PM/email me. Happy to help.

One thing many people are unaware of is that those super slim LED downlights can lead to many problems. LED dissipate small amount of heat so it is cool to touch. However, it's tolerance level of heat is also lower. More than 50% of LED failure is attributed to overheating. Simply speaking, small increase in heat can damage LED, so cooling is important. There should always be enough space for ventilation. Since the introduction of super slim LED downlights, I have heard of many horror stories regarding them. Because it is super slim, the drivers are often packed very close together, resulting in poor heat dissipation. So the LEDs breakdown way faster than they should. Is there even any practical reason to have a super slim LED downlight? Some say it's to reduce the false ceiling height. Exchanging a small increase in ceiling height (<5cm or less) for the potential of many problems to replace the downlights. I like to question, if LED are meant to last very long, why most shops only offer 1 year warranty? Are they not confident of the quality of their lights?