Winnetka Lighting
Winnetka has been a North Shore community since 1869, and roughly half its housing stock was built before 1940 — Colonials, Tudors, Georgians, and lakefront estates that deserve careful, knowledgeable electrical work. Chicago Ceiling Lights installs LED recessed lighting across all of Winnetka's neighborhoods, with clear pricing, honest assessments of older construction, and work that respects the character of each home.
Winnetka was incorporated in 1869 — one of the earliest communities on Chicago's North Shore — and its residential character reflects that history. Drive through Hubbard Woods in the northeast, Crow Island in the southwest, or Indian Hill at the village's southern edge, and you'll see the architectural range that defines Winnetka: brick Colonials, stucco Tudors, Georgian center-halls, and lakefront stone manors, many of them designed in the early twentieth century by architects including Howard Van Doren Shaw, David Adler, and George Washington Maher.
Sheridan Road runs along the lakefront, where homes back up to Lake Michigan. The village stretches just under four square miles and is served by three Metra stations — Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, and Indian Hill — reflecting the compact, walkable neighborhoods that give different parts of town their own distinct feel. The Crow Island School, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen and declared a National Historical Landmark in 1990, sits at the center of a neighborhood where most homes were built between 1920 and 1940.
We work throughout all of these neighborhoods. Our job is to bring modern LED lighting to homes that were built long before recessed fixtures existed, and to do it without compromising the architecture or leaving a mess behind.
Around half of Winnetka's homes were built before 1940 — a higher share than most Chicago suburbs. That means a significant portion of the housing stock was constructed when plaster and lathe was the standard ceiling material, ceiling heights of 9 to 11 feet or more were common in main living areas, and electrical systems were designed for far fewer fixtures than modern households use.
This matters for lighting installation. Here's what Winnetka homeowners should know:
Most Winnetka projects — especially in renovated kitchens, finished basements, and rooms with standard drywall — come in right at the online estimate. We'll tell you upfront if anything about your home changes the price.
Full recessed lighting installation for Winnetka's older estates, renovated spaces, and everything in between:
We work throughout every part of the village, including:
Recessed lighting in Winnetka costs $500 for the first light in a room and $200 for each additional light. All of the following come with it: LED fixtures, dimmer switches, 3-way and rocker switches as needed, all wiring, patching, and basic painting. A typical kitchen with 6–8 lights runs $1,500–$1,900. Projects covering 3 or more rooms receive 10% off. Standard pricing covers drywall, drop-tile, and open ceilings. Non-standard conditions — original plaster and lathe walls (common in Winnetka's pre-war homes), ceilings over 9 feet, smart switches, or multi-zone switching — may require an adjusted quote that we confirm during your free consultation.
Yes. Many of Winnetka's pre-war Colonials, Tudors, and Georgians — particularly in Hubbard Woods, Crow Island, and Indian Hill — still have original plaster and lathe rather than drywall. We have experience with this construction type. Because plaster requires extra care and time, it falls outside standard pricing and gets quoted separately after an on-site assessment. If your home has been renovated and the plaster replaced with drywall, standard pricing applies.
Most recessed lighting retrofits in Winnetka don't require a permit from the Village. Our base pricing assumes no permit is needed. If you prefer to pull a permit — or if your project scope requires one — we can quote the permit separately and handle the process with your municipality on your behalf.
Most single-room projects finish in one day. A kitchen with 6–8 lights typically takes 4–6 hours. Multi-room projects or homes with non-standard ceilings may run 1–2 days. We protect your floors and furniture throughout and leave the space clean when we're done.
Many of Winnetka's older Colonials and Georgians have main-floor ceiling heights of 9 to 11 feet or more. For those spaces, we typically recommend 6-inch fixtures with higher-output LEDs and adjustable trims that direct light effectively without looking washed out from a distance. Ceiling heights over 9 feet fall outside standard pricing and will be reflected in your quote.
Yes — we work throughout the entire village: Hubbard Woods, Indian Hill, Crow Island, the Sheridan Road lakefront corridor, and neighborhoods near all three Metra stations (Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, and Indian Hill on the Union Pacific North Line). There's no travel surcharge for any location within Winnetka.
In addition to Winnetka, we provide recessed lighting installation in:
Ready to upgrade your Winnetka home's lighting? Fill out the form below for a free, no-obligation quote.