Lighting transformers are not always pretty, but the good news is, you don’t necessarily have to look at them at all. Hiding them away is a perfectly viable option. Here is how:
First, you have to know that there are limits to what you should do. This is mainly to do with maintenance and safety from fires. Low voltage transformers are like engines – they need to be accessible, in case of malfunction. Accessability in this case means that you don’t want to put your transformer beneath the floor boards – if it means you have to wreck your floor to get to the transformer unit. Many choose to put transformers in the attic, which is fine. Just as long as you don’t hide them under the insulation (you can do it, but the unit should be put in a so-called safe box), which could leave you guessing at the exact spot, when you have to replace or repair the unit ten years in the future. Also, if the unit malfunctions severely, it might start a slow, smouldering fire underneath the insulation – one you wouldn’t discover before it was too late.
Let me just say that most modern units are very safe. They are fitted with fuses, which takes care of most situations, but since the professional and proper approach to fire safety is to always assume the worst, that is what we will do here. Always consider the worst case scenario when working with electrical installations. That should help a good deal towards keeping yourself safe.
Recessed lights using either halogen or led bulbs are always popular (not the ones using gu10 leds of course – those are for mains voltage) – especially in ceilings. But just because the lights are up there, doesn’t mean the transformer has to be. Run the cables over the ceiling too, of course, but put the transformer somewhere else, like just below the ceiling or in an adjacent room where the unit will be seen less (it could even be a closet). This way, you still have easy access to the heart of your installation – but without the eyesores.