Small update: So far this project has gone fairly smoothly with only a couple of small hiccups. My first "set back" we'll call it, is that I've been struggling with the downlights on the soffit and how to get the light to look correct, as well as install the cut-out tile in a way that could be removable if I needed to swap out a light if it burns out.
In the film, the downlights are recessed inside of the same Ennis tiles but there's an L shape cut out of the center that follows the inner design of the tile.
In my head, the small round dimmable puck lights would work because I could just cut some frosted plexiglass to fit inside the L-shaped cut out and it would diffuse the light.
It seemed like a solid idea, but the real-world execution of it didn't really work out the way I'd hoped.
The plexiglass is so close to the light itself that there's almost no distance between the two so the light can't diffuse. Not good.
I even tried applying translucent film over the plexiglass but that just created a mess of bubbles wrinkles, and uneven lighting.
I was quite disappointed because it was a lot of time and effort to install the lights for it to not look the way I wanted. So I started looking around for other options.
I feel like a complete idiot for never even thinking of this before purchasing the puck lights, but apparently they also make large square LED panel lights! Ugh! I was actually upset at how perfect these were because now I absolutely HAVE to redo them! I would never be happy leaving them in their current state now that I know these exist!
I ordered just one light to test before spending more money (they're significantly more expensive than the small round ones). I spent a couple of hours today test fitting, measuring, and installing it, and trying to figure out how to mount the tile in a way that is removable. The tiles don't have much to mount to since they're thin styrene so I cut some slices from a wooden dowel to add surface area and used 3M DualLock to "stick" them to the soffit so I can pull them off if needed. I'm still using the frosted plexiglass as it is cut to lay flat against the inner wall so there's no visible gap.
I also applied some foam trim on the soffit to act as a seal to prevent light from leaking out of the edges of the tile.
Here's the final result! Much better. Now I just have to repeat the process 6 more times!
I also moved in a couple of items to get an idea on placement.