Lighting the kitchen is not that complicated, but a few important tips should be applied to ensure good lighting quality on both visual and practical terms. After all, the kitchen is by far one of the busiest rooms in the house, it makes sense that it should be properly lit, right?
I want to walk you through a few simple tips to ensure your kitchen lighting is on point. For that, you need to know where they should be placed for better coverage, which places need light the most, and which light fixtures are the best. None of it is rocket science, but even simple adjustments can make a huge impact.
With these tips in mind, you should be able to light your kitchen perfectly. Our goal is to have the entire room well lit in a way that looks beautiful and helps with your cooking!
“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me." – Carol Burnett
Ambient lights
Ambient lights are used to provide consistent light throughout the entire kitchen. These are usually small and subtle, used to create even lighting across the kitchen without focusing on a single corner.
Usually you’ll see these embedded into the ceiling, which makes them feel more a part of the kitchen and provide even lighting without overwhelming the room's design and leaving space for other fixtures to truly shine.
Light fixtures
Light fixtures are perfect for hanging over the kitchen island, which is why you see it a lot in interior kitchen design. It’s a nice centralized place for a fixture, but it also has the practical purpose of lighting your main working area.
Fixtures can also be placed over the sink and attached to the wall instead of hanging from the ceiling. It’s all about finding the spots that need better lighting for you to work well, and then figuring out a way to light it.
If you need help figuring out what’s best for your kitchen, talk to a local interior designer!
Placement
The placement of lights can make a huge difference on the entire scene, but for the kitchen I boil it down to this: make sure there are no harsh lights behind you. This is because when you’re working in the kitchen and the main source of light is right behind you, you create a huge shadow right in front of you… where your work is.
It’s very uncomfortable to cook like that for obvious reasons, and it could also be dangerous – you don’t want to be cutting food with a really sharp knife when you can’t see properly!
This is why a lot of the time you see light fixtures pointing down at the workspace or coming slightly from the front, as to light the workspace in front of you without casting any harsh shadows.
Strategic lights
I’ve already mentioned the light fixtures that usually hang over the kitchen island – very important to ensure your workstation is well lit. But there are other smaller spots that benefit from strategic lights.
For example, it’s quite common to embed small LED lights under the cabinets and even under them near your feet. In both cases, it adds a nice visual flair while ensuring you can see well no matter the lighting conditions or which direction you’re facing.
These lights aren’t obligatory, but they certainly should be considered!
Light temperature
There isn’t really a rule when it comes to light temperature, it depends more on your personal taste and interior designs choices than anything. In case you don’t know, light temperature refers to the color of the light – with orange being warmer and white being colder.
Warm lights tend to make the place feel cozier and leans to a more rustic vibe, while colder lights give you a clean, bright, and professional-looking atmosphere. Fluorescent lights come in both varieties, so it’s really a matter of preference!
Need help setting up some lights around the kitchen? Get free quotes from a local electrician today and kickstart your plans!
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