Kitchen Lighting Ideas

By Luke Clum January 25, 2014 No Comments

Kitchen is the most important part of a house. People pay special attention to construct a well-designed kitchen. Once it is constructed, they spend maximum time and money to decorate this part. Lights play a key role in beautifying your house, and kitchen in particular. Since it is the center of family activities, everyone wants to create an eye catching kitchen that adds value to their home.

So, do you too want to create a well-designed and illuminated kitchen? K itchen lighting ideas will enable you to decorate your working area perfectly. All you need to do is to consider the size and complexity of the kitchen space. Besides, you also need to make balance between general lighting and more specific task and mood setting accent lightings.

There are three main types of lighting, general, task and accent lighting. A good balance among these three lights works wonders for the beauty of your kitchen. Brief explanation:

1. General Lighting: The most common types of general lights are cloud lights, recessed lights, surface and pendant lights. This light lightens the entire work space when you enter the kitchen. It also enables you to move around safely. General lights turn on when you enter the room. You can fit an overhead light with a dimmer switch. It will help you to choose a softer effect when you are sitting down to eat or relax. This type of lights is more useful when you come in with loaded bags.

2. Task Lighting: It is also called functional lighting. This light, as the name suggests accompany you in the work area. It is a shadow free light that shines directly at a work surface. The most common types of task lighting are puck or strip halogen lights installed underneath the cabinet or above the sink. If your kitchen contains a broader space for dining table, you can fix these lights above the table. It will enable you to have brighter lights for home work, eating and any other tasks. It also saves you from minor accidents in the kitchen.

3. Mood Accent Lighting. Accent lighting is used to brighten or highlight the architectural features and any other decorative accessories on shelf or countertop. It is called mood accent lighting because it makes the mood. Small directional lights are more suitable for this.

1. Make a Plan. A well decorated and designed kitchen is the result of advance proper planning. Before you choose various lights for your kitchen, don’t forget to consider the size, shape, design, space and the color of your kitchen. These are all variable factors that affect the selection of proper kitchen lighting. So, consult a home interior designer, and ask him or her which type of lights will benefit your kitchen the most. Also, consider the location of work surface and dining table. Apart from this, you should also consider the color of your kitchen, as it matters a lot. For example, if the color of your kitchen is white, it needs less light. So, you will lower the voltage of bulbs used or even cut back on the number of fixtures. And it is opposite in case of dark colors. The kitchen will still have a well-illuminated room.Keeping all these things in mind, mix different lights in the kitchen accordingly. It will surely add value to your beautiful house.

2. Recessed Lights. Recessed lights are the most common type of general kitchen lighting. These lights are versatile and you can fix them almost anywhere in the kitchen.

3. Install Functional Lights. Functional lights help you to work smoothly. These lights are free of shadows. You can fix them under the cabinets, above sink and any other work area. There are also low voltage lights that you can fix inside the cabinet. Thus, it will reduce the burden of your electricity bill. One more advantage of this kitchen lighting is that it turns on automatically when you enter in. Thus it helps you to work safely in the pantry.

4. Adjust Pendants. There are various pendant lamps available in the market that you can adjust in your kitchen. It can be adjusted anywhere in the primary working areas. However, if you want to make these lamps flexible, adjust them with the help of a cable. It will enable you to pull or lower them when required.

5. Light Each Work Zone: If the color of your kitchen is dark, you will need more lighting sources to illuminate it. So, adjust or fix bulbs in all directions. If possible, install the lights with different voltage. For example, low voltage bulbs at a bright work area, and high voltage at darker zone. It will make a balance of lights in your kitchen.

6. Fix Lights inside Cabinets: Besides other lights, you should also pay attention towards the cabinets in your kitchen. To see deep in the corner of cabinets, install micro switches or motion sensors that will activate LED lights. These lights will turn on automatically when you will open the door, and turn off when it is closed. Thus, these lights are also very useful, as they allow you to maximize the space in your cabinets.

7. Install Accent Lights. The most common types of accent lights are halogen, xenon, or LED bulbs. They are used to highlight the kitchen accessories and architecture features. Since these bulbs are small in size and direction, you can adjust them anywhere in the kitchen. To save energy, choose compact fluorescent lightbulbs for fixtures that won t be turned on and off frequently.

8. Fix Chandelier. Chandeliers are not meant for dining and drawing rooms only, but you can also adjust it in your kitchen. It looks very beautiful with the white walls and cabinets of a kitchen.

9. Dimming System. Your kitchen must have an adjustable light system. When you are cleaning up or cooking, a bright light makes your work easier. On the other hand, if you are not doing any important work, dim the light. This adjustable or dimming system allows you to reduce the electricity bill.

1. Choose the kitchen lights that are easy to clean. Cooking, common ingredients and other kitchen supplies affect the performance of kitchen lights. So, you should choose such light fixtures, cans or lamps that are easy to clean. Look for fixtures made of glass or plastic that you can easily wash with soapy water. It will retain the beauty of your kitchen, as you can clean the light fixtures, when required.