#Kitchen Lighting Ideas - Four Top Tips ()

By Ruth Sleightholme
• 08 July 2015

From ergonomic islands to modular cabinets and hidden storage, Ruth Sleightholme considers the key elements of one of the most-used rooms in our houses, and suggests design solutions for the perfect kitchen

Kitchen lighting ideas.

For your cupboards To avoid dark and cluttered cupboards, you might want to include lights that turn on when the doors open. Consider glass shelves with this type of lighting, so light spreads down throughout the cupboard.

For your workspace Fit lights to the bottom of your wall-mounted cupboards, or above the back of the workspace. Make sure that the lights are in front of you to prevent your own shadow from falling on to the work surface. It's best to keep these lights recessed to avoid grease and dirt building up on them.

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For an island or dining area This is a chance to use pendants or decorative lighting, as ideally you want overhead light that illuminates warmly and evenly, in contrast to workspace lighting. Keep this on a separate system to the other lights for more control and ensure they are well above head height.

For the whole room Some people like to have small areas of light during quiet times - especially those who wake during the night. Consider soft recessed lights, perhaps on a dimmer, on top of the cupboards, spreading light upwards, or around the bottom of low cupboards, bathing light downwards.

Taken from the February 2015 issue of House Garden.