Kitchen Lighting Basics

The role of kitchen lighting is to provide a good source of light for tasks as well as general lighting.

Although this may seem like obvious advice, when it comes to your kitchen lighting fixtures and accessories, there is a lot to consider.

Your kitchen might not just be a kitchen.

It can function as a TV room, it can also incorporate a living room and have sofas, coffee tables and a TV at one end.

It could be a kitchen diner with part of the room occupied by a dining room

table and chairs.

Could do with a breakfast bar area complete with high stools.

It can be used by children to do their homework after school.

The scenarios are many and varied.

Also, many people will tend to spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen area, so your lighting needs to accommodate the different uses of this room, as well as the different times of day it is used. For example, it is very likely that your kitchen is used throughout the day and also late at night.

You have to attend to both.

If your kitchen has a good amount of natural light, this is a major advantage, as dark and dreary kitchen areas are never attractive.

But fear not, if you can’t afford to remodel this or enlarge your existing windows, then all is not lost. You can still improve the quantity and quality of light in your kitchen by using indoor lamps correctly.

During

lighting in the center of the room will provide much of the general lighting in the kitchen, but should be supplemented with other lighting, otherwise it will leave the corners of the room in shadow and is not

conductive for kitchen tasks. These would be tasks for food preparation such as cutting and chopping. Not to mention the dangers that can result from accidents caused by insufficient lighting.

You will have to add to your solitary central pendant light!

You can add fluorescent tubes to wall-mounted cabinets to provide task-specific lighting over countertop areas.

The incorporation of adjustable wall sconces will help you increase the amount of light you have, but it has the great advantage of being able to direct it where you need it, since it is adjustable.

It is a good idea to install recessed lights or wall mounted spotlights above kitchen areas and dishwashing areas, you can hang a wall light above the dishwashing area to place it where needed.

You can also use recessed lights to great effect in the kitchen, as they provide a good quantity and quality of light that can be directed downwards into work areas where light is most needed.

Another type of lighting to consider is the use of spotlights. These can be used to great effect when used to illuminate high level walls or shelves.