Good kitchen lighting design is an essential part of your kitchen decorating. Again, you need to think about all the different ways you’re going to use your kitchen.
If you just use it for preparing food, then good lighting on the work surfaces might be sufficient. But you probably have a dining area or breakfast bar. You may have a TV in your kitchen, and when you have a spare moment (a what?) you sink into a chair and watch your favorite show – before the ravenous hordes arrive. In this case, you’ll want some background lighting, not spotlights shining into your face.
Practical Kitchen Lighting
One of the best ways to provide good light for working if you have a modern kitchen is to have strip lights fixed under the wall units. These can have a separate switch on each one, but it’s best to have all of them controlled from one switch, usually near the door so you can turn them on as you enter your kitchen.
Recessed downlights in the ceiling, strip lights under the wall units, and suspended light fittings all contribute to a well-lit kitchen.
Background Lighting
All kitchens will benefit from good background lighting by having recessed downlights in the ceiling. If you also have these connected to a dimmer switch, you can control the amount of background light.
An attractive effect is created in this kitchen with the use of lighting. The recessed downlights in the ceiling give background lighting, the strip lights under the wall units light the work surface, and the glass-fronted wall units are internally lit.
(If you put lights inside a cabinet as illustrated here, be sure to use glass shelves so the whole cabinet is illuminated.)
Another way to get background lighting is when you have space between the top of the wall units and the ceiling. You can fix lights on the top of the wall units which shine up and are reflected off the ceiling.
Focused Lighting
A breakfast bar or dining area will need the light of its own. If the bar or table is fixed, then you can have lamps hanging down from the ceiling to light up the immediate area.
Two lights suspended over this fitment provide good light for eating meals.
If your recessed downlights in the ceiling are able to move, you can direct one or more of them onto the table area to provide your kitchen lighting.
You can also fit spotlights onto the ceiling. These can be on a circular plate or on a bar. You can then direct these where you want.
As you can see, all these options for your lighting design are only practical if you first know what your kitchen plan is. So make sure you know all the details of your kitchen before you install any units.
Any necessary wiring needs to be completed before you begin installing your kitchen.