Kitchen Lighting Ideas
A kitchen is often the hub of the home and as one of the most used rooms it is important to get your lighting right. Kitchens are not only used for cooking but for dining, catching up with friends over a cuppa, family activities and even occasional offices. So careful considerations on how to light your kitchen is key to getting the best out of your space.
Where To Light Your Kitchen
As your kitchen can have so many uses, one of the first things to do is work out which are the most important areas that would need lighting. This could be under cabinet lighting for when you are preparing food, spotlights for where you read your recipes, or pendant lights over a breakfast bar or a kitchen island. Think about what you use each space for and whether you would need brighter clearer lighting or a softer more ambient light.
Layering light within your kitchen can really help to improve the appearance of your space. There are different types of lighting layers that are worth considering when changing the fixtures or having a new kitchen installed:
Task: this is lighting that illuminates a particular area for a functional reason such as lighting within a cupboard.
Accent: this is lighting that highlights certain areas for effect, such as lighting under a kitchen island that can make it appear to be floating.
Ambient: tends to be gentle light that gives an atmosphere or mood to the room, often as a base layer of light.
Decorative: lighting that acts as a focal point or feature in the room.
What Style Of Kitchen Light To Choose
Once you have identified where you need the light you can then choose the type of kitchen light fixture. You may want to have the same style throughout the kitchen such as all recessed spotlights or you may want to have a variety of lights, such as a mix of pendant lights and under cabinet lights. When choosing your kitchen light fixtures you will want them to work with your existing décor, for example if you have a retro style kitchen then a retro style pendant would be perfect and would enhance your retro theme. If you have a contemporary, minimal kitchen then you may prefer a more concealed spotlight to continue that modern feel.
Kitchen Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are perfect for breakfast bars or kitchen islands where you have the space to hang them. They are a great focal point and can give real style to a kitchen space whether they are modern, colourful pendants or retro fisherman lanterns. You can adjust the height to be right for your space so it would be worth checking who is the tallest in the house and making sure that they have enough clearance. Pendants are brilliant for achieving a real impact in your kitchen space and depending on the individual pendant size; they can look stunning either individually or when grouped together in sets of 3 or 5. Here at O’Briens Lighting we have a fantastic range of pendant lights to choose from.
Kitchen Recessed Spotlights
In any kitchen you will get a build-up of dust and grease from cooking so recessed spotlights are good choices for lighting closer to hobs and ovens because there is a smaller surface area to clean. Recessed spotlights are also a great way to get an even amount of light throughout a kitchen space and pivot spotlights can be used to give directional light into areas that need it most. Clever use of lighting can even make a space look larger. The recessed lamps come in many different styles including in blocks, recessed in orbs, triangles and funnel shapes and also the popular ceiling flush circular or square fittings.
Kitchen Counter Lighting
As the main use for a kitchen is the preparation and cooking of food, the under cabinet lighting is an area that should not be ignored. Cabinets on the walls will often cause shadows over your worktops so having additional lighting specifically for this area will mean that you have the best lighting when it’s vital to see what you are doing (such as chopping up veg). Our contemporary under cabinet lighting gives you simple styling in a variety of sizes so you can make sure your work space is adequately lit.
Shop for Kitchen Counter Lights
- Header image – Kitchen counter via Pexels (CC0 1.0)
Some cracker ideas on here O’Brien!