Looking to brighten up your kitchen? Let this blog keep you up to date on what’s big in the kitchen lighting world!
The wrong lighting can starve your kitchen of the comfort and functionality it needs.
Too much light can overwhelm your room and not enough can impair your work and create a bleak look. The key is to strike a balance that’s just right.
Lucky for you, current lighting products place an emphasis on striking that balance, plus a little more.
Join me as we go over the stylish, subtle, and modern ways that you can light your kitchen!
The Rise of Layered Lighting
The days of relying on one big light to illuminate your kitchen are long gone. Multifunctional lighting has taken over, and the one spearheading its charge is layered lighting.
Layered lighting comes in three different forms:
- Task Lighting: This kind of lighting relies on functionality. You’ll spot task lighting in places that focus on providing direct light to your work and task-oriented areas. For example: above the sink, under the cabinets, and over the kitchen island.
- Ambient Lighting: Lighting that falls under the ambient title gives your room its general glow. It also enhances the overall brightness of your space. Think along the lines of natural light, ceiling lights, and under cabinet lights.
- Accent Lighting: Accent lighting serves the purpose of highlighting and emphasizing the decorative item of your choice, or enhancing the room's mood. It can be the light above your painting, or the backlighting in your cabinet.
When implemented correctly, these three can transform your kitchen from a dimly-lit mess to a cohesive unit.
For your own kitchen, you’ll want to identify the areas that are lacking. To do this, try carrying out a simple task, or give the room an overview. If you find yourself squinting a lot, maybe you need to boost your ambient light, or if your family photo isn’t popping in the way you want it to, try giving it some accent lighting.
How you choose to layer your lighting is up to you, just remember that if you want the best results, look for the gaps in your kitchen lighting, and fill them with the corresponding layers.
Dimmers and the Convenience of Control
We use our kitchen throughout all hours of the day: In the morning, in the evening, and at night. Whatever the task at hand, the lighting we need for it matters.
With dimmers, you can take control of your kitchen’s lighting and use it for both your practical and aesthetic needs. Got an upcoming party you need to prepare for? Turn up the switch and enjoy the convenience of cooking in a well-lit space! How about a relaxing dinner time? Dim the lights and watch the mood be set for you!
With their simple controls, you can easily change the brightness of your bulbs to suit the situation at hand! By installing dimmers, and by using dimmer-compatible bulbs, you can transform your kitchen with just a switch!
But that’s not all. By habitually using your lights on a lower setting, you're not only creating a cozy atmosphere, you’re also saving on energy costs.
In short, dimmers are a fun and energy-efficient way to transform your kitchen lighting!
The Under Cabinet Craze
What if there was a way you could light your counters without taking up any space?
Counters are a vital part of any kitchen; we perform the majority of cooking related activities on them. For those with smaller kitchens especially, not having enough room to work with can be incredibly frustrating.
That’s why under cabinet lighting is so useful.
As it stands today, the majority of households have some form of under cabinet fixture that's lighting their kitchen. And it makes sense, they’re a fun and reliable way to make your counters both safer, and more stylish! With their even lighting, under cabinet LED strips, pucks, and bar lights illuminate your counters while staying out of the way.
Depending on the under cabinet light, you’re just a couple screws or magnets away from installing these lights in your kitchen and giving your space the quality lighting it deserves!
Hidden Lighting
Unlike other kinds of lighting, hidden lighting doesn’t jump out at you. It guides you through the room, drawing your eye from one spot to the other.
Whether it’s the strip lights beneath your counters, or the recessed lighting in your ceiling, hidden lighting brings an open feeling to your kitchen, without looking chunky or unflattering.
More than that, it can also light up the tucked away spaces that other lights struggle to reach, like the inside of your cabinets. With modern technology, you can even go as far as automating the process, and have your lights on and off function tied to the opening and closing of your cabinet door.
If you’re really looking to add something subtle to your kitchen, take a step back and have a look around the room. Is there any visual clutter that stands out to you? If so, then it might be worth it to tidy up the place, and elevate your kitchen with some hidden lighting.
Pendants and Chandeliers
What’s the first thing you notice when you walk into a kitchen? Is it the cupboards, the countertops, or the dirty dishes piled in the sink? Whatever it is, the first thing you notice in a room can shape your entire perspective of that space.
Pendant lights and chandeliers are often the centerpiece of the kitchen. As such, they’re usually what your guests notice first, meaning you’ll want them to leave a good first impression.
Most, if not all, of these kinds of lights reside over your kitchen island. With that in mind, you should not only consider the size of your kitchen, but also the height you’ll want your fixture to sit at.
Once you find the best height for your pendant or chandelier, you should then decide if you want your centerpiece to stand out, or if you want it to blend in. Having a centerpiece that contrasts the rest of your kitchen is a great way to draw attention to it. However, recent trends have shown a preference towards lighting that blends in instead of standing out.
So, whatever you go with, just make sure you find something that not only fits in your kitchen, but also fits your desired look.
A Few Mistakes to Avoid
Just before we wrap things up, let’s go over some of the kitchen lighting mistakes you’ll want to avoid making.
- Rushing the Process: No matter how excited you are, it’s best to take a step back and come up with a plan for lighting your kitchen. Rushing into things can lead you to make uninformed decisions, so be sure to take your time laying things out.
- Over or Underexposed Lighting: Poor lighting, whether too bright or dim, will negatively affect your ability to operate in your kitchen. If you want to avoid this, try using warmer or neutral toned lights that reside in the 2700K - 4000K range. Make sure to look for spots that are too dark for your tastes, and apply lighting there.
- Operating Outside of Your Kitchen’s Size: No matter how much you love a fixture, if it isn’t the right size for your kitchen, it’s not worth buying. If your kitchen space is limited, stick to something that’ll leave you with enough room to function, and if you have more than enough space, choosing too small of a fixture can offset your room’s balance.
- Buying Low Quality Fixtures: Cheap fixtures can get the job done, but if you want a bulb that’ll last, it’s worth investing in something of higher quality. Your kitchen is likely going to see a lot of use, to keep up with that, I’d recommend picking an LED fixture with a long lifespan. That way, you can get your money’s worth.
Conclusion
Without proper illumination, our kitchens fall apart. Our activities, duties, and mood are all influenced by the spaces around us. That’s why layered lighting (task, ambient, and accent lighting) is so important. At the end of the day, your kitchen is a puzzle, and with the help of layered lighting, quality fixtures, and some thorough planning, you can make all the pieces fit together.
If you’re interested in lighting the other rooms in your house, visit lightbulbs.com and browse what we have to offer!
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