Guest Post: Kitchen lighting tips for maximum impact

The kitchen is the hub of the home, where family and friends gather together to eat, drink, relax and socialise together – it’s a truly multi-functional space.

But what can make or break a kitchen is the lighting. Lighting can have a huge impact on the entire room and completely change the way it feels, so it’s a really important consideration when you’re redesigning the space or thinking about how it works.

Effective lighting in the kitchen can help to create a cosy, inviting space, as well as making sure that it remains functional in order to cater for a range of activities. It needs to be suitable for food preparation, entertaining, dining and even working.

Efficient Lighting has put together these top kitchen lighting tips to ensure that it’s a stylish, functional and relaxing place to spend time (as we’ve all spent a lot of time in there during various lockdowns).

Consider different lighting options

With a huge range of options available, it’s important to consider all the choices in order to create a stylish, functional lighting design. You don’t just have to stick to the traditional downlights and pendant lights – there are a variety of lighting options which will add an extra dimension to your kitchen.

Task Lighting

Task lighting is perfect for those places where a little more light is required, such as food preparation areas including the cooker, sink and worktops. These lights are the brightest, most functional type of lighting and, as the name suggests, should be used for carrying out tasks within the room.

Under-cabinet LED strip lights are the perfect task lighting options and will easily direct light over the areas where you need it the most. LED lighting doesn’t generate as much heat as traditional halogen lights and they’re also incredibly energy efficient, making them a great money-saving option for your kitchen.

Accent lighting

Accent lighting can really bring a room together. It’s the perfect way to draw attention to specific features within your kitchen, such as an island or dining table. Pendant lights make excellent accent lights and help to illuminate your dining areas, as well as adding a stylish, decorative touch to your kitchen.

LED strip lights are another excellent choice of accent lighting, due to their incredible versatility. By installing strip lights inside cabinets and under counters, you can subtly draw attention to the little details in your kitchen and add the perfect finishing touch to the whole room.

Ambient Lighting

Just as the name suggests, ambient lighting adds ambiance and character to the room. Ambient lighting is cast over a wide area and doesn’t focus on any particular feature, so is perfect as a general source of light. Recessed downlights are the most common source of ambient lighting in a kitchen. They look great when arranged in rows across the entire ceiling.

The ever-versatile LED strip lights are another great example of ambient lighting. When placed on top of kitchen cupboards facing the ceiling, the light will bounce back into the room and create a warm, soft glow for a truly inviting atmosphere.

Finally, natural light is another great form of ambient lighting, but is often overlooked. When designing your kitchen, you should try to use sources of natural light to your advantage and tailor the rest of your lighting configuration around this.

Use kitchen lighting to your advantage

Clever use of lighting can truly transform your room. If you’re working with a relatively small space, your it can help to make the room look lighter and more open.

By angling some directional spotlights up towards your cabinets and walls, you can dramatically affect the appearance of the room. This lighting technique helps to reflect light back into the room and create the illusion of a larger, more open space.

Ambient ceiling downlights can also help to make your kitchen appear larger than it is by creating the appearance of a raised ceiling, thus, visually expanding the space. However, it’s important to note that these lights should be strategically-placed along the ceiling: placing them all in one line can actually make the room look narrower.

LED strip lights are another great option for a kitchen with limited space. They’re unobtrusive and don’t take up any extra space. Simply install the strip lights under your cabinets and along your skirting boards for a simple way to increase the light in the room without using up any extra space.

Get creative

Getting creative with your kitchen lighting can create some truly stunning results, and your lighting doesn’t just have to be focused on the exterior of your furniture, either. If you’ve got glass cabinets, you can add some extra dimension to the room by installing lights within your cabinets and illuminate those all-important wine glasses.

Set the mood

By adding a dimmer switch to your lighting configuration, you can truly set the mood in your kitchen. This simple addition will ensure that the room is a multi-functional space. Whether you’re cooking, working, enjoying a romantic dinner or even hosting some guests, having complete control over the intensity of your lights will help you to set the mood for any occasion.

Another important thing to consider is being able to control each set of lights individually. This means you’re able to customise your lighting depending on the occasion. The last thing you want is for your bright task lights to be detracting from a candlelit dinner. Equally, you might prefer to have your other lights dimmed while you’re preparing your food. Having multiple options available will ensure that your kitchen remains truly multi-functional.

Don’t overdo it

With so many lighting options available, it’s easy to go overboard and install as many lights as you possibly can. However, it’s important to use just the right amount of kitchen lighting to keep the room looking sleek and striking.

Many people tend to go overboard with pendant lights, having multiple pendant lights hanging all throughout the room. Ideally, pendant lights should be used to add a visual interest to the room and highlight important features. But make sure they don’t make the room look cluttered and messy. Sticking to two or three pendant lights over the dining area or island will keep this as the room’s focal point, rather than detracting from the rest of the room.

By following these kitchen lighting techniques, you’re sure to create a truly welcoming kitchen. A kitchen perfect for hosting guests, exploring new recipes and enjoying meals with your family. If you’re looking for even more kitchen design ideas, then we have got all of the tips and advice for you.

About the author: Efficient light are experts in lighting solutions for both commercial and domestic purposes and can help you out with expert lighting advice, no matter what your project.