How To Light A Kitchen
Kitchen featured on this page was designed by the talented @Du_Bois_Design.
The kitchen is a central hub for many homes these days. The humble room once used just for cooking, is now a multifunctional space for the whole family. So having the right mix of light is crucial for making your space a functional and welcoming environment for everyone who uses it.
The best way to achieve this is through layered lighting. That means having a quality 'base light' that provides a great all purpose/general room light. Then adding additional lighting to the space based on tasks or needs for each area. Such as a focused task light for where chopping veggies or food prep might take place, or adding softer lights in spaces used for entertaining.
Take a look at the 5 key areas of lighting we recommend incorporating into your kitchen space...
#1. General Room Lighting
A good starting point when it comes to planning your kitchen lighting should be selecting a quality base light. This could be in the form of ceiling buttons, downlights, spotlights - the goal is to provide a general ambient light that brightens most of the surrounding space.
Downlights and Ceiling Buttons are often the most commonly used, but the adjustability of spotlight heads work great with those kitchen spaces that have tilted or skillion roofs.
Note: the kitchen featured in this image is designed by Yellow Fox Interior Design.
LED Ceiling Button Multiform LED Downlight Kade GU10 Spotlight
#2. Functional Spotlighting
Spotlights and track lights are a great way to add a functional layer of lighting to a space as they provide an even spread of light. Most spotlights have adjustable (tilt and/or turn) heads, which gives you the freedom to direct light to where it's needed, making the lighting effect unique to your space. Track Lights also give you the bonus of being able to move and adjust the Lamp Heads along the track after installation.
This makes them ideal for brightening areas such as benchtops or large central kitchen islands that may get heavy use from eating, food prepping, socialising and more.
You can then layer decorative lighting with practical spotlights - like the high power spotlights featured below - to create a well lit, stylish and functional space. Check out our classic black spotlighting options below, with more colours and styles available online.
High Power Spotlight Xanthi Spotlights Reagan Spotlights Kade Spotlights
#3. Simple Wall Lighting
Still need that additional light source? Then why not try a sleek and simple wall lights as shown in the kitchen below. A great way to add a layer of horizontal light to larger kitchen areas, or to create a different light effect for 'zones' such as dining spaces and seating areas.
Our Cubed Wall Light appears in the foreground, creating an eye catching up and down lighting effect. While our Nordica Wall Light you can see in the background creating a warm white hue.
Nordica Wall Light Quade Wall Light LED Cube Wall Light Milun Wall Light
#4. Under Cupboard Lighting
Unobtrusive under cupboard lights are a great great way to bring highly functional light to high use areas such as works stations, sinks and bench tops. They can provide a practical and direct light without shadowing towards spaces used for cutting, chopping or preparing food, keeping your work space well lit and you safe.
Our Diva strip lights featured here are a great solution to under cupboard lighting. They have a slimline design, are dimmable, available in multiple lengths to suit a variety of spaces - and most sizes have two possible colour options.
Linkable LED Strip Lights Kelvin Adjustable Linkable Strip Lights
#5. Statement Pendants
Bold pendants are a great way to bring in some design detail and differentiation to your kitchen. From large lighting fixtures placed over dining tables, to small lights hung in formation over breakfast bars, to statement pendants clustered together to create a design focal point.
Use spotlights, wall lights and task lighting to make your space functional, and pendants to add your own flair and fun to the room!
Featured here are a cluster of our Mida Pendants, a translucent smoked glass pendant with black cordset. Perfect for bringing additional light to high use areas as well as personality and style to the space.
Mida Pendant Edwin Pendant Maven Pendant Yara Pendant Midi Globe Pendant
Top Tip For Kitchen Lighting:
When selecting a light for your space, more than just how the fitting looks should be taken into consideration. You should also think about the lights colour temperature (how warm the colouring of the light is) and the Colour Rendering Index (how accurately an objects colours are represented by the light) of the fitting too.
Installing the wrong colour temperature for your space can have an impact on the overall ambience and functionality of the room. For example, you wouldn't install 'Daylight' colour temperature lighting in spaces you plan to relax and unwind in. And you wouldn't install soft warm lighting in task focused areas either.
You can find out more about these topics - and the impact they have on your space - on our Colour Temperature Guide and Colour Rendering Index blogs.
And finally, think about where one will stand to do prep or wash the dishes etc. Make sure there is lighting directed in front of these areas to avoid working in your own shadow. If you are trying to minimise the amount of lighting required, ensure there will be light focused in these areas as your main priority.