When it comes to remodeling your kitchen, there's more to consider than just appliances and countertops. One often underestimated, yet important, aspect of kitchen design is lighting. Good lighting can transform your kitchen from a dim space into one that’s functional and inviting.
As Vermont kitchen designers, good lighting is extra important to us. After all, when winter days are gloomy and short, kitchen lighting that’s warm, welcoming, and most importantly, effective, creates a much-needed cozy interior.
Below, we'll explore why kitchen lighting is so important– as well as types of lighting we’ve worked with, and can’t recommend enough.
Why is Kitchen Lighting So Important?
Before diving into specific types of kitchen lighting, it’s important to understand why lighting plays such an important role in the kitchen:
Safety: Adequate lighting is crucial for safety in the kitchen. When you're handling sharp knives, hot pots and pans, proper visibility is essential to preventing accidents.
Functionality: A well-lit kitchen is a functional kitchen. Whether you're cooking, cleaning, or just searching for ingredients, good lighting ensures that you can perform tasks efficiently.
Style: Lighting enhances the aesthetics of your kitchen by highlighting architectural features, focal points, and design elements. Additionally, it creates a warm and inviting ambiance, making your kitchen a more pleasant place to gather.
Mood and Atmosphere: Different lighting options can set the mood and atmosphere in your kitchen. From bright task lighting for cooking to dimmed ambient lighting for a cozy dinner, you have the power to create various atmospheres with the right lighting choice.
Energy Efficiency: Energy-efficient lighting, such as LED fixtures, not only reduce your energy consumption, but minimize your carbon footprint.
Types of Kitchen Lighting
When designing (or redesigning) a kitchen, there are quite a few types of lighting that can be used to create the ideal ambiance and functionality. Here are a few of our favorites:
Ambient Lighting: Ambient lighting provides overall brightness and ensures that your kitchen is well-lit. Common options for ambient lighting include ceiling-mounted fixtures like chandeliers, flush-mount lights, or recessed lighting. The choice of fixture will depend on your kitchen's design and style preferences.
Accent Lighting: Accent lighting emphasizes specific areas or design elements within your kitchen. It's an excellent way to showcase elements such as architectural details or artwork. Under-cabinet lighting with LED strips, track lighting, or wall-mounted fixtures can be used effectively for accent lighting, drawing attention to your desired focal points.
Cabinet Lighting: A practical choice that can make your kitchen more functional, cabinet lighting involves lighting the interior of cabinets, drawers, or shelving units to improve visibility and create a welcoming atmosphere. LED tape lights or puck lights are often used for this purpose, ensuring that you can easily find what you need while adding a touch of style to your cabinetry.
Pendant Lighting: Pendant lights are a popular choice for providing task and ambient lighting simultaneously. Many hang pendant lights over an island, dining table, or breakfast nook to create a focal point while ensuring that the workspace is well-lit.
As kitchen design experts, we know that part of an efficient kitchen is high-quality, well-placed lighting. As a result, we can’t recommend the Häfele Loox LED Lighting System or products by Task Lighting enough. With questions about how we can work together to install lighting in your kitchen, get in touch.