Lighting Your Home Room by Room: Kitchen
Organizing kitchen space is a powerful way to both increase the time you spend in it and enhance the overall appeal of your home. Even a well-designed kitchen, however, suffers from a lack of appropriate task and ambient lighting. Pendant lights are among the most useful and stunning kitchen fixtures. Undercabinet lighting is another choice for accenting specific features and increasing safety.
Task Lighting for Countertops
Counters are where the action takes place. Chopping vegetables, mixing dough, and reading a recipe book are all easier to accomplish with task lighting. Island lighting is also essential when a stove and island hood are not installed. Most task lighting is best handled with undercabinet lighting like the options here at Valley Lighting. These lights eliminate shadows produced by a single ambient light fixture in the workspace, and they utilize low-energy bulbs.
Enhancing the Island
Spacious kitchens are often organized around an island. Range hoods focus attention and provide island lighting, but you don’t need an island stove to catch wandering eyes. Many styles of pendant lights are available to both blend in with existing decor and augment it. This accent lighting provides a way to increase functionality, and the added versatility may replace a central light fixture altogether.
How do you use task lighting in your kitchen?
Kitchens and Bathrooms require both task and ambient light. Focus light on work areas such as over an island or sink. Add ambient light to the task lighting under separate controls for different looks as well as function. Ample lighting is needed in both areas. Be aware of shadows and dark areas that can be caused by furniture, doors, etc. Don’t scrimp on light in either of these important areas of your home.
Let’s start with the three main types of lighting: general, which is the basic lighting for the room; task lighting, which highlights a specific area; and accent lighting, which creates a focal point in the room. A room ideally should have different types of lighting incorporated into the space.