Remodeling
Kitchen Lighting: Why One Fixture in the Middle Is Never Enough
Task, ambient and accent lighting do different jobs. Most kitchens only have one of the three.
A single fixture in the middle of a kitchen ceiling puts you in your own shadow at every counter. It is the default in a great many houses and it is the easiest thing to improve in a remodel.
The three layers
- Task lighting. Light on the work surface. Under-cabinet lighting is the single biggest improvement available in most kitchens, because the counter is where you actually need to see and where the overhead fixture is blocked by your own body.
- Ambient lighting. General room light. Recessed cans on a sensible spacing, or a combination of a central fixture and perimeter lighting.
- Accent lighting. Pendants over an island, in-cabinet lighting behind glass doors, toe-kick lighting. This is where a kitchen stops looking functional and starts looking designed.
Under-cabinet, done properly
Position matters. Mounted toward the front edge of the cabinet underside, the light falls on the counter. Mounted at the back, it reflects off the backsplash into your eyes.
Continuous LED strip or tape gives even light; puck lights give scallops on the backsplash, which some people like and some do not. Either way, a diffuser makes a substantial difference to how it reads.
Hard-wired with a switch is the proper job. Plug-in strips work and they look like an afterthought.
Colour temperature, consistently
Mixing warm and cool light in one room looks wrong even to people who cannot say why. Pick a temperature and use it everywhere in the kitchen — including inside cabinets and under them.
Also check the colour rendering. Cheap LEDs make food look unappetising, which is a genuine consideration in a kitchen.
Dimmers
Kitchens are used at full brightness for cooking and at low levels for everything else. Putting the ambient layer on a dimmer costs very little at installation and gets used daily. Make sure the fixtures and the dimmer are compatible — LED dimming is not universal and a mismatch flickers.
Getting it done
Call (863) 633-5499 or request a free estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Where should under-cabinet lights be mounted?
Toward the front edge of the cabinet underside, so the light falls onto the counter. Mounted at the back they reflect off the backsplash into your eyes, which is the most common installation mistake.
Does mixing light colour temperatures matter?
Yes, and it reads as wrong even to people who cannot identify why. Use one colour temperature throughout the kitchen, including inside and under cabinets, and check the colour rendering — cheap LEDs make food look unappetising.
Related reading
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