How Do You Light A Kitchen?

When you talk to kitchen remodeling contractors, you’re usually concentrating on the most obvious, most visible aspects of your renovation. Tearing out floors and putting in new tile, getting new cabinets or countertops, and of course, new appliances are all parts of the remodeling that you give a lot of thought to. However, there’s one area that can be very important that many people forget to think about, and that’s lighting your kitchen. Here are some of the things you should be thinking about for your lighting when you talk to kitchen remodeling contractors.

Placement

In many homes, especially older ones, it’s quite common for the kitchen to rely on just two sources of light. The first is the windows bringing in daylight during the daytime hours, while the other is often a single ceiling-fixed light source in the center of the room during the evening.

However, while this configuration is very common, and often the cheapest solution, it is not necessarily the best one. This is especially true if you’re rearranging the placement of major fixtures. Moving counters off to another part of the room can, for example, mean that you may not have clear, bright lighting at night. Once you start rearranging the configuration of your kitchen, think about how the different times of the day and the relocation of fixtures may affect your visibility.

Counter Lighting

Fortunately, we now live in an age where light doesn’t only come from a large, round light bulb. Lighting systems can now consist of thin, easy to position strips that can go just about anywhere. This means, for example, that if you decided to make use of some counter space that is directly above cabinets, you don’t need to bring in table lamps to see clearly.

Instead, LED strips can easily be installed on the bottom of the cabinets, so that you have clear, unobstructed light that shows you what you’re doing with your food. Depending on your preferences, you can have this type of light installation done after the fact, or you can make it a part of the renovation, with a dedicated light switch for easier access and convenience.

Layer Your Lighting

If you want a more sophisticated approach, trying “layered lighting.” This is a technique where homeowners apply three “layers” to all of their lighting needs for a specific room. The first layer is “overall” which is usually a central source that applies light throughout the space. The ceiling light fixture most commonly plays this role.

The next is “task lighting,” which is light over specific areas that may need it. A desk might have its own light, for example, as would a counter. The last is “accent lighting,” which can either be decorative for its own sake or used to highlight specific parts of a room. Cabinet lighting, for example, can play this role in a kitchen.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to lighting than just sunlight during the day and a single source in the ceiling at night. Give some thought to how you’d like your kitchen remodeling contractors to handle this for you.