Cool Kitchen Lighting Ideas
For most people the kitchen is the heart of the home and this is borne out by the amount of money typically spent on fitting out a kitchen. The kitchen is also a space that is used extensively both by day and at night so it’s especially important to get the lighting right.
Modern kitchen lighting is a world away from the harsh fluorescent strip lights once so prevalent in kitchens. These days you can select from low-voltage, recessed spots and track lighting, dimmer controlled wall sconces, elegant pendants and LED’s in every guise imaginable. The problem now is deciding from the bewildering choice available what works best for your situation.
A noticeable aspect of good kitchen lighting design is the way it operates on different levels to mirror the way that kitchens themselves often serve many purposes. This is typically accomplished by grouping lighting into distinct types (ambient, task and mood) and then blending these groups to achieve different effects.
Incidentally, the term “mood lighting” is used here to cover what are also often called decorative, accent or feature lighting in lighting design parlance. Regardless, the basic principle is to assign a separate circuit to each main group of lighting types so that they may be individually controlled (preferably by dimmer switches) to adjust the balance between them.
Ambient light is at its best when it is also highly unobtrusive. Its function is to provide a soft, overall background glow and let the more interesting lighting fixtures take centre stage. Low-voltage 12v recessed halogen spots (or more commonly these days, LED) are ideal for this purpose.
Eventually of course the business of preparing food comes into play and with it the issue of effective task lighting. The layout of most kitchens is such that working surfaces are never properly illuminated by even the best ambient lighting (basically you always create your own shadows). The most common solution is to simply place LED or other low-voltage lights beneath wall units so as to cast light directly on the work surface and not spill over elsewhere.
The purpose of mood lighting is to create atmosphere, for example chic pendants set above a dining area or up-lighters above cabinet tops or spots that emphasize certain items in the kitchen. Low voltage or LED lights installed inside glass fronted cabinets or set into a plinth are other examples.
The growing use of LED lights in modern kitchen lighting design is pretty much a whole new topic itself. These remarkable lights emit hardly any heat, cost a fraction to run and are light in weight, highly robust and extremely versatile. They are also adept at providing either task, ambient or mood lighting and help create a stylish and elegant look in any kitchen.
If you liked this article then you might also be interested in this further article looking at new kitchen lighting ideas.
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