Modern kitchens serve multiple purposes, necessitating a reliable trio of task, ambient, and accent lighting. Even though each of them has a place in the overall lighting design of any room, finding the ideal balance for your modern kitchen space can be difficult. Additionally, making a mistake can be simple. How should the kitchen’s lighting be set up? Here are a few recommendations.
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How To Use Recessed Kitchen Lighting
Recessed lights, also referred to as downlights or can lights, sit flush with the ceiling, making them a great lighting solution for small kitchens or kitchens with low ceilings where pendant lights might create obstacles. Recessed lighting’s modern, sleek design ensures that it complements all types of interior decor.
Should Lights Be Spaced Apart How Far?
Your kitchen’s size will determine the space between recessed light fixtures. Install recessed lights two to three feet apart in smaller kitchens to maintain uniform lighting. own a bigger kitchen? Every four to six square feet of ceiling space requires the installation of one recessed light. Recessed lights may appear small, but when used in combination, they offer strong, even lighting throughout an entire space.
The Size of Kitchen requirements.
The size of your kitchen should be measured in order to determine how many recessed lights it requires. To determine the total wattage required, multiply the square footage of your kitchen by 1.5 after multiplying the length by the width. By the wattage of the bulbs you’ll be using, divide this number.
Remember that the wattage of LED bulbs, such as Hue downlights, is significantly lower than that of a conventional bulb, so you must determine what the equivalent wattage is. For instance, a Hue 4-inch downlight uses 8.5 watts but produces light that is comparable to a 62-watt bulb.
Where To Place Recessed Lights In Your Kitchen
Keep in mind which areas of your kitchen you use for which purposes when choosing where to install recessed lights. For kitchen island lighting, make sure your recessed lights cast sufficient light at this area as it’s
used for food preparation where task lighting is important. Additionally, having lights pointed at your sink, counters, and stove will make it easier for you to brighten or dim the room when you’re not cooking.
Recessed lighting can also be used to add decorative accents, particularly when used to wash the walls. With this effect, you can make the room appear brighter or draw attention to wall-mounted artwork.
5 Kitchen Lighting Mistakes
The mistake: It’s too dark on your kitchen countertops. Ambient light is important, but if your kitchen has cabinets with undercabinet workspaces, the cabinets frequently block any overhead light and create shadows.
The fix: lighting in the cabinets. Undercabinet lighting enhances your kitchen’s practical workspace and is a necessity for the practical kitchen. There are numerous options for task lighting, ranging from hard-wired direct lighting with a handy wall switch to plug-in options for a kitchen upgrade.
Modular tracks that can be adjusted to your kitchen’s layout are a feature of contemporary undercabinet lighting designs. Dimmable lighting is ideal because it can be used as ambient light or even as safety lighting after the cook has finished chopping and cleaning.
The mistake: There are too many recessed lights. A less-is-more strategy works best when it comes to recessed lighting. Recessed downlights do not, however, illuminate walls, so depending solely on them for illumination in a space will result in some dimly lit areas.
The fix: Use one recessed light for every 4-6 square feet of ceiling space to avoid having your kitchen ceiling resemble an airport runway. Divide the height of the ceiling by two to determine the spacing between your recessed lights. Recessed lights should be placed 4 feet apart to accommodate an 8-foot ceiling. Following these guidelines is typically a safe bet, though some factors, such as the type of lighting used, do matter.
The mistake: Lighting fixtures that are out of proportion. If you’ve ever walked into a room with a single small-scaled pendant light over a large kitchen island or an enormous chandelier hanging over a small kitchen eating area, you know that it can have a disastrous effect on the proportions of a room in addition to frequently resulting in insufficient kitchen lighting.
The fix: It’s important to plan ahead when choosing scale-appropriate lighting, as well as to be aware of the dimensions of a counter or island workspace. The general rule for pendant lighting is to add the width and height of your kitchen in feet together. You can find the diameter of a pendant light that will fit the area perfectly by converting the resultant number to inches.
Measure the width of the narrowest part of an island or table. Select a light source now that has a diameter that is about one foot smaller.
The mistake: Too much light or lighting that is too bright. Humans are sensitive to light. Anyone who works in a harsh, brightly lit office will tell you that too much lighting can cause headaches, nausea, anxiety, and fatigue.
The fix: To create a balanced atmosphere in your kitchen that is suitable for both work and leisure, use a variety of lighting levels.
And if you have a kitchen that is overly lit, add controls by putting the existing lights on separate switches. Additionally, dimmable lighting will go a long way toward producing a cozy layer of kitchen lighting.
The mistake: highlighting the incorrect areas of your kitchen. A strategically placed decorative light can add the wow factor your kitchen needs, despite the fact that many people take this to the nth degree and believe accent lighting is not required. The installation of a ornate chandelier over the kitchen sink is analogous to putting sprinkles on an ice cream cone rather than actual ice cream.
The fix: An island or dining area with three pendant lights above it can draw attention to key features of the space and provide a platform for individual expression. However, they will compete if the eating area and island are close together and there is already a stunning kitchen chandelier hanging over the table. Instead, choose to have one main focal point in your kitchen.
Following the designer’s fundamental rule of 3-level lighting is ultimately the best way to avoid these 5 kitchen lighting mistakes. For the ideal fusion of task, ambient, and accent lighting, combine down lighting (recessed lights), undercabinet lights, and pendant lighting, each controlled independently.