Choosing lighting for your kitchen is going to be very different than choosing lighting for the rest of your home. The reason for this is you use your kitchen for so many things! One minute you could be hanging out at the table or island, eating or talking to friends, and the next minute you could be washing dishes or loading the dishwasher. Add in the dicing and chopping and preparing meals, homework detail, and other things you do in this space, and you will instantly understand why so many different lighting options are needed in this room of your home.
A Guide on Kitchen Lighting
Where to Place Lighting in Your Kitchen
- Above Dining Table
- Above Kitchen Island
- On the Ceiling
- Over the Sink
- Over the Stove
- Above the Counters
- Below Cabinets
How to Control Your Lights
Having so many lights in a kitchen can make it difficult to remember where all the switches and dimmers are located. While you can easily flip switches every time you need a light turned on and off, you may want to utilize your smart home hub to make life a little easier. All you need to do is ask your smart home hub to turn certain lights on and off or even dim them when you don’t need the lights to be as bright.
Use an Assortment of Fixtures
When you are choosing a pendant or other overhead lighting fixture for a room, we recommend considering using an assortment of fixtures. Two pendant lights won’t create a design feature in your home. But six or seven light fixtures in different, yet corresponding, shapes will really stand out. This is especially true if you have them hanging at different heights to enhance the visual appeal.
Install a Chandelier
You can never go wrong in the design department when you install a chandelier in your home. A chandelier will always draw a person’s eye up towards the ceiling. While chandeliers work well in a front entryway, there is nothing wrong with placing them in dining rooms, bathrooms, and even great rooms. And if the room is large enough, you can always install two matching chandeliers.
Add Exterior Lighting
Lighting the inside of your home is very important, but so is making the outside brighter. Outside lights will bring certain features to life even though the sun has set, and it is dark outdoors. There are many ways you can create a design feature with exterior lights. We recommend adding lights to the architectural sections of your home, as well as in the gardens and by your deck or patio.
Another option for exterior lighting is a fireplace or fire pit on your patio. The flames will flicker in the darkness, creating shadows and an everchanging design feature. While you may not have the flames going all the time, it is a nice design element to have when you are spending time outside.
Creating a design feature with your home’s lights is never going to be super easy. But if you start small and then continue to add more lighting, you can easily add a few design features throughout your home.
