There is a lot to consider when renovating a kitchen. Stylish design is surely the top of everyone’s list, but there are factors that can make or break the ambiance of the finished kitchen… and the most important of these is the lighting. Sometimes you don’t even need to renovate the kitchen in order to transform it. When done correctly, the brightness alone can transform it. Those on a tighter budget might want to consider this as an option.
If you have never used lighting to transform the entire atmosphere of a room before now, this might not have been obvious. When strategically placing the right kind to use around the kitchen, the results may be nothing short of miraculous, and if you are going for a full renovation, the proper design elements will complement your renovations in a big way.
Basic Lighting How-To
Sometimes it is hard to know where to start. That’s why we have put together the below guide to the basic types that can be used in your kitchen and bathroom renovations:
Natural Sunshine
Anyone who has bought a home before knows that one of the major selling points of a house is how much natural sunshine it gets. Therefore, a bright kitchen will always be a plus point. Whether your kitchen is bathed in natural sunshine is a big plus. But if it isn’t getting much, it’s not the end of the world. There are several things you can do.
During your renovations, you might be in a position to install large windows or a skylight, but this is probably not going to be cheap. If you are unable to factor this aspect into your renovation, you can use other forms of interior design tricks to make the room bright and give it the appearance of being spacious. This can be done with either task or ambient illumination, which we’ll cover below.
Accenting
Accent lighting is all about enhancing the mood of your kitchen. As the name implies, accenting is all about highlighting focal points in your kitchen. You highlight a room’s attractive features or fixtures. If you have a particularly nice ornamental piece of artwork, illuminate that. Indeed, you can create a lovely atmosphere in the kitchen.
A few examples of accent lighting are the following:
- Wall sconces
- Recessed (aka cans or pots)
- Torchère lamps
- Floodlights
- Track lighting
- LEDs
The idea is to brightly illuminate your chosen objects to direct the attention of onlookers. Accent lighting is generally affordable and can make a big difference to your kitchen renovation.
Task Lighting
Think of a desk lamp. It illuminates your direct work area as you complete your tasks.
Much in the same way, this type of illumination empowers you to perform kitchen or bathroom tasks optimally.
For example, in a bathroom, illuminating around the mirrors so that shaving and makeup application is easy. In your kitchen, you probably won’t want to cook in a dimly lit area where you can’t clearly see your food on the stove. Nor would you want to wash the dishes in the dark.
Kitchen task lighting could include pendants, singular halogen pucks installed in and underneath cabinets, and halogen downlights over the sink or work surfaces.
General (Ambiance)
General lighting is also referred to as ambiance lighting, and this refers to the basic lighting in the room. It is also known as “fill light.” Its job is to flood the space with enough light to create a bright and pleasant atmosphere overall. In contrast with the accent or task lighting, general lighting doesn’t focus on any particular part of the kitchen; it simply provides general illumination.
General lighting might consist of evenly placed downlights on the ceiling or strategically placed wall sconces. In any kitchen renovation, it is important to make sure you have sufficient general lighting as the task lighting and accent lighting alone won’t provide enough light. Their role is to complement the general lighting. Note that fluorescent strips might alos provide plenty of fill light. But it doesn’t really create the same kind of ambiance that other types of light fittings are capable of.
Don’t forget that adding dimmer switches to your light fittings gives you greater control over the mood of your kitchen. This flexibility means you can change it at any moment. As you can see, it doesn’t take a lot to change the look and feel of your kitchen, however in-depth your renovations. The right types of basic lighting can go a very long way!
Author Bio: Lisa Wetherell runs the blog Lighting House – where she writes about her knowledge gained from 10 years of industry experience in the lighting and interior design field. To learn more about how proper illumination can improve your space, you can follow her blog.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and a sweet toy fox terrier. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
This blog celebrates all things home.
