Designing Kitchen Lighting for Mood and Functionality

Kitchen lighting is one of the most important elements of the design.  It provides what we need to see and work safely; it can help place emphasis on special items, calling attention to something we want to accent, like a piece of art, or a textured wall; it can create the illusion of more space; and it is the best way to generate a specific atmosphere in a room. 

I always suggest a design that includes both task and ambient lighting.  Task-oriented kitchen lights are a crucial element of a universally designed space conceived to accompany us through the years, as we grow older and our home lifestyle changes. 

The ceiling fixtures must be designed and selected so as to wash the entire room in perfect bright light; paying special attention to heavy work areas like countertops and table surfaces.   

Placing the ceiling fixtures on a dimmer switch is a smart idea because it allows you to control the amount of light based on the task at hand.  Dimmable light can go from task to ambient lighting with the flick of a switch. 

Under-cabinet kitchen lighting is both a functional and elegant design element. It eliminates the effect you get from standing over the countertop, which can block the overhead lighting and cast a shadow on the surface that requires the most even light.  As a bonus, under-cabinet lights can also give an ambient accent to the room, whenever overhead lighting is not necessary.  LED (Light-Emitting Diode) lighting placed under the cabinets provides a nice bright light on the counter surface, without using much energy or generating the kind of heat that a halogen bulb can produce. 

Once you have taken good care of your task areas, use decorative lighting to enhance the look and feel of your kitchen. 

-Pendant lights and chandeliers - placed over the table or island counter - are to a kitchen what a statement necklace is to a classic black cocktail dress; the perfect way to tell a design story and begin to shape the overall aesthetic. 

-You can also use decorative kitchen lighting as the cohesive element between two spaces, by integrating one style into another.  For example, if you have a very contemporary kitchen opening up to a transitional or traditionally styled room, installing a stylized traditional pendant can help to blend these two dramatically different styles and create harmony. 

Use accent kitchen lighting as a finishing touch to emphasize a special design element or alter how the space feels.  Lighting can change the dynamics of a room, simply by directing light on or away from certain areas.  For instance, if you have a low ceiling, installing fixtures on top of the cabinets will illuminate this area and make it appear higher and brighter. 

-To make a minimalist kitchen design feel warmer, go with over-sized lighting fixtures with softer materials and more organic shapes.  Even if the materials themselves aren’t ‘soft’, a softer finish like a warm platinum could help things feel less austere.  The fixtures will then become the focal point and will take the emphasis off the minimalist surroundings.  A larger, more transitional fixture will also add character.  Choose a warmer type of light, like a halogen bulb. 

-If, on the contrary, you are looking to enhance the streamlined look of your kitchen, you should go with something smaller in scale, more linear than organic.  In this case, the fixture would need to complement the architecture and sort of fade away into the background, in lieu of standing out as the main focus of the design.