Room lighting affects a space’s functionality and people’s productivity. No matter how beautiful your kitchen cabinetry, benchtops, or appliances are, your kitchen would not be as efficient as it should be if the lighting is not properly laid out and installed.
As part of your kitchen design or renovation, lighting in a kitchen is important because it helps brighten the important areas. It is the room where you do food preparation like cutting, which requires you to see well. Moreover, the bonding of the family and their guests usually happens in this space, and lights play a huge role in setting the mood in any parts of the home.
If you are designing or renovating your kitchen, here are three types of lighting you should have:
1. Ambient lighting
The ambient light is the general light in any given space. Its purpose is to light up the whole room and give an equal and diffused level of illumination in all areas. It generally works by bouncing lights off the walls. It can be a bright or dimmed wash light, which is in charge of giving off the mood.
Some fixtures that provide ambient lighting are the following: Wall-mounted lights, ceiling-mounted lights, LED downlights, chandelier, floor or table lamp, and track light.
What to avoid:
- Avoid setting up a light at the centre of the kitchen ceiling. This option may be low-cost, but it can cause you to overcast a shadow wherever you go in the kitchen.
- Downlights are the typical lights that are used for this purpose because they give off a strong light. Do note, however, that placing too many downlights can make the space appear uncomfortable and not too homey. Meanwhile, putting less can make the room appear uneven with shadows around. Learn to have multiple sources of light to create a better room ambience.
2. Task lighting
This is the light fixture that the sole purpose is to provide enough light for accomplishing specific tasks in the room. Think of what you do in the kitchen and the areas where you do them. It can be cooking by the stove, cutting on the countertops, washing in the sink, and opening cabinets and drawers. All these areas should ideally have their focused light source.
A brighter type of light is often used for this purpose. Some fixtures used here are directional gimbal recessed downlighting, pendant lights, slime line bar, extrusion lights, and portable lamps.
What to avoid:
- Most renovators forget to add the task lighting just because they do not think it is necessary. Having a bright ambience light does not guarantee that your workspace will be well-lit as well. Your strong ambient lighting can cast off a strong shadow. Adding task lighting can also lighten the dull feel brought by the bright ambient lights.
3. Accent lighting
This lighting fixture is often used to highlight a particular part or a specific feature of the kitchen room to achieve the desired effect. Sometimes it focuses on plants, a special collection, a display, or to make the room appear wider.
Some of the lights used to achieve this effect are track light, wall-mounted fixtures, slimline bar light, under cabinet light, and directional recessed fixture.
What to avoid:
- Thinking that accent lighting is unnecessary. Accent lights are responsible for showing off the details of your kitchen and they give it the elegance or high-end feel.
Consider having these three types of lighting to achieve a whole, new, homey kitchen.
Conclusions
The primary use of lighting is to provide illumination into any room, but lights are more than that. These are the mood setter and space’s highlight giver. To achieve a better-looking and efficient kitchen, seek the help of a professional kitchen designer. They can help you decide which areas to focus on, what are the best lights to use, and where they should be installed to make the room aesthetically beautiful, comfortable, and balanced.
If you are looking for kitchen renovation services in Mandurah and Perth, Azztek Kitchens is here to serve you. We do full kitchen renovations from customised designs to installation. Call us at (08) 9581 8000 to book a consultation today!
