Three Tips for a Well Lit Kitchen

Do you spend a lot of time in your kitchen?  We do!!  (even though I’m not crazy about cooking).  This is why a well-lit kitchen is super important. The kitchen is truly the hub of the home.  My boys are constantly raiding the fridge or pantry for snacks, my husband sits at the kitchen island and works crossword puzzles. When we have family or friends over, everyone always congregates in the kitchen. We live so much of our lives there, and we are typically doing things that require good lighting. Here are three of my top tips for lighting your kitchen so you can get stuff done!

Choose and place your under cabinet lights carefully.

Make sure they are placed toward the front of the underside of your upper cabinets rather than the back.  Placing them at the back won’t give you enough light for tasks you perform at the kitchen counter. 

When selecting your undercabinet lights, look for those that have a CRI of 90 or above.  The CRI is the Color Rendering Index, and it measures how accurate colors appear in that particular light.  

Choose fixtures with a  color temperature of 3100K.  These will still appear warm but will be a bit cooler (whiter)  than an incandescent bulb. Anything lower than 3000K is not ideal in the kitchen.   

Both the CRI and color temperature  can be found on the fixture label and will be listed online under specifications or details.

Don’t forget function when it comes to selecting island lighting.

We tend to focus more on beauty and aesthetics when it comes to choosing light fixtures to place over a kitchen island.  But the purpose of kitchen island lighting isn’t purely decorative.  Island fixtures provide task lighting for all the activities you do at your island.  So whether you are using pendants or a chandelier make sure these fixtures provide enough light. Be especially careful with chandeliers which are often made to go in a dining room which don’t need as much light. I always avoid using fixtures with clear glass shades because of glare. I also avoid using fixtures with Edison bulbs because they don’t provide enough light. 

Pay attention to the color temperature of your recessed lighting.

LED bulbs with a color temperature of less than 3100K will not be ideal for a kitchen.  I generally recommend 3100K bulbs because they are better for productivity and kitchen-related tasks than those that are warmer (2700k), but they are not too stark. 

Adequate and comfortable lighting makes all the difference in a room. It is especially important to have a well lit kitchen.  Are you stuck trying to pick out or place lighting in your kitchen?  I can help you. Click here to schedule a design discovery call.