Types of Kitchen Lighting
Kitchen lighting creates the atmosphere for the heart of your home.
When choosing the lighting for your kitchen, one of the most important tips to keep in mind is to use a mixture of lighting types - including task lighting, accent lighting, and ambient lighting through decorative fixtures.
Each type of lighting provides a different level of brightness and a different type of functionality. See how 2014 Raleigh new homes use different lighting types in the photos below.
Types of Kitchen Lighting #1: Task lighting
Task lighting is generally bright, focused, and essentail for illuminating spaces where you'll be completing cooking tasks such as chopping, slicing, or reading recipes.
The best locations for task lighting include under cabinets, over the island, and in the pantry.
Under cabinet lighting is mostly commonly installed in long, linear strips. Each strip has a manual on / off switch, so you can choose to work in one area with the other sections turned off.
Under cabinet lighting is hidden from view, until you peak below the cabinets. You can see strip under cabinet lights in the photo below.
Types of Kitchen Lighting #2: Pendants
Kitchen pendant lighting is usually placed above the island or raised eating bar (for peninsula kitchens).
The number and spacing of pendants can vary widely, depending on the shape, size, and placement of your island.
Pendants come as single hanging lights or multi-light strips. An example of a four light pendant is pictured below. This pendant features clear and etched opal glass around a mock-candle design.
Multi-light pendants work best for long, stright islands. If you love angled island shapes, you'll want to place multiple single light pendants instead. Single light pendants are can be more flexible in their placement.
In the photo below of a Raleigh new home, you'll find an example of a kitchen that uses multiple pendant lights in a row, rather than a multi-light pendant.
You can also compare and constrast the use of one or two large pendants with three to five small pendants.
Here is an example of a single, large pendant light fixture:
Types of Kitchen Lighting #3: Ceiling Fixtures
Some new home builders include a flush mount ceiling fixture in your kitchen (in place of recessed lighting) - typically a rectangular white flourescent ceiling light. While recessed and pendant lighting are standard in all Stanton Homes, a flush mount ceiling fixture can be a more economically-friendly option if you're looking for ways to cut costs.
Types of Kitchen Lighting #4: Natural
If you're kitchen has an open concept design with lots of windows, there will be less need for additional lighting.
Sometimes the best decision is to keep your lighting design simple - with ambient light from windows and flush mount can lighting in the ceiling.
Depending on your kitchen size and layout, can lighting may be all you need to make your kitchen completely usable and efficient.
In this Raleigh new home, the kitchen uses can lighting, under cabinet lighting, pendants, and natural lighting from the breakfast and keeping room windows.
Design Tip: When choosing your kitchen lighting, keep in mind the long-held rule of "less is more."
More 2014 Raleigh New Home Trends
11 Kitchen Island Layout Ideas
10 Biggest Kitchen Design Mistakes
2014 Kitchen Design Trends - Is Stainless Steel on its Way Out?
