Factors to Consider When Lighting Your Kitchen

When choosing kitchen lighting, appearance and style are essential. Your lighting should complement the overall kitchen design. Your lighting should also be functional for tasks like cooking and cleaning. After all, who wants to chop veggies in the dark?

Consider for a moment, the commercial equivalent of lighting a kitchen – there are codes and regulations around lighting areas where food is stored and prepared. The idea is to have brightness, light quality and coverage standards that improve safety. Better visibility = better decisions and functionality in regards to food safety and occupational safety. Yes, many a Michelin star-awarded restaurant has moody lighting around the dining tables, but you can bet with 100% certainty that the food prep and storage areas in the kitchen are brightly illuminated and up to code.

Foodie-level chefs are likely to have similar expectations for the prep and storage areas of a residential kitchen. But even novice culinary experts can benefit by taking cues from the highly regulated professional culinary world – a well-lit kitchen just makes sense.

What doesn’t make sense, however, is the assumption that the bulk of your kitchen needs to be pro-kitchen bright at all times. Don’t forget those early mornings and late nights when limited lighting is more fitting for making coffee or a midnight snack. And then there are the eating areas, like island seating and nearby dining spaces. Most people like those areas to be adjustable for a range of situations, as well.