Lighting Design Solutions

Kitchen Lighting

Because of the wide variety of tasks that occur in the kitchen, it is always useful to install a variety of lighting layers that provide flexibility and adequate task lighting. As a general rule, it is useful to apply a minimum of three layers in any kitchen.

Primary Task Lighting

The first layer for consideration should focus on the primary tasks that occur in the kitchen.

Of course, this will be task lighting at the work counters where food preparation and cooking will take place. If possible, the most ideal first layer is to apply under cabinet lighting directly above the tasks.

This type of lighting can be selected from a variety of sources, including halogen, xenon, and fluorescent lamps.

The halogen and xenon lamps are similar in lighting quality, although the xenon lamps have been gaining in popularity due to their longer life. In both cases, the lamps are easily dimmed with an appropriate dimmer.

Fluorescent under cabinet lighting has the benefit of extremely long life and a reasonably good lighting quality. The quality of the color rendering of fluorescent lighting is constantly improving and you should ask your lighting consultant for assistance in learning about what is the most current technology available in fluorescent lamps.

Recessed Down Lights

Another layer that is useful for kitchen task lighting is to use recessed down lights. The ideal placement is to place the down lighting approximately 27-30" from the wall.

This placement places the fixtures just outside the edge of the counters (which are 24" wide) and brings good lighting down to the counter without creating shadows by being too far back in the space. The 27-30" placement also allows for the lighting to penetrate the wall cabinets when they are opened.

The most ideal light bulb option is to use a bulb that has a minimum of approximately 2500 candlepower. This candlepower intensity provides as much as 50 foot candles on the kitchen counters in ceiling heights as high as 10'-0".