When it comes to house remodeling, the kitchen is likely to get the most attention. After all, the kitchen is the hub of your family's daily activities. It is the heart and nerve center of your home.
And no element of kitchen décor has a more profound impression than lighting. The appropriate kitchen lighting can help you achieve the desired mood and tone. It may also create a warm and pleasant environment in your kitchen while also offering a practical and meaningful atmosphere.
Having enough lighting in your kitchen will provide safety, cleanliness, and visibility for all activities.
Your Salem Home Remodeling Kitchen Lighting Guide
Lighting is essential in any room redesign, but maybe none more so than in the kitchen. There are some general principles to follow regardless of the type of kitchen lighting ideas you're considering. They can also be customized to operate in practically any kitchen style.
Three Types of Lighting in the Kitchen
When it comes to illuminating your kitchen, various lighting options are essential.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting, also known as feature lighting, is defined by the aesthetic appeal it offers to the kitchen. Accent lighting is ideal for highlighting a fancy hood fan, wine rack, or gorgeous artwork. Accent lighting can also be used to highlight architectural features such as a stone fireplace or vaulted ceiling. For this form of illumination, adjustable fittings are ideal since they allow for precise focusing on small regions or objects. Accent lighting can also be employed as backlighting in the kitchen to improve its aesthetic appeal.
Ambient Lighting
This is the principal source of general illumination, and it emits a mellow, diffused glow. Ambient light could be used in addition to natural light or to compensate for its absence. You can cast as much illumination as evenly as possible from the ceiling for safety and comfort. Ambient lighting illuminates the floor and walls, allowing you to enter, depart, and maneuver the kitchen with ease. Ceiling lighting can be used with chandeliers, pendant lights, or recessed lighting. The location of ambient lighting will be determined by the light fitting you choose. If you don't have a kitchen island, flush or semi-flush fittings will usually be installed in the center of the ceiling.
Task Lighting
Although ambient lighting allows you to maneuver the kitchen, it frequently casts shadows in areas that require greater attention. Work surfaces and cabinetry are adequately illuminated with task lighting so you can safely cook meals, read recipes, and readily view products on a shelf. Punk lights and strip lights are two prominent kitchen duty lighting alternatives. The brightest of these three types of lights, task lighting, can effectively illuminate counters, islands, sinks, and other work areas for enhanced precision during food prep, cooking, and cleaning.
Important Lighting Areas in Your Kitchen Remodel
When it comes to your Salem kitchen remodel, there are some key areas in the kitchen to consider when it comes to choosing lighting. Let’s start with the area over the island.
Over the Island
The purpose of the island will determine whether you use ambient or task lighting. Is your island, for example, equipped with an integrated cooktop/workspace, or is it primarily used for family gatherings?
Choice #1: Linear Suspension Lighting
Linear suspension lights look great in high-ceilinged kitchens and can be hung at least 40 inches above the countertop.
Choice #2: Pendants
A pair of pendant lights over a kitchen island should be at least 30 inches from the island's center and 30 to 32 inches between the countertop and the bottom of the pendant. A set of three pendant lights should be equally as high up, evenly spaced apart, and at least 6 inches from the edge of the island.
Choice #3: Track Lighting
If moving power around in the ceiling becomes difficult, a track or monorail system may be a solution. However, you must ensure that the lights do not produce excessive glare. To avoid the appearance of an art gallery, use lights with broad beam spreads rather than tiny spotlights.
Undercabinet Lighting — For Tasks and Accents
When planning your small kitchen remodeling project, keep in mind that your kitchen countertop is a work surface. A cast shadow in the wrong location when using a knife to prepare a meal can be inconvenient and even dangerous.
Undercabinet lighting is an important part of illumination that should not be dismissed as a frivolous extra. It will vastly improve the operation and atmosphere of your kitchen. Existing cabinets can be outfitted with a variety of fittings and systems. You can even install entirely custom rail kits that incorporate lighting and power outlets into a seamless backsplash.
Ambient Lighting & its Importance for Ceiling Illumination
Choice #1: Recessed downlighting
Recessed downlighting is ideal for this application. If you have a tiny kitchen, one large flush-mount ceiling light in the center may be appropriate. However, new kitchen recessed lighting produces a more personalized lighting design.
Grid out the lights in straight lines along the axis of the counters to have lighting that is uniformly dispersed throughout the kitchen, with an emphasis on lighting in high-use areas. Dimmers should also be installed for more control in a variety of lighting scenarios.
Choice #2: Flush mount or semi-flush mount lighting
These types of lighting for your kitchen renovation work better in smaller spaces. And, unlike recessed lights, which are concealed in the ceiling, these lights can add more stylistic touches.
Adding More Lighting to Prep Areas
Task lighting comes into play here. It is the most powerful light available. Adding a pendant light or a small track light might also help to illuminate your food preparation spaces. Consider battery-powered LED-puck lights underneath cabinets to increase lighting on the counters.
Adding Backlights
If your kitchen is dark and the main, surface, or recessed lighting is not adequately illuminating it, you can improve it with backlights or accent lighting. These lights increase the visibility of the worktops. They are usually installed beneath certain surfaces or backsplashes. They can also be used as task lights. Their major function, though, is to brighten your kitchen.
Hire 3Rs Construction & Remodeling as Your General Contractor for Your Next Kitchen Remodel
If you want to remodel your kitchen in Salem within the next year, we welcome you to choose 3Rs Construction & Remodeling to create a stunning, revolutionary kitchen remodeling in your Polk or Marion County home.
We have the knowledge and experience to assist you in selecting the appropriate lighting for all sections of your kitchen. 3Rs Construction understands the importance of lighting in the function and flow of your kitchen. Our renovation contractors will guide you through the kitchen lighting procedure so that you are completely satisfied with your lighting choices.
Call us today at (503) 363-1059 to get started on your dream kitchen remodel!
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