Six Tips to Light Up Your Kitchen
Want to create an eye-catching kitchen that adds value to your home, too? Let there be light — but not too much, according to kitchen design and lighting experts.
"Since the kitchen is such a draw these days, especially for the gourmet, you want to make sure that you have plenty of task lights to showcase the work spaces," says Frankie Cameron, national account manager for Bellacor Lighting based in Mendota Heights, Minn. "But people tend to over-light, using too much wattage or just one super bright light in the center of the kitchen that leaves you standing in shadows."
Instead, both Cameron and Mark Lambert, a contractor and owner of DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in Bellingham, Wash., recommend a combination of ambient, task and decorative lighting. Here are their tips for achieving that balance:
1. Start Underneath
"The least expensive, easiest layer to add is under-cabinet lighting," says Cameron. "Manufacturers like Sea Gull and Kichler make reasonably priced xenon lights, which are cooler than halogen and make the kitchen more user-friendly."
Cameron suggests low-voltage xenon bulbs in varying lengths to light counters or islands below shelves or cabinets, but recommends steering clear of small "puck" lights. "They give your counters and shelves these odd spots of light and you can see some models plainly," she says.
Xenon lights like Kichler's Series II are also inexpensive to retrofit and ordinarily plug into existing outlets without new wiring.
Read more: https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/kitchen/six-tips-to-light-up-your-kitchen
"Since the kitchen is such a draw these days, especially for the gourmet, you want to make sure that you have plenty of task lights to showcase the work spaces," says Frankie Cameron, national account manager for Bellacor Lighting based in Mendota Heights, Minn. "But people tend to over-light, using too much wattage or just one super bright light in the center of the kitchen that leaves you standing in shadows."
Instead, both Cameron and Mark Lambert, a contractor and owner of DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in Bellingham, Wash., recommend a combination of ambient, task and decorative lighting. Here are their tips for achieving that balance:
1. Start Underneath
"The least expensive, easiest layer to add is under-cabinet lighting," says Cameron. "Manufacturers like Sea Gull and Kichler make reasonably priced xenon lights, which are cooler than halogen and make the kitchen more user-friendly."
Cameron suggests low-voltage xenon bulbs in varying lengths to light counters or islands below shelves or cabinets, but recommends steering clear of small "puck" lights. "They give your counters and shelves these odd spots of light and you can see some models plainly," she says.
Xenon lights like Kichler's Series II are also inexpensive to retrofit and ordinarily plug into existing outlets without new wiring.
Read more: https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/kitchen/six-tips-to-light-up-your-kitchen
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