A kitchen is not only a cooking zone but also a social space. Beyond enhancing the visibility so you can retrieve items freely, you should make it a display room for decor. The main culprit of a dim kitchen is lack of natural light. But installing artificial light in the wrong places ca be a recipe for disaster. Do you feel like you have failed in coordinating your kitchen lighting design? Perhaps you are committing these mistakes. Learn how to fix them here.
Lighting Fixtures Falling Out of Proportion
So you have installed a small pendant light above your kitchen island. Maybe it is a huge chandelier suspended over the eating space. This is how you are ruining the proportions and possibly causing insufficient lighting. To avoid disproportionate lighting, first understand the size of the entire cookhouse, the island workspace, and the counter. Choose lighting fixtures that are appropriate for the scale. Measure the height and width in feet and get the sum of the two. Change the sum into inches to find the diameter of the pendant light that fits well in the space.
Highlighting the Wrong Spots
Accent lighting is not always needed. Your kitchen requires well-spaced décor bulbs. Another area you could be highlighting incorrectly is the area above the sink. You cannot hang an elegant chandelier above the sink. For unique expression, highlight the eating area and the island only if they are a few feet away so they don’t compete. Decide on one focal point.
Too Dark Counters
Kitchen cabinets with workspaces under their surface often block overhead lights, thereby adding shadows. That’s why you need undercabinet lighting for a utilitarian kitchen. This makes the workspace more functional. Choose from hard-wired direct lighting and plug-in options with accessible wall switches. Dimmable options are an added advantage since they double the ambient light when you are done with cooking. Look for modular tracks to create a custom kitchen layout.
Excess Recessed Lighting
Less is more when it comes to recessed lights. Keep in mind that recessed downlights never illuminate walls so you cannot depend on them as the sole sources of your kitchen light. Avoid making your kitchen ceiling seem like an airport runaway. Only install a single recessed light for 5 sq. ft. of the ceiling.
To be on the safe side of kitchen lighting design, always follow the 3-level lighting design rule. Combine pendants with undercarbinet and recessed lights. Control them independently for the perfect accent lighting.
