Examples Kitchen lighting ideas

Kitchen lighting ideas

From ergonomic islands to modular cabinets and hidden storage, Ruth Sleightholme considers the key elements of one of the most-used rooms in our houses, and suggests design solutions for the perfect kitchen.

For your cupboards

To avoid dark and cluttered cupboards, you might want to include lights that turn on when the doors open. Consider glass shelves with this type of lighting, so light spreads down throughout the cupboard.

For your workspace

Fit lights to the bottom of your wall-mounted cupboards, or above the back of the workspace. Make sure that the lights are in front of you to prevent your own shadow from falling on to the work surface. It’s best to keep these lights recessed to avoid grease and dirt building up on them.

For an island or dining area

This is a chance to use pendants or decorative lighting, as ideally you want overhead light that illuminates warmly and evenly, in contrast to workspace lighting. Keep this on a separate system to the other lights for more control and ensure they are well above head height.