Adequate lighting is important for a room that sees as much daily use as your kitchen, especially in a home with a less-than-ideal window setup or long seasons where there isn’t much natural light. The best way to achieve that is through layered lighting, using different types of lights throughout the room to increase the ambient amount of light within the room and also focus it on specific task areas like the kitchen counter, island, or dining table.
Get the Look: Start with recessed lights to cover the entire kitchen at the flip of a switch for a solid ambiance and general area coverage. Utilize under cabinet lights to remove some of the cabinet shadows to create a cool display effect and make counter tasks like cutting vegetables and washing dishes easier. Pendant lights for specific areas like the kitchen island and dining table both highlight them and separate them from the rest of the kitchen as points of interest, along with improving visibility where you need it to be the brightest for social occasions like mealtime.
Why It Works: Covering all of the room in various ways ensures that no area is left in the dark. You can also use specific lighting in layers to highlight and define your kitchen accents separate from the rest. For extra control over your kitchen, many layered lighting setups also have a dimmer setting to mix and match your lights as you see fit. Having everything on one switch is not only a strain on your electricity, it also tends to be overkill depending on why you’re in the kitchen in the first place, like getting a glass of water at night. But when you do feel like having all the layers on at once, it should feel like a beautiful, well-lit kitchen you see on TV and add dimension to your space.
You spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so you shouldn’t be spending that time in the dark. Layered lighting adds a variety of ambiance for cooking and entertaining that goes beyond just having your space visible.
