Let There Be Light
function. look. feel.
Lighting can make or break how a kitchen functions, looks, and feels. Lighting can be transformative in a kitchen, helping to make smaller spaces appear larger and spotlighting focal points that attract the eye and the imagination. Our K&B Designers present a layered lighting plan contributing to the kitchen’s functionality, design, and beauty. The different types of lighting used to layer light are:
Task
Ambient
Accent
Task lighting focuses light on the areas in the kitchen used for meal preparation, cooking, and cleaning, e.g., countertops, the range/cooktop, and the sink.
Ambient lighting is the primary illumination source for most home rooms. Ambient lighting aims to provide soft, general illumination without necessarily drawing attention to the light source. Ambient lighting provides enough light for safe navigation, cooking, and washing dishes. Ambient light helps to define the space.
Accent lighting can keep your kitchen from looking ordinary or bland by highlighting open shelving, artwork, architectural details, or a statement-making range hood, among other objects.
We recommend lighting controls such as dimmers and motion detectors in almost every lighting plan because they can help control utility costs and enable you to alter the look and feel of the room.
The type and amount of light needed for a new kitchen will be dictated by the size of the space and the amount of daylight that the room receives from windows, doors, and/or skylights. Electric light fixtures complement the light generated by mother nature. Mother nature can be unpredictable. Clouds and other weather conditions can minimize the amount of daylight that enters the space.
Smooth, shiny materials will reflect more light than textured matte surfaces. Polished marble will reflect more light than honed black slate. More light is needed in a space with dark and textured finishes.
The feel of the kitchen also is affected by paint colors. Paints and colors have different reflective capabilities and should be discussed during planning. A lighting plan should account for the possibility that the sun won’t shine brightly daily. Generally, electric lighting supplements replace daylight, but manufactured light can’t match daylight’s intensity or color distribution.
Recessed lighting may be an excellent option for creating a color palette that works in the space. Suppose recessed lighting is not wanted or practical. In that case, ambient lighting can be provided by pendants or surface-mounted fixtures installed around the perimeter of a cove.
Pendants can deliver light upwards or downwards or in a combination of up-lighting and downlighting. Pendant options are almost limitless and a great way to influence the kitchen’s look.
Highly polished stone and other reflective surface materials can amplify available light in the room but also produce unwanted glare.
A kitchen lighting design is successful when all three types of light – ambient, task, and accent – are layered together within a room to create an entirely usable, adaptive space. Good lighting does not draw attention to itself but highlights the space’s other design elements and fixtures. Depending on the purpose or time of day, your design may include different light layers. For example, during the day, pendants over the island may not be needed, but when you start to prepare dinner in the evening, all the layers providing ambient, task, and accent lighting become necessary.
Want to know the light that will make your kitchen shine? Call us at 440-543-8050 or visit the K&B showroom at 8454 Washington Street in Chagrin Falls. Our Design Team looks forward to working with you.