Nail your kitchen lighting design with these professional tips straight from an electrician!
When designing a functional kitchen space, many people skim over the lighting plan. Too often, the belief is that as long as the kitchen space is well-lit, additional lighting choices don’t matter. But this is a mistake. After all, the kitchen is the natural heart of the home; a space where people are most likely to congregate when they visit. By making a few sharp lighting choices, you can turn your kitchen into a cosy, welcoming, and ambient meeting space. And all without sacrificing brightness or visibility when you need to get to work.
We work throughout the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter Region and have learned what works and what doesn’t when it comes to lighting in our beautiful region. Here are some of our most tried and tested kitchen lighting design tips:
1. Task lighting
First and foremost, your kitchen is a workspace. For maximum comfort and functionality, you need shadow-free task lighting underneath your cupboard and across your workbenches. How you execute this will depend on your set-up – get in touch for a custom plan that works with the design you already have.
2. Kitchen Island or breakfast bar lighting
Lots of homes on the Central Coast use a kitchen island to separate their kitchen and living rooms. We love them! They create a sense of openness while still maximising functionality. Downlights, LED lighting, and pendent lighting can really elevate a kitchen island. These lighting choices ensure you can use the space as a multifunctional cooking and eating area, and highlight the island as a design feature when you enter the room.
3. Make use of high ceilings
If your kitchen has high ceilings, or if you have an open plan kitchen, separate the space and create a sense of scale using hanging pendant lights over the area you want to highlight. Pendant lights over the dining table is a choice that never ceases to wow!
4. Consider circuiting
This is where a professional electrician comes in handy. If you put your different kitchen lights on separate circuits (for example, separating wall lights, task lights, and downlights) you will enhance your space’s flexibility and be able to create the perefect mood, every time.
5. Think exterior lighting too
Our beautiful region really comes alive in our backyards, balconies, and gardens, and our home designs reflect that. Many houses on the Central Coast, Newcastle, and the Hunter Region have an open plan design that extends from the kitchen to the living room, and outside to a patio or backyard. If your home fits that description, don’t forget about the space outside, either. Creating a cohesive lighting plan that visually connects the kitchen with your outdoor area is ideal for social gatherings and extends the feeling of space in the kitchen.
What’s the best way to design kitchen lighting?
The key to beautiful and functional kitchen lighting design is making use of the space and design you already have. Get in touch with us today to discuss a custom lighting plan, or to see how we can tweak your current lighting to make even better use of your kitchen space.
