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Tips and Tricks to Brighten Your Day (And Kitchen)

Designing or remodeling your kitchen can be a lot. Your mind is full of ideas for elegant cabinets, fancy tiles and shiny hardware, and you’re already dreaming of that stylish furniture and cute accessories you’re going to decorate it with. Exciting! But first, think about this often overlooked, yet incredibly important feature: The lighting. A kitchen is a special place – We use it to cook, prep and store food and drinks, to lounge and have a quick bite, and many times it is the last room we’re in before bed and the first after waking up. It must be functional as well as homey, and proper lighting plays a big role in achieving that. Here is how to keep your kitchen lit!

Before we start, let’s take a look at the different types of kitchen lighting:

• Task lighting is essential in any kitchen. It is the functional light that helps you to properly illuminate task areas and work efficiently.
• Accent lighting can be used to subtly highlight certain parts of, or decorations in, your kitchen.
• Ambient lighting provides the general brightness for the room and works great to incorporate aesthetic fixtures like chandeliers.

Because of its unique multifunctionality, your kitchen has specific requirements. This especially holds true when it comes to lighting – After all, it sets the mood and aesthetic for the heart and soul of your home and at the same time is crucial for the kitchen to be practical and usable. To get it right is important and requires careful consideration, and with many factors at play, it can be confusing. This is how to do it:

1. First things first 

When planning your kitchen, start with task lighting, since it’s essential for functionality. Afterwards, complement it with accent illumination. Once you’ve accentuated everything you want, add ambient light to complete the ensemble with general light!

2. Think outside the box

There are many more ways to conveniently light up your kitchen than you may think. For example, install motion-activated light strips inside your drawers and cabinets, so they are lit when opened – similar to a refrigerator. Be creative and use little light hacks to brighten your everyday life!

3. Combine style and function

Lighting installation presents you further opportunities to decorate and style your kitchen. Install toe-kick lights with motion sensors, and not only will it elegantly accentuate the room, but guide you in the dark when grabbing that midnight water. Or use a fancy pendant above the sink to provide the task lighting you need there anyway. Combining function and fashion is easy and a lot of fun!

4. Know your Lumens

Lu-what? Lumens measure the light emitted by a fixture. The higher the amount of lu, the brighter it shines. Determine before how bright you need your kitchen to be, as it influences your choices of lighting. Factors to consider include availability of sunlight, your age and vision, and main uses of the kitchen. Consider installing dimmers to be able to control the brightness.

5. Be yourself

Have a favorite decoration you would like to highlight? Spice up your kitchen with an eye-catching chandelier? Or add some warmth with a smidge of brass? Lighting is not