One of the best ways to update your kitchen--and a major consideration if you are doing other renovation--is contemporary lighting. The days of a single ceiling fixture and maybe a light over the sink are done. New lighting lets you focus on task areas and create a welcoming atmosphere for family and guests as well. Contemporary lighting is an important part of keeping your kitchen functional--and fun.
Considerations
If you are renovating your whole kitchen, think about lighting early in the design process. Lighting professionals will tell you that many customers make the mistake of putting lighting at the end of their planning, and the bottom of their renovation budget. Especially in a kitchen, which serves many purposes beyond just food preparation, lighting is not just an "add on" or "go with" decision.
Good kitchen lighting comes in many forms: recessed, soffit, undercounter and task-based, as well as decorative fixtures. Installation of everything but single fixtures needs to be part of your overall design plan to be successful.
Function
Whether lighting is part of a renovation or a free-standing update, your first planning focus needs to be on getting your kitchen work done as efficiently as possible. Good sink lighting is fairly obvious--reducing spots on glasses and getting the dirt off carrots. What may be less obvious is that, since you spent a lot of time at the sink, lighting should also be glare-free. Food preparation areas also need clear, glare-free lighting. Think hard about how you use your counters--where you bake, chop vegetables or do other detailed work. Over-counter lighting, with separate controls for each work area, will enhance the most old-fashioned kitchen. Good work-area lighting makes prep go more smoothly--fewer knife-nicks and better cleanup.
Time Frame
Think hard about the time you spend in when you plan new lighting. Morning, afternoon and evening--there's something to do in the kitchen during each of these times. Your planning, therefore, needs to include observing how your current lighting works at each point in this time frame. Plan your lighting around available daylight as well as dark. We often shop in the daytime for things we use at night--a successful lighting plan takes changes in natural light into account. Envision how you want your kitchen to look when you're sitting down to a meal and hosting company. Consider area lighting and dimming fixtures to make the kitchen welcoming for guests. Even a casual supper becomes more hospitable if you don't eat it while looking at the dishes in the sink!
Misconceptions
When you plan a lighting update that involves numerous fixtures, two misconceptions can get in your way. First, you may think that new lighting will cost a fortune. Interestingly, buying good new lighting may reduce your overall electrical costs. New fixtures can be found in a wide variety of light-efficient forms and innovations in light bulb technology give you more light for less money.
Second, task and area-lighting reduce your use of unnecessary whole-room lighting. Adding more switches, controls and fixtures often means using less power overall.
Benefits
Contemporary lighting can make your kitchen more efficient as a work-space and also more inviting as an area for family to gather. Contemporary fixtures, even in a less-than-contemporary setting, can bring a sense of humor into a fairly staid room. How much more fun to do homework under a fixture that brings sparkle and color to your kitchen table. Brighten your home office area with a mobile of glittering (and energy-efficient) stars. Add a single, brilliant jewel-like pendant to a dark corner. Contemporary lighting styles exhibit a welcome playfulness that enhances almost every decorating style.
Tags: your kitchen, Contemporary lighting, hard about, plan lighting, reduce your, sink lighting