Lighting your kitchen

Which light fittings for the kitchen?

The kitchen is a room made for sharing and family life. More than just a place to cook, it is somewhere we spend more and more time chatting, preparing meals or getting drinks and nibbles ready. Good lighting is therefore essential here, not least because cooking in a poorly lit room on winter evenings can be awkward or even dangerous. Besides the natural light your kitchen gets, think about lighting and decorating it with fittings designed especially for this room. Pendants, hanging bulbs, designer wall lights, ceiling lights, spotlights and LED bars can all be used in a room that is now giving the living room a run for its money. So which light fittings should you choose for your kitchen? Here are the answers.

What to consider when choosing kitchen lighting

There are many things to consider when choosing the ideal lighting for your kitchen, starting with the type of kitchen. Whether it is open-plan to the living room, a separate kitchen or open to the dining room, the layout is decisive when choosing your lighting. If the kitchen opens onto the living room, it can benefit from the light provided by the living room fittings. In that case, there is no need to add lots of lights to the kitchen, as this risks creating glare. A simple pendant above the kitchen island, a few small spotlights above the worktop and some wall lights will do the trick. You can, of course, still choose a small ceiling light giving discreet light as the main lighting, even in an open-plan kitchen. In a separate kitchen that is a room in its own right, however, it is essential to choose fittings powerful enough to provide both the main and the task lighting. From imposing ceiling lights to large pendants, the main lighting in a separate kitchen should be strong and reach every corner. As well as the type of kitchen, think about the different areas and units that need lighting. Do you have a kitchen island that needs a pendant? How many cupboards need spotlights? Which fitting will light the worktop? Once you have established your needs, you can choose fittings with the same light intensity to light the kitchen evenly.

Lighting the whole kitchen

Whether your kitchen is open-plan or separate, don't neglect the main lighting, the fitting that will light the kitchen as a whole. Chandeliers, candelabra-style fittings, pendants and designer ceiling lights can all act as the main light in a kitchen. Placed in the middle of the room, the fitting you choose will give diffused light strong enough to light the whole space, especially in a separate kitchen. When choosing your general lighting, think about the atmosphere and layout of your kitchen. If you have a black and white kitchen, choose a grey or red ceiling light to create a striking colour contrast. For a kitchen that opens onto a courtyard, a bohemian ceiling light or a retro pendant would be a better choice. Choose the ideal main light to both illuminate and decorate your kitchen according to its type, size and prevailing décor.

Lighting the different areas of your kitchen

Many nooks and areas of your kitchen need to be lit consistently to achieve beautifully even light. One of the most popular kitchen features is the island. Usually fitted with a sink, several storage cupboards and a worktop of varying size, the kitchen island needs to be well lit so you can find your way around your cooking and storage space. The island can be lit with a designer pendant. The materials and main colours of the pendants you choose should be in harmony with the rest of the kitchen. For a contemporary kitchen, for example, choose a black designer pendant, a rope pendant or a copper pendant. Ideally, choose a pendant with several light points to make sure the island is well lit, especially if it is a large one. If you don't have an elongated pendant with several light sources, you can also hang several pendants in a row above the island. To guarantee good-quality lighting, the pendant should ideally hang between 75 and 90 cm above the island, taking the ceiling height into account. As well as looking good, this optimal height focuses the light beam on a specific point while providing general lighting for the island. To avoid glare and overly harsh light, choose height-adjustable pendants whose brightness can easily be changed.

Lighting your worktop

The kitchen worktop is a functional area where you prepare ingredients and cook. It is a vital part of the kitchen that needs excellent lighting. Here, the light beam must be directed, and the fittings chosen must be placed at the right height. As well as elongated pendants for open worktops, recessed spotlights (chrome, black, white and so on) or LED panels fitted under the wall units above your worktop are an excellent lighting option. Easy to install, these recessed or hanging fittings provide light that is well diffused but, above all, precise. You can also choose LED strip lights or LED bars to light a long worktop. Discreet and highly efficient, an LED strip or bar has the advantage of blending perfectly into your kitchen décor while providing functional light that leaves no shadows on your worktop. It is also the ideal space-saving solution, for example in the kitchen area of a studio flat. Choose LED bar or strip lighting, recessed spotlights or the pendant of your choice to light and decorate your kitchen worktop effectively.

How do you get even light in the kitchen?

The light sources in your kitchen fittings need to be consistent to create even light throughout the kitchen. The colour of the light plays an important part in this. Each light colour corresponds to a colour temperature, measured in kelvin, which needs to be judged carefully. If you choose white light (between 4000 and 4200 kelvin) for your task lighting, go for warmer light sources (between 3000 and 3500 kelvin) for the main lighting to balance out the intensity of the light beams. Perfect, even lighting in a kitchen therefore comes down to the interplay of light, the choice of light sources and the choice of fittings.