The kitchen is a room that gets a lot of traffic, so it is important to make sure it is properly lighted. There are many ways of going about this, but there are certain things to keep in mind when selecting lighting fixtures.
Layers of Lighting: Task, Accent, Decorative and Ambient
When picking out lighting fixtures, it is important to think about how you are going to make sure everything is illuminated. There are four layers- task, accent, decorative and ambient.
Task lighting
- Specific to work spaces, such as over the stove.
Accent Lighting
- Accent lighting is what is used in order to add depth to the room. Examples of these are fixtures on top of wall cabinets, or at the base.
Decorative Lighting
- Decorative lighting is the cherry on top when it comes to illuminating your kitchen. It adds interest to your space. Examples of this are chandeliers and wall sconces.
Ambient Lighting
- Ambient lighting is the lighting that fills the whole room and doesn’t really leave room for shadows. This will leave your guests looking great as well. Generally, this starts with the ceiling lighting.
How to Make Layers Work Together
Having these layers work together to light up your kitchen adds a lot of interest and depth to the space. You don’t have to worry about your room looking too much like a museum (only certain areas lit up). There are ways to make your light fixtures work for you and your design.
Flow of the nearby rooms
- You want your kitchen to have a natural flow with the rest of the house, but you don’t need to make them look exactly alike. For example, if all the over fixtures in your house are made of bronze, then it makes sense to use bronze in the kitchen as well, they just don’t have to look exactly alike.
Different shapes
- One way to make the lighting look more interesting is to use lights of different shapes. If most of your lights are circular, think about adding a rectangular fixture or bulb above your sink.
Use fixtures that pop
- More and more lately fixtures are becoming over scaled. If you have an island, you can have one or two fixtures over it in order to make a statement.
Although trying to map out your lighting in your kitchen may seem confusing and even daunting at times, remembering to use a layering system will help you to make sure every area of your kitchen is covered.