The kitchen is the heart of the home and is a space used by the entire family. Whether it be cooking, preparing food, doing homework or family bonding, the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in a home. Thus, having good lighting in the kitchen is very beneficial.
There are five types of lighting with their own functions and benefits. These are ambient lighting, task lighting, pendant lighting, accent lighting and decorative lighting which can be considered for your kitchen.
Ambient lighting
Ambient lighting is a predominantly consistent light from the sun, flooding the kitchen, giving a good environment to work in. This can be achieved from roof lights or large rear doors allowing maximum amount of sunlight to enter. However, ambient light from the sun can only reach so far and artificial lights mentioned below can assist.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is lighting which is directed or focused to a specific area instead of flooding the space. These lights are often located above the kitchen counters or as under cabinet lights which would make the surface very good for reading recipes or preparing food.
Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are low hanging lights which commonly are located above the kitchen island. They are a cross between ambient lighting and task lighting as the provided a soft glow of light around the island as well as creates a point of focus for people to see the island.
Accent/ Decorative Lighting
Accent and decorative lighting are similar to one another; where accent lighting is commonly used to attract people’s attention like visual interest. This is often used to focus or highlight a certain part of the kitchen, whereas decorative lighting is used in general to improve the aesthetics of the kitchen.
Colour
These artificial lights would work best with the right colour light for the task or to set the mood. The colour of these lights range from cool to warm. A light colour somewhere in the middle would work best. Too cool would make the kitchen look cold and sterile whereas too warm would warp the colours in the kitchen.
