Kitchen Lighting

Pendant lighting is a fantastic choice for kitchens, particularly in areas with fixed seating, such as kitchen islands, breakfast bars, or dining nooks. These lights not only serve a functional purpose but also provide a unique opportunity to add personality and style to your space, enhancing the overall design theme.

One of the key advantages of pendant lighting is its ability to bring light closer to where it’s needed, such as worktops, tables, or seating areas. This makes pendant lights an excellent option for task lighting, helping to illuminate activities like food preparation, dining, or reading recipes. Their focused light helps reduce shadows and ensures a brighter, more functional workspace.

Beyond their practicality, pendant lights also contribute to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen. With a wide variety of styles, materials, and finishes available, they can act as a statement piece or blend seamlessly with your existing decor. From industrial metal shades to sleek glass pendants, they offer a chance to reflect your personal style or reinforce the kitchen’s design theme.

For the best results, consider the height and placement of your pendant lights. Hanging them too high may reduce their effectiveness, while placing them too low can obstruct views or create a visual imbalance. Typically, pendant lights are installed 28-34 inches above the countertop to achieve both functionality and visual harmony.

In summary, pendant lighting is not only a practical solution for kitchens but also a versatile design element that combines functionality with style. Whether you’re looking for enhanced task lighting or a way to express your personal taste, pendant lights are a smart and stylish choice.

When planning the placement of recessed lights in a kitchen, it’s important to ensure even light distribution to avoid dark spots and create a bright, functional space. Several factors come into play when determining the spacing, including ceiling height, room size, and the type of light bulb used.

As a general guideline, using 6W GU10 LED bulbs, spacing the recessed lights at 800mm to 1000mm (31 to 39 inches) apart, measured between the centres of each fixture, is a good starting point. This spacing ensures a clean and uniform wash of light across the kitchen, minimising shadows and dark patches.

However, adjustments may be needed based on specific circumstances:

• Ceiling Height: In rooms with higher ceilings, the light spreads out more, so you might need slightly closer spacing to maintain uniform brightness. For lower ceilings, spacing at the upper end of the range is often sufficient.
• Task Areas: In work zones like countertops or the hob, you might consider slightly closer spacing or additional task lighting to provide concentrated illumination where it’s most needed.
• Room Layout and Size: In larger kitchens, it’s crucial to ensure lights are distributed evenly to avoid overly bright or dim areas. A lighting layout plan can help balance the illumination effectively.
• Light Colour and Beam Angle: The beam angle of the LED bulbs also influences spacing. Wider beams (e.g., 60 degrees or more) cover more area, allowing for slightly wider spacing, while narrower beams may require closer placement.

By taking these factors into account, you can create a lighting plan that enhances both the aesthetics and functionality of your kitchen. For optimal results, it’s often beneficial to consult with a lighting designer or use a lighting simulation tool to visualise the effect before installation.

When selecting recessed lights for your kitchen, it’s important to consider both functionality and aesthetics to ensure the lighting complements your design and meets safety standards. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

• Style and Design: We offer a wide variety of recessed lighting styles and designs, allowing you to choose the finish and colour that best suit your kitchen’s overall theme and your personal taste. Options range from sleek and modern to more traditional designs.
• Fire and Acoustic Rating: In domestic settings, it’s essential to use recessed lights that are fire-rated to maintain the integrity of fire-resistant ceilings and provide safety. Additionally, they should be acoustically rated to ensure they don’t compromise soundproofing between floors.
• IP Rating: If you’re placing recessed lights near water sources, such as over sinks or worktops, consider lights with an appropriate IP rating (e.g., IP44 or above) to provide protection against moisture.
• Dimmable Options: Dimmable recessed lights offer flexibility in creating the right ambiance for different times of the day or activities, from bright task lighting to softer evening illumination.
• Colour Temperature: Consider the Kelvin rating of the light to match the desired mood and functionality. For a warm, cosy feel, opt for lights around 2700K–3000K. For a bright, modern look suitable for task lighting, choose a cool white around 3100K–4500K or even daylight temperatures above 4500K.
• LED Technology: Energy-efficient LED recessed lights are a smart choice, offering long-lasting performance and lower energy consumption. They are also available in a variety of colour temperatures and dimmable options.
• Beam Angle: The beam angle determines how wide or narrow the light spread will be. Wider beam angles are great for general lighting, while narrower angles are ideal for accentuating specific areas.

Selecting the right recessed lights not only enhances the functionality and appearance of your kitchen but also ensures compliance with safety regulations and energy efficiency.

Task lighting is generally understood as having the correct brightness to work by, so is often a focussed light or multiple lights providing the equivalent to around 100 Watts.

General or Ambient lighting is a light provided to illuminate a room, for example, it was common to find two 60 Watt bulbs in pendant fittings in a living room.

Accent lighting is often used to provide anything from a gentle glow, colour, to dramatic effects of shadow or highlighting textures.

The Kelvin temperature scale was the brainchild of Belfast-born British inventor and scientist William Thomson — also known as Lord Kelvin. It is one of the three best-known scales used to measure temperature and often used as a measure of the colour temperature of light sources.

Kelvin temperatures for commercial and residential lighting applications fall somewhere on a scale from 2000K to 6500K. The lower the light temperature rates on the Kelvin scale, the warmer and more red the light appears to the eye. The higher on the Kelvin scale a light rates, the ‘cooler’ and more blue the light appears.

2000K to 3000K – Warm white (red-orange to yellow-white).
3100K to 4500K – Cool/bright white (neutral-white to slight-blue tint).
4500K+ Moves towards a more “daylight” colour temperature (blue-white light that mimics daylight).

Neutral lighting actually works best in a kitchen as it’s in the middle of the kelvin scale and neither too red or blue.

Warm lighting is around 2700K – 3000K and although pleasing to the eye, can often effect the apparent colour of kitchen surfaces, especially white or pale gloss doors and worktops so careful consideration needs to be made here.

Cool lighting is generally above 5000K and can appear very blue. It can effect the look of food and drink, so is not best in task areas.

In summary then, the best choice is lighting that’s somewhere between 3000k and 4000K.