One of the unsung heroes of any good kitchen remodel is the lighting. Most of our clients have an idea of what they are looking for in cabinets and countertops, but have not given a lot of thought to their lighting. Lighting will affect not only how your kitchen looks, it will also be a major player in the day-to-day functionality of your kitchen. Options include recessed lighting, lighting for seating areas and islands, and lighting within, above, and under cabinets. Picking out the placement of the lighting and the best style and size of the fixtures is only half of what a KBF designer can do. We can also explain the choices in the types of lighting available – incandescent (traditional light bulb), halogen, and LED (light-emitting diode) lighting.
The most common source of lighting in today’s kitchens comes from recessed ceiling lights. Making sure the placement of these lights works for your kitchen layout is essential. A designer will be sure to include enough recessed lighting, strategically placed based on your kitchen’s design plan, so that your space is optimally lit for cooking, entertaining, and all the other ways you use your kitchen. Incorporating LED recessed lights instead of the traditional halogen or incandescent lights have two very attractive benefits: LED bulbs are energy saving and long lasting. In fact, LED bulbs can last up to 20 years. Imagine – you won’t have to get on the ladder to change the bulb for a decade or two! Another third benefit of LED lights over incandescent and halogen bulbs is they do not produce heat.
LED lights also work very well as under-cabinet lighting. The picture above shows a KBF designed kitchen that incorporated under-cabinet LED lighting. You can see how their slim design makes them perfect for this application. And since they don’t produce heat, you don’t have to worry about the cabinets above and the countertop below getting warm. Similarly, LED lighting is perfect for illuminating the inside of glass cabinets. (Design hint: Be sure to include glass shelving inside your glass-front cabinets if you decide to incorporate lights – this way the light can shine from top to bottom!)
Choosing LED pendants and chandeliers is also an option, and the design selection is growing larger as the LED demand increases. Many pendants and chandeliers are now available in both traditional and LED options, giving our designers the ability to include LED technology in our clients’ designs without any sacrifice in the aesthetic of their new kitchen. It is the perfect marriage of function and beauty, and that is what great design is all about!
