A custom lighting plan for a remodeled kitchen is a critical component in the overall design. Lighting impacts all aspects of activity in the kitchen: health, safety and wellness. And a customized lighting plan can improve the safety of everyday tasks. Further, it wil enhance family activities in the kitchen.
What Goes into a Custom Lighting Plan
Different types of lighting fixtures that get used in different ways create a custom lighting plan. Certain non-negotiable elements are required to effectively light a kitchen, i.e., ambient, task and accent lighting. However, to make it truly custom, you want to get your clients’ input to determine how they use their kitchen.
Layers Of Light
By using various types of lighting fixtures, you can create the desired layers of light that form the basis of a custom lighting plan. You want to illuminate corners and counters, of course, but also make a style statement.
Ambient Light
The most important layer is ambient light. Ambient lighting sets the baseline as the minimum amount of light needed to function. The key for ambient light is that it should be even and unobtrusive and not create shadows or glare. Natural light is best for ambient light.
The main source of ambient lighting is typically recessed can-style ceiling lights. Designers specified halogen or other incandescent sources in the past. Now, long-lasting, energy-saving LEDs have replaced those old-fashioned fixtures.
You want ambient light to focus on counters, walking paths through the kitchen space and essential functional areas like the sink and stove.
A series of small aperture downlights with an opening no larger than 1-, 2- or 3-inches instead of the 6- or 8-inch cans of decades past will provide all the light your clients need. Ceiling fixtures can be unobtrusive, practically invisible, when they are without trim and installed flush to the ceiling. Many homeowners love the less cluttered ceiling that results.
Ambient lighting fixtures can also include surface-mounted ceiling fixtures and linear track systems.
Placement is key, no matter which fixtures you choose.
Task Lighting
Ambient lighting often leaves shadows under wall cabinets and in corners, making it hard to read recipes or chop veggies without cutting fingers. To work safely, people need task lighting. Task lighting will illuminate work areas properly. Think about the tools people use in the kitchen – knives, graters, heat and flames. Naturally you want them to be able to see what they’re doing!
Under cabinet task lighting will light work surfaces completely. Therefore, cooks can work safely. There can never be too much light above work surfaces.
Under-cabinet LED strips can be recessed into the wall cabinets. Hafele has a complete line of LED lights that will do the job. They illuminate the entire length of a counter while hidden from view. This reduces shadows on the counter to almost nothing — a much better and safer way to chop carrots without chopping your fingers.
LED strip lights can also be used to light up cabinet interiors. They turn on automatically when a cabinet door is opened.
Rope lights or LED tape can be used to light cabinet toe kicks. They can be both practical and fun. They can serve as a type of path light for rooms where extra safety measures are needed.
Motion sensors installed so that the lights turn on when someone enters the room makes a nice safety feature.
Accent or Decorative Lighting
Accent lights represent the area where your clients will definitely want to give you their input. The range of products is limitless; it’s all about personal taste and expression. And budget, of course.
Decorative fixtures, like a chandelier or pendant lights above the island, provide accent lighting for a custom lighting plan.
These photos are only a small sample of the many styles available. All photos are from Lamps Plus.
Control the Lights in a Custom Lighting Plan
Your clients will need a way to control the many layers of lighting in their custom lighting plan. they can take advantage of the many layers of lighting in their custom lighting plan. To take advantage of the the different types of lighting – ambient, task and decorative – each should be split up on separate switches with dimmers.
Using a home-automation system with smart dimmers lets your clients set scenes for various times of day and different uses. Show them how they can set an evening scene where the lights are dim and a morning scene where the lights are nice and bright.
Color Temperature of Lights in a Custom Lighting Plan
Also important to the overall custom lighting plan is the color temperature of the various lights. All fixtures in the kitchen should be the same temperature.
Selecting the right color “temperature” can make a big difference for everyday lighting.
Color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin, with lower color temperatures being warmer, or yellow, and higher color temperatures being cooler, or blue.
Today’s kitchens use LED lights almost exclusively because they last for years and use relatively little energy to operate. While LEDs with a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin are similar to incandescent lightbulbs, some pros recommend 3000 K which is brighter and whiter.
Conclusion
The importance of a custom lighting plan is two-fold. One is having sufficient light on surfaces to illuminate what your clients are doing. The other is decorative lighting, which can enhance a home in the same way jewelry enhances an outfit. And since today’s kitchens double as gathering/entertaining spaces, using lighting to set the mood is more important than ever.
Bob Aungst Cabinet Sales is a full-service rep agency with the goal of matching kitchen designers and remodelers with the cabinet manufacturers best suited to their business’ style and clientele. Owner Bob Aungst III represents Brighton Cabinetry, US Cabinet Depot, Integrity Cabinets and StyleCraft Luxury Custom Cabinets.