Planning kitchen lighting: 10 tips for perfect light

When planning your kitchen lighting, several factors are crucial. On the one hand, the lighting in the kitchen should be practical and functional, on the other hand, it should create a feeling of well-being. We give you 10 tips for perfect lighting planning in the kitchen.

The kitchen is the second living room in almost every household. Here you can cook together, chat with friends over coffee and wine and enjoy meals together at the perfectly set dining table.

Well-planned lighting in the kitchen is so important because we visit this room at different times of the day. In the morning for breakfast, at noon for cooking and in the evening for dinner or celebrations. The kitchen is a magical attraction for great conversations and activities. With the right light you can create a perfect feeling of wellbeing.

Tip 1: The basic lighting

The basic lighting in the kitchen is primarily used for orientation and is the most important point in lighting planning. Ceiling or recessed lights are suitable for this. The best are, for example, easy-care and wipeable lights made of metal. Lampshades made of fabric are not suitable because they turn yellow in a very short time and also store odors. In addition, the housing of the lamp should have an open shape so that the entire room is illuminated.

A copper lamp above the dining table is easy to maintain and provides warm light above the dining table.

Photo: living4media / Kooijman, Peter

Calculate the cost of your new kitchen here

Tip 2: functionality

Above all, the light in the kitchen must be practical and functional. Especially in the work and cooking area, the surfaces should be well lit. Here, the light should never dazzle or cast shadows. Bright and cool light is ideal for this, which is ideally placed above the work surfaces. So-called under-cabinet luminaires, which are attached to the wall cabinet and fitted with spots or spotlights, are best suited.

LED lights under the wall unit ensure uniform lighting of the work surfaces.

Photo: Paulmann

Tip 3: indirect lighting

Indirect light can be applied almost anywhere and at any time in the kitchen. The so-called downlights, for example, can be easily attached as LED strips under the kitchen cupboards and thus ensure warm and cozy light in the kitchen. Indirect lighting is particularly useful when you have no dimming options and want to create a warm lighting mood.

The LED strips provide indirect lighting in the kitchen.

Photo: Paulmann

Tip 4: illuminate the dining table

If you have your dining area in the kitchen, you should illuminate it additionally. Here, however, you should choose a warm white light and a dimmable lamp. Dining table lights should also be functional by being either height adjustable or dimmable. Both functions are of course best. With a small dining table, a round pendant lamp is very suitable for kitchen lighting, with a long rectangular table an elongated lamp or several pendant lamps at the same distance from each other. The distance to the table top should be about 60 to 70 centimeters.

Additional pendant lights above the dining table ensure optimal lighting conditions in a large kitchen.

Photo: living4media / Lene-K

Tip 5: Shadow-free light on the worktop

The cooking and work surface should be bright and shade-free. Under-cabinet luminaires on the wall cabinet are best suited. They radiate the work surface optimally. If there are no wall cupboards, you can work with a ceiling lamp. However, this should then be about 60 centimeters from the wall. Approx. 100 centimeters for work surfaces with a wall unit.

So-called furniture surface-mounted luminaires can be easily attached to existing wall cabinets.

Photo: Paulmann

Tip 6: color temperature

When you buy a lamp, you can choose between warm white and daylight white light. A combination of both makes sense in the kitchen. The work and cooking surfaces should be equipped with a daylight white illuminant, and the dining area with a dimmable warm white light.

A separately illuminated dining area with copper pendant lights.

Photo: living4media / View Pictures

Tip 7: kitchen cabinet lighting

The lighting in kitchen cabinets is an ideal addition to the basic lighting in the kitchen. It ensures that you find your way around the kitchen cupboard faster and better. There are different variants here. The easiest are individual spots or assistant lights, which can also be retrofitted to wall cabinets.

Assistant lights are an ideal addition to basic lighting in the kitchen.

Photo: Paulmann

Tip 8: kitchen lighting with LEDs

LED bulbs use about 90 percent less energy than a conventional light bulb. Since the LEDs generate little heat, the risk of fire drops enormously. They also have an extremely long lifespan of up to 35, 000 hours and, compared to energy-saving lamps, do not contain any toxic substances. The disadvantages are that there is rarely a dimming function and the acquisition costs are quite high.

LED lights offer many design options in the kitchen.

Photo: Paulmann

Tip 9: Atmospheric decorative lights and large lights

If you have provided sufficient light for the basic lighting of the kitchen, you can still work on visual mood objects. Either you work with colorful LEDs, which you attach invisibly to furniture - colored LED strips are suitable here - or you set specific accents with large lights such as a chandelier above the dining table.

Decorative lighting: kitchen with spots on dark wall and large candlestick.

Photo: living4media / von Einsiedel, Andreas

Tip 10: Subsequent light for the kitchen

Every now and then it happens that some things have been forgotten in the lighting planning for the kitchen. Here you can help with some small changes: LEDs can usually be retrofitted quickly and easily. Indirect lighting on skirting boards or wall cabinets in particular brings additional light sources into the kitchen. You can also illuminate dark areas and corners with the help of stripes and assistant lights.

Retrofitted spots on the kitchen wall illuminate the work surface optimally.

Photo: living4media / Kooijman, Peter

Violetta Hoffmann editors haus.de