I’ve designed four kitchens in my life, each one reflecting a different chapter in both my style and cooking needs. From my first post-grad two-up, two-down house to our current family home, to which we’ve added a whopping open-plan kitchen extension, I’ve tried every cabinet design, material, and layout trick in the book. But one thing took me far longer to master than I’d like to admit – the kitchen lighting ideas.
In my first kitchen reno, I was fixated on cabinet colours, tiling and worktops, and, above all, how to make it look as impressive as possible on a minuscule DIY budget. Lighting came last.
I could say it was an afterthought, but in truth, I didn’t really think about the effect of lighting on the space at all. At the time, I was only interested in finding cheap but stylish pendants to go above the breakfast bar! We lived with the consequences for three years. Pools of harsh ceiling spotlights that made the white cabinets appear blue (and my skin look permanently sickly), moody shadows where I prepped veg, and not nearly enough cosiness when friends poured in after the pub kicked us out.
Now, after years of trial and error, I’ve realised that bad lighting can sabotage even the most beautiful kitchen ideas. It’s not just about what you can see, but how a space feels. For me, it needs to be cosy and calming, especially when I’m cracking out school night dinners at warp speed for the hangry teens. And in my current (hopefully last) kitchen, I think I’ve finally cracked it.
So, if you’ve got a kitchen revamp on the horizon, here are some of the ways you can learn from my earlier mistakes, and light your kitchen like a pro in the know.
1. Plan lighting early
When we built (or rather screwed together) our second kitchen, it wasn’t until after the cabinetry was fitted that I realised I’d woefully underestimated the lighting. I’d given it some thought this time, but clearly not enough.
By then, the walls were plastered and painstakingly painted, and we realised too late that we needed more light over the main prep area and above the sink. Cue frantically ordering stick-on battery lights for the undersides of cabinets and stringing fairy lights along the shelves to add a bit of cosiness. It worked (in a hokey kinda way), but it was a patch-up job, not a thoughtful design decision.
Turns out, lighting really should be mapped out at the same time as the kitchen layout and thought about long and hard. It’s part of the bones of the kitchen, not the accessories list. Patience is not my strong suit. Start with a plan on paper or screen and draw out your layout, clearly marking where the key ‘zones’ are – preparation, cooking, dining and relaxing. Then decide what each zone needs in terms of brightness, focus and atmosphere.
If, like young me, you’ve realised too late that your wiring doesn’t match your needs, there are clever ways to retrofit. Under-cabinet strip lighting can be added without chasing into walls, like these LED lights from Amazon, and modern wireless fittings – such as magnetic puck lights or LED tape with rechargeable batteries – can add much-needed task lighting without any rewiring.
Rechargeable kitchen lamps are a more recent kitchen trend that I would definitely have harnessed to brighten up any gloomy corners, especially since they come in such gorgeous shapes and colours (and if you hadn’t already guessed, I’m all about the aesthetics).
2. Understand how switch circuits work
One of the most confusing things I’ve learned, and the source of endless regret in my third kitchen, is just how much the number (and logic) of lighting circuits affects how you use a room.
I had nearly everything – ceiling spots, pendants, under-cabinet LEDs – wired onto one single circuit, and then a second circuit for lighting on the plinths and inside a couple of glass wall cabinets. I thought I was so clever. But every time I flicked the main switch, I could choose between blindingly bright or pitch darkness; the second switch just made the island look like a spaceship (not in a cool way) and wasn’t even bright enough for safe passage through the space. There was no middle ground, zero flexibility.
A good rule of thumb is to have at least three separate circuits in a kitchen-diner: one for ambient kitchen ceiling light ideas, one for task lighting, and one for mood lighting. That gives you the flexibility to tailor the atmosphere to the time of day or the activity – morning coffee versus evening entertaining, for example.
If you’re thinking about how to plan kitchen lighting from scratch, this is where getting friendly with your electrician pays dividends. Ask them to help map out circuits that make sense ergonomically – switches where you enter the room, near the island, or by the dining area – and to ensure dimmers are compatible with your fittings.
It sounds weird, but not all LED bulbs or fixtures play nicely with dimmer switches, and that’s where the dreaded buzzing or flickering comes from. My electrician loved sharing his knowledge and was really good at explaining why some of my requests weren’t possible (like the almost invisible recessed ceiling lights I wanted, but which wouldn’t fit in the ceiling void on my extension, sad times), as long as I kept the biscuit tin full.
My advice is to always buy your dimmer switches and light fittings together and check compatibility before you pay – with the supplier, or your electrician, or both! Brands often list which bulbs will work smoothly with their dimmers, and it’s worth sticking to that guidance. And if you’re tech-inclined, you can even integrate your circuits into a smart system, but more on that later.
3. Layering light is everything
As any lighting guru with skills will tell you, the best lighting schemes use layers – task, ambient, and accent lighting – that work in harmony to tick every illumination need. One common mistake I made early on was relying too heavily on ceiling spots. They cast downward shadows exactly where I was working, inevitably with my own bushy head blocking the light from reaching the chopping board. I didn’t actually cut my fingers instead of the carrots, but I came close.
An easy way to cover all the bases is to think of it like this:
- Task lighting gives you clarity where you need it – under-cabinet LEDs above your chopping zone, pendants focused directly onto the kitchen island lighting, and perhaps directional spots above the hob (or use the lighting in your cooker hood for the latter).
- Ambient lighting fills the overall space, and usually comes in the form of downlights that bathe the room in even light. Don’t be afraid to position ceiling lights where they’re most needed, rather than lining them up in rigid grids. When they’re off, I promise you won’t notice the lack of symmetry.
- Accent lighting brings the mood. I’m talking wall lights that wash over textured surfaces, LEDs that make glass cabinets sparkle and glow, or hidden strips tucked deep into cabinetry shadowlines. Personally, I won’t be going for the spaceship plinth lighting again.
4. Make sure you get the right bulbs
Even the most beautifully layered scheme can fall flat with the wrong bulbs. I learned this the hard way when I accidentally ordered cool-toned LEDs and wondered why our lovely new kitchen resembled the waiting room at A&E.
Colour temperature, measured in Kelvins (K), makes all the difference. For kitchens, aim for around 2700–3000K for a warm, welcoming feel that still gives you clarity for cooking. Anything higher (4000K or more) starts to feel clinical. Look for a high CRI (Colour Rendering Index) too, ideally 90+, to ensure your food and surfaces look natural. Low CRI lighting can make everything look a bit flat and depressing. These bayonet light bulbs from Amazon are a great example with a 2700K and High CRI.
And don’t forget dimmer controls, I’ve used them for all three lighting circuits in our kitchen. They’re brilliant for tuning brightness throughout the day, dialling the ceiling lights up to full brightness in the mornings when we need to wake up quickly, and then down in the evening when our eyes and brains are tired. They’re especially effective on the pendants above our island and wall lights, which I can get really dim to cast a soft, atmospheric glow in the evenings. Dimmer controls do tend to be a little bit more expensive than regular switches, so you can get away without them on your task lighting circuit (that illuminates prep and hob), which needs to be bright for safety when cooking.
As for smart kitchen lighting ideas, I’m coming around to them, and have invested in individual Smart bulbs by Philips from Amazon for the floor-standing lamps in our kitchen’s soft seating area. They are voice-controlled, via Alexa, which the kids find endlessly entertaining, and I can program them to different scenes, such as ‘reading’ or ‘relaxing’. They are Wi-Fi dependent, so can be a bit glitchy and annoying when our connection wigs out. I might well go for a proper Smart Home integration lighting system in our next kitchen, but hopefully that won’t be for many years to come, in a home with better broadband.
If you’re designing a kitchen in the foreseeable future, don’t underestimate the lighting. It’s not just about sourcing drop-dead gorgeous pendants (although it absolutely is that), but the most functional and enjoyable illumination of your space. The right lighting will bring a kitchen to life.
Get it wrong, and you’ll be dead annoyed, and your complexion will probably look a bit dead, too.
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