There's a reason so many people spend so much money setting up their kitchen and that is because for most the kitchen is the hub of home activity. It's also a room that gets perhaps the most use both during day and night times so it's a room where getting the lighting right is crucial.

Modern kitchen lighting is a world away from the harsh fluorescent strip lights once so prevalent in kitchens. These days you can select from low-voltage, recessed spots and track lighting, dimmer controlled wall sconces, elegant pendants and LED's in every guise imaginable. The problem now is deciding from the bewildering choice available what works best for your situation.

The best kitchen lighting designs pay attention to the multipurpose nature of kitchens and aim to also work on different levels by blending different kinds of lighting. These are commonly assigned to specific lighting groups: task, ambient and mood lighting.

The category termed "mood lighting" by the way is an amalgamation of what is often otherwise termed feature or decorative or accent lighting. The essential idea is simply to arrange for each of the different groups of lights to be controlled by their own switches (for preference dimmer switches) so that the balance between them can be adjusted.

Ambient light is at its best when it is also highly unobtrusive. Its function is to provide a soft, overall background glow and let the more interesting lighting fixtures take centre stage. Low-voltage 12v recessed halogen spots (or more commonly these days, LED) are ideal for this purpose.

Eventually of course the business of preparing food comes into play and with it the issue of effective task lighting. The layout of most kitchens is such that working surfaces are never properly illuminated by even the best ambient lighting (basically you always create your own shadows). The most common solution is to simply place LED or other low-voltage lights beneath wall units so as to cast light directly on the work surface and not spill over elsewhere.

The purpose of mood lighting is to create atmosphere, for example chic pendants set above a dining area or up-lighters above cabinet tops or spots that emphasize certain items in the kitchen. Low voltage or LED lights installed inside glass fronted cabinets or set into a plinth are other examples.

The growing use of LED lights in modern kitchen lighting design is pretty much a whole new topic itself. These remarkable lights emit hardly any heat, cost a fraction to run and are light in weight, highly robust and extremely versatile. They are also adept at providing either task, ambient or mood lighting and help create a stylish and elegant look in any kitchen.

If you liked this article then you might also be interested in this further article looking at new kitchen lighting ideas.

It's well established that of all the rooms in a typical home, the kitchen sits metaphorically at the centre (which perhaps explains why so much money is spent on kitchens). It also tends to get a great deal of use throughout the day and night which means that ensuring the lighting is just right is a key factor.

The stark fluorescent strip lights that were once a common feature have no place in the world of contemporary kitchen lighting, which offers a wide variety to choose from. Recessed spot lights, tracks, dimmer controlled pendants, wall sconces, low-voltage and of course LED lights in all manner of guises now mean that the problem today is simply narrowing the choice down to a suitable set for your particular kitchen needs.

The best kitchen lighting designs pay attention to the multipurpose nature of kitchens and aim to also work on different levels by blending different kinds of lighting. These are commonly assigned to specific lighting groups: task, ambient and mood lighting.

This latter category (mood lighting) encompasses aspects of what lighting designers often term as accent, feature and/or decorative lighting. Anyway, the essential trick is to put each of the main groups onto separate circuits and preferably with dimmer switches so as to be able to modify the relative balance.

Ambient light is at its best when it is also highly unobtrusive. Its function is to provide a soft, overall background glow and let the more interesting lighting fixtures take centre stage. Low-voltage 12v recessed halogen spots (or more commonly these days, LED) are ideal for this purpose.

Sooner or later of course you will want to actually prepare food in your kitchen and this is where task lighting can make or break things. No matter how good your ambient light is, the layout of working areas in a kitchen almost always result in shadows and dark spots. An effective means of providing good task lighting is fitting low voltage, or these days LED, lights below wall units to maximize light on the work surface and prevent unnecessary glare.

Mood lighting is simply a means to create whatever ambience you want for your kitchen. Examples include angled up-lighters hidden above wall units or spot lights to accent particular features or maybe eye-catching pendants dropping over a dining area or setting low-heat low-voltage (LED's are perfect) lights into glass fronted wall cabinets or a plinth even.

The growing use of LED lights in modern kitchen lighting design is pretty much a whole new topic itself. These remarkable lights emit hardly any heat, cost a fraction to run and are light in weight, highly robust and extremely versatile. They are also adept at providing either task, ambient or mood lighting and help create a stylish and elegant look in any kitchen.

If you liked this article then you might also be interested in this further article looking at kitchen lighting ideas.

There's a reason so many people spend so much money setting up their kitchen and that is because for most the kitchen is the hub of home activity. It's also a room that gets perhaps the most use both during day and night times so it's a room where getting the lighting right is crucial.

Modern kitchen lighting is a world away from the harsh fluorescent strip lights once so prevalent in kitchens. These days you can select from low-voltage, recessed spots and track lighting, dimmer controlled wall sconces, elegant pendants and LED's in every guise imaginable. The problem now is deciding from the bewildering choice available what works best for your situation.

A noticeable aspect of good kitchen lighting design is the way it operates on different levels to mirror the way that kitchens themselves often serve many purposes. This is typically accomplished by grouping lighting into distinct types (ambient, task and mood) and then blending these groups to achieve different effects.

This latter category (mood lighting) encompasses aspects of what lighting designers often term as accent, feature and/or decorative lighting. Anyway, the essential trick is to put each of the main groups onto separate circuits and preferably with dimmer switches so as to be able to modify the relative balance.

Ambient lighting is most effective when it is most unobtrusive. Its purpose is to establish a soft background platform for the other, more noticeable lighting elements. Recessed low voltage halogen, and increasingly LED, spotlights are excellent at providing the right kind of soft overall illumination required.

Sooner or later of course you will want to actually prepare food in your kitchen and this is where task lighting can make or break things. No matter how good your ambient light is, the layout of working areas in a kitchen almost always result in shadows and dark spots. An effective means of providing good task lighting is fitting low voltage, or these days LED, lights below wall units to maximize light on the work surface and prevent unnecessary glare.

Mood lighting on the other hand is all about creating an atmosphere by, for example, placing up-lights atop wall cabinets or hanging elegant pendants over an eating area or angling spotlights to pick out selected elements. Other examples include using LED or regular low-voltage lights inside a glass fronted cabinet or set into a plinth.

LED's for kitchen lighting almost deserve an entire topic unto themselves. They produce almost no heat, cost next to nothing to run, are extremely durable and lightweight, and are incredibly versatile. LED lights can be used for task, ambient and mood lighting and always introduce a contemporary sparkle to any kitchen.

To find out more, check out also this article that looks at LED kitchen lights.