Light the busiest area of your home with help from the professionals.
Life happens every hour of every day in your kitchen, so thelighting in this hardworking spaceis crucial.
you’re free to install a canopy that allows many pendants on that single box.
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I like to ask questions: Where do you make coffee?
Where do you prep?
Tell me the work zones, and Ill light those areas.
Credit:Kim Cornelison
But adding more light to a kitchen doesn’t necessarily mean you have to call an electrician.
We can now put lighting where there is no electricity, he says.
There are solutions for these dark corners!
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Ambient is the ceiling light that illuminates the whole room.
Together, the three layers make for a bright space for cooking and cleaning.
They also go a long way toward reinforcing the overall style of the room.
Credit:Kim Cornelison
In this kitchen,oversize pendantsin gold and mercury add sparkle, whether the bulbs are on or off.
Or use a motion detector so that as you walk to the coffee station, it lights up.
One thing I love doing in kitchens is having the toe-kick lighting on an occupancy sensor, he says.
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That way, they come on when you walk in.
Tell your lighting professional what you want in terms of control, McGowan says.
All of these can be looped together in awhole home system, if you want.
Credit:EMILY FOLLOWIL; INTERIOR DESIGN: GORDON DUNNING INTERIOR DESIGN
Embrace Matte Black
Stumm says “contemporary styles in black finishes are all the rage right now.
They can leantraditionalormodern, and they mesh well with just about everything.
Matte black fixtures are also very versatile should you decide to change up your decor style.
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The black fixtures still work.
“Theres nothing worse than building a wall with lighting, Stumm says.
“Its there but not there: you could see beyond it.
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Task lights should be about 30 inches above an island, peninsula, or table.
They may need to be hung higher over cooktops or raised surfaces or if you are taller than average.
Recessed kitchen lighting should light the entire room, not just areas that don’t have task lighting.
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The switch is as simple as screwing in a light bulb.
Dark surfaces absorb more light than white and light-color surfaces do.
Puck or recessed mini can lights illuminate the interiors of cabinets and below them.
Credit:KIM CORNELISON; INTERIOR DESIGN: EMILY PUERINGER
Adam Albright
For more help with a lighting plan,find an American Lighting Association showroomnear you.
And check out ourlatest issue of Lighting magazine.
Credit:John Granen
Credit:Adam Albright; INTERIOR DESIGN: STAGG DESIGN
Credit:Tria Giovan
Credit:WERNER STRAUBE
Credit:Edmund Barr
Credit:Adam Albright
