Choose Location
Get Started Schedule A Showroom Consultation

Lighting For Your Kitchen Remodeling Project

When remodeling your kitchen, be sure to include lighting in your planning. In many older kitchens, the whole room was lit by one fixture placed in the center of the ceiling. This may seem logical and efficient, but the fact is that wherever you stand in the kitchen at the countertop, you will throw a shadow on the countertop right in front of you. This does not make for efficient or comfortable working conditions. All of your work areas need to be well lit.

One solution is to install recessed light fixtures immediately over the countertops. This prevents your body from throwing a shadow on your work space. Using the new compact fluorescent spotlights, you can enjoy a lot of light without the electrical expense or heat given off by old-fashioned incandescent spotlights. And, the new compact fluorescent lights have a much warmer color, not the cold blue light as in the past. The modern compact fluorescents also light up more quickly, although they may take a minute to come to their full level of illumination.

Another solution is to install under-cabinet lighting on your wall cabinetry. This places the light directly on your work area without shadows and without lighting any other areas. There are many options from which to choose. Fluorescent is cooler and more efficient, and modern fluorescents have a warmer color than in the past. Halogen gives off a great deal of light from a very small bulb, but it also generates quite a bit of heat. LED lights are the coolest and most efficient choice of all, but work is still being done to improve the color quality of the light it gives off.

Pendant lighting can add beauty as well as illumination. Equipped with stylish shades or globes to avoid glare, they are ideal suspended from the ceiling over kitchen tables, counter tops, or other work areas. The main thing to remember is to light the working areas and avoid casting unwanted shadows.

When planning your kitchen remodel, you can get a lot of ideas from the photo gallery on Cabinet Discounters website CabinetDiscounters.com. For even more good ideas, stop at one of Cabinet Discounters showrooms.