Many people lovingly refer to the kitchen as the heart of the home. Your family may gather in the kitchen for breakfast or dinner. Your family members pull up stools to chat with you while you cook or bake, or vice versa. Every time you host a party or get-together, the kitchen is always packed with people.
Maybe it has something to do with the food and drinks. Maybe it's just the warmth. But if you relate to any of the above, you will probably agree with us when we say that the kitchen is the unofficial gathering place in the home – which means you always want it to look its best.
When it comes time for a kitchen upgrade, you do not necessarily have to renovate or remodel to step up its appearance. A light fixture makeover may be all you need to give your kitchen that fresh and unique look without having to break the bank.
If you have decided to invest in the lighting fixture of your kitchen in a bid to improve its overall ambiance, here are some tips to consider:
1. Set the Mood with Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting sets the tone and mood of a room. This is the primary source of light that entirely brightens up any space. Typically, ambient lighting is the natural light that fills a room, softly illuminating every part of it – it allows you to see everything clearly without causing glare.
The higher an ambient lighting fixture is placed overhead, the more illuminated your room will look. One way to achieve this in your kitchen (aside from natural light) is with a recessed track light system, which sits in a hollowed space in your ceiling. But if a recessed track light system is not in your budget or is not quite the right feel that you are going for, a perfect alternative would be a flush and semi-flush mount ceiling fixture.
Flush and semi-flush fixtures come in a wide variety of styles – from traditional to modern and even industrial. These lights not only illuminate your kitchen, but they also let you personalize the space to reflect your unique individual style and match the existing kitchen design around them.
2. Consider Task Lighting for Functionality
Ambient lighting can often cast a shadow at certain angle, depending on where in the kitchen you stand. This is why layering task lighting can reduce the strain on your eyes by providing direct light to specific areas of your kitchen as you work. After all, you will need your food prep and cooking area to be well illuminated to clearly see what you are doing and to avoid injury.
Under-cabinet LED strips/light bars can be great for lighting up workspaces such as countertops and prep areas. Fixtures like pendant lights are even more ideal option for larger workspaces or specific and popular gathering areas like your kitchen island.
Lights like these are usually suspended by adjustable rods or chains from your ceiling, providing you with versatility of placement based on your ceiling height. Pendant lights vary in style and size, allowing you to choose the amount of light focus you want on any particular area.
3. Incorporate Accent Lighting for Aesthetics
Accent lighting is only an addition to a room's lighting and mostly serves aesthetic purposes. But these kinds of fixtures are perfect for lighting up areas that ambient light does not quite reach and drawing attention to focal points like certain architectural designs or artistic pieces in your kitchen. Other examples of accent lights in action are highlighting your floating shelves or dishes in your glass cabinets. The intensity of light from accent lighting fixtures is usually softer than that of other lighting fixtures, so you can be certain that no heat damage will be done to any of your kitchen features.
Accent lighting fixtures come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, like wall sconces, spotlights, recessed lights, and LED strips.
You are ready to update your kitchen fixtures!
Before taking any steps in upgrading your kitchen's lighting, it's good to remember that the light fixtures you choose should always align with the theme and style of your kitchen.
Don't panic if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of an upgrade. We at
2eDesigns are here to help! We are experts in home lighting, and with our broad selection of products to choose from, we take the burden of finding just the right light for your kitchen space off your shoulders.
With us, you can enjoy luxury without having to break the bank. We provide your home with quality and elegant light fixtures, suited to your personal style, at affordable prices.
Want to get started on your kitchen lighting upgrade? Browse our collection of lighting fixtures today!