Options for lighting the kitchen work area
Illumination of countertops in the kitchen is an important part that increases the convenience of work and can improve the interior. But it is not always possible to arrange high-quality lighting. To do it right, you need to learn how to choose a place, what light sources to install and familiarize yourself with popular mistakes that you should avoid.
Features of lighting the working area
There are several requirements for the illumination of the working surface. It should illuminate everything well, not create a “shadow theater” from objects on the countertop, and turn on conveniently. In many ways, all these characteristics depend on the location, the choice of which is approached responsibly.
Choosing a place for lighting
Proper placement plays an important role in ease of use. The light must come from top to bottom, so installing lamps in the countertop itself or on the wall will not work. It is better to build lighting in the bottom of the kitchen unit wall cabinet.This will avoid shadows from the person and from the locker itself, as well as conveniently highlight just the work area.
After that, it remains to choose where exactly on the cabinet the lamps will be located. There are several solutions:
- A short distance from the wall.
- In the middle of the bottom of the cabinet.
- A short distance from the outer edge.
In the first two options, the problem is that the light will fall on all objects on the countertop, and a shadow will fall on the work area from them. Positioning closer to the extreme edge of the headset will help minimize this.
If for a person who works in the kitchen, only the working area will be illuminated, then for a person sitting at the table, the lamps will be above eye level. Therefore, you need to use a decorative bar that concentrates the light on the countertop and hides from the eyes of a person who is not taking part in the work.
Which light sources to choose
There are several lighting fixtures with which you can organize the lighting of your work area in the kitchen. Each of the options has advantages and disadvantages. The choice should also depend on the area of \u200b\u200bthe working area.
Point or Line
Usually used to illuminate countertops in the kitchen point or linear fixtures.
Spot lighting
The peculiarity of this type of lighting device is that it can be used as the main light in the room or be additional, highlighting a specific element of the interior. There are built-in, overhead and modular options. The lighting of the kitchen table is carried out by suspended structures.
The light from such lamps is scattered by several meters, this is quite enough to illuminate the working area, but if necessary, the radius can be increased with special diffusers. Built-in options will be hidden in the headset as well as possible. Among the overheads there are also stand-alone battery-powered lamps, they only need to be fixed above the working area, you do not have to work with wiring.
Linear lighting
One of the variants of the linear type is fluorescent lamps. They emit daylight, which is comfortable for the eyes, but at the same time, this light will be very bright, which is not always convenient. Even one fluorescent lamp is able to illuminate the countertop well, and it is connected directly to the outlet. The installation is simple, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to hide the lamp itself and the network cable; it will not work to equip the built-in lighting with such a lamp.
Also referred to as linear lighting led strip. It has many advantages: soft light, economical energy consumption, easy installation. There are models of LED strips with the possibility brightness adjustment and colors, which will help create an unusual decor.
The fact that it is not afraid of exposure to moisture, dirt, and temperature changes also speaks in favor of the use of LED lighting for the kitchen workplace. You can hide the tape in special thin boxes.
What style will LED lighting look good in?
In addition to the functional value, the backlight also becomes part of the interior of the room.It is best suited to complement such styles: modern, hi-tech and minimalism.
The features of these three interior styles are the use of modern technologies, the presence of plastic and metal elements, and the simplicity of geometric shapes. And the possibility of using multi-colored LEDs will help provide a futuristic atmosphere.
For modern, hi-tech and minimalism, LED lamps are suitable in almost any form, for other styles you will need to slightly supplement the design:
- Classic. The classic interior does not quite fit with modern lighting, so it is better to make it a hidden type. Ribbons will perform their main functions, but will not stand out from the rest of the elements. For classics, ribbons with yellow light are suitable, it will add warmth.
- Loft. A popular style for the interiors of residential buildings and apartments, LED lighting will look good in it if it is hidden not in a plastic box, but to fix on a metal base.
- Provence. Soft light will go well with light colors of furniture, coverings and other elements. To frame the backlight, you can use painted wooden planks.
Advice! When choosing a backlight, you need to pay attention to options with medium brightness, it should be enough to illuminate the work area, but it should not stand out too much.
Popular mistakes when organizing highlighting
It is not so easy to deal with the features of arranging the lighting of the working area in the kitchen on your own. Therefore, before starting work, it is useful to familiarize yourself with popular mistakes that you should try to avoid:
- Lighting layout before kitchen arrangement. Choose the lighting option, its power and location will be obtained only in the finished kitchen. Indeed, during repairs, plans often change or the result may not correspond to the layout.
- Direct directivity of light near the window. If in most cases the streams of light should go from top to bottom, then near the window it is better to make them at an angle, otherwise there will be glare from the glass.
- Arrangement of one light source. It is believed that a powerful lamp is enough for the entire kitchen. In fact, this is not so, because when working at the countertop, the light from the ceiling lamp will rest against the figure of a person, a shadow is formed that will cover the entire working area.
![Options for lighting the kitchen work area]()
The kitchen should have several light sources. - The use of decorative shades. Devices with unusually shaped shades, drawings and other decor may look beautiful, but they will not quite work for the kitchen. Need to choose lights and lamps of the simplest forms that are easy to clean from grease and stains.
- Mixing designs. The lighting device should be combined with the general style of the room. Harmony with the main chandelier in the kitchen is also important.
- Installation of different models by light temperature. An important point, because when one part of the lighting is in warm colors, and the other is in cold colors, it hurts the eyes a lot.
At the end of the thematic video.
