{"id":1266,"date":"2016-02-21T19:38:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T00:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2021-07-21T07:23:55","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T11:23:55","slug":"five-tips-for-optimal-kitchen-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/five-tips-for-optimal-kitchen-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Tips for Optimal Kitchen Lighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five Tips for Optimal Kitchen Lighting<\/span><\/h2>\n

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The heart of today\u2019s home is the multi-functional kitchen. A place that bustles from before dawn to after sunset; where people cook, do homework and bills, read the paper, visit with friends and family and just relax.\u00a0 Optimal lighting is an important design consideration in creating a friendly, functional and efficient kitchen.\u00a0 Five tips that will help you optimize your kitchen lighting include making a detailed plan, proper task lighting, clever ambient lighting, minimum use of accent lighting, and appropriate decorative lighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #1:\u00a0 Make a Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

The first step in creating a well-lit kitchen is the planning.\u00a0 To create a warm, welcoming kitchen, layers of light should be present: recessed or down lights, under-cabinet lights, and hanging lights.\u00a0 Also, your kitchen’s size, layout, look, color and natural lighting must be considered when determining the overall number and placement of fixtures.\u00a0 For example, taller ceilings and darker finishes call for more light.\u00a0 And, for safety, well-lit work zones are essential. In general, lighting must be both task-oriented as well as ambient and friendly. And, ideally, fixtures should be dimmable so the light can be adjusted to meet specific needs depending on the time of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #2: \u00a0Task Lighting<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"OptimalTask lighting is \u00a0just for doing precision work in the kitchen but also for safety and energy efficiency.\u00a0 It is best to light task areas with bright, soft, shadow-less lights from two or more sources.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, combine the general room lighting with focused fluorescent un\u00adder\u00adcab\u00adi\u00adnet lighting.\u00a0 A rule of thumb is the task light should be about 30 inches above the work area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #3: Ambient Lighting<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"OptimalAmbient kitchen lighting is the light that fills in shad\u00adows, re\u00adduces con\u00adtrast, and lights ver\u00adti\u00adcal sur\u00adfaces to brighten the room.\u00a0 The goal of ambient light is to create a warm, inviting glow in the room.\u00a0 One trick is to mount fluorescent tubes on the tops of wall cab\u00adi\u00adnets aimed at the ceil\u00ading; the light will then reflect back evenly into the room.\u00a0 Recessed lighting in the ceiling also works well for combating glare and shadows.\u00a0 A rule of thumb for placement of recessed lights is they should be 24-42 inches apart and should work to light the entire room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Tip #4: Accent Lighting<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"OptimalAc\u00adcent light\u00ads should be used sparingly to em\u00adpha\u00adsize spe\u00adcial ob\u00adjects or highlight a wall of cabinetry.\u00a0 For accent lights to be effective, they should be three to five times brighter than the sur\u00adround\u00ading am\u00adbi\u00adent lights.\u00a0 Accent lighting typically uses halogen, xenon, or LED bulbs because they are small enough to fit into small fixtures yet produce bright light.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #5: Decorative Lighting<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"OptimalDecorative kitchen lighting, like a hanging vintage-style lantern, not only adds character but can also fill the visual voids above islands and peninsulas while providing necessary illumination for work areas.\u00a0 Decorative lighting also tends to be the most expensive element of your lighting design. The general rule in selecting decorative lighting is it should reflect the size of your kitchen; the larger the space, the larger the chandelier and other eye-catching fixtures can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"lightlogo\"<\/p>\n

Optimizing the light in your kitchen will create a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for your family and friends to gather and enjoy food and fellowship.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be overwhelmed by all the options. Take it one step and at a time, and soon you will have a beautiful space to enjoy day and night, summer and winter.\u00a0 For more information on design ideas visit Falconcrest Homes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five Tips for Optimal Kitchen Lighting \u00a0 The heart of today\u2019s home is the multi-functional kitchen. A place that bustles from before dawn to after sunset; where people cook, do homework and bills, read the paper, visit with friends and family and just relax.\u00a0 Optimal lighting is an important design consideration in creating a friendly, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,30],"tags":[61,62,66,67,37,46,63,39,34,35,43,32,44,68,69,60,51,33,64,65,58,59],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3467,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions\/3467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falconcresthomes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}