Kitchen lighting ideas for the hardest-working room in your house (2024)

In need of some kitchen lighting ideas to transform your space, brighten your mood and increase levels of productivity? From ceiling lights, to practical under-cabinet lighting, to must-have pendant lighting, there are plenty of options to help you illuminate the hardest-working room in your home.

As a key component of your kitchen design, when choosing kitchen light fittings, you need to ensure it will fulfil your functional needs. If you have an open-plan kitchen/diner, it's likely this space is used for more than just cooking meals. However, if you're a city-dweller with a smaller kitchen, you may want to think about smart lighting tricks to make the space feel bigger.

There are three types of lighting you will want to consider: ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. The first, ambient lighting, is essentially the main, general lighting in the kitchen. The second, task lighting, is used to brighten up the areas where you're cooking or preparing food (such as under a cabinet or on the worktop), thereby where you are performing a particular task. The latter, accent lighting, is a concentrated light that will add style and drama to your home, creating atmosphere in the kitchen. This is usually to highlight specific parts for aesthetic purposes.

With these three types of lighting in mind, ask yourself these questions to ensure you choose the right kitchen lights...

• Think about what kind of lighting you are after. Do you want a pendant feature light or LED spotlights? Deciding what style you want early on will help to narrow down your choice.

• Think about where these lights will be positioned based on how you use your kitchen. Whether it's kitchen island pendant lighting, kitchen led strip lights or kitchen under cabinet lighting, these light fixtures will contribute to the functionality of your kitchen.

• Consider how you are going to control your lighting – do you want a flick-switch or a dimmer light?

• Take into account your natural light sources in the kitchen. You might not need a spotlight close to a window.

• Consider your budget, too. Some kitchen light fittings are more expensive than others, so before you start looking around, make sure you know what your price point is.

Whether you're in the middle of a kitchen renovation or want to improve your current kitchen design, these kitchen lighting ideas will help you consider all the essentials...

Pendant lighting hangs over a kitchen island or breakfast bar. Also referred to as drop or suspender lights, they usually suspend from a cord to bring light to the island or table below (perfect if children are sat drawing here).

'A beautiful pendant can look striking suspended over an island, for example, or in the corner of a kitchen to accentuate a zone. Great for food prep, reading recipes and enjoying a family meal seated at an island, task lighting will prove to be a valuable aspect of your kitchen's design,' Daniela Condo, Kitchen Designer at Life Kitchens tells House Beautiful.

Chris Jordan, Managing Director at Christopher Wray, adds: 'A series of pendants above a breakfast bar or a modern chandelier over a kitchen table can add a touch of style to a room that is typically very functional.

'As well as serving its function of providing illumination, a light fitting can also be a beautiful feature that decorates a room.'

Before you rush to buy one, it's always best to measure the height of your space first — you don't want something hanging too low that acts as a distraction – and then check this against the length of the pendant light.

Ceiling spotlights, also known as down lights, are firm favourites in the kitchen and bathroom. As well as looking sharp, these particular kitchen ceiling lights enable us to focus the light exactly where it needs to be.

'Lighting schemes are an essential part of kitchen planning as there is nothing worse than a dimly lit work area. Position spotlights directly above key areas to ensure the light isn't blocked while you stand at the sink, hob or work top,' says Melissa Klink, Head of Design at Harvey Jones.

Something you will also want to consider is the colour temperature of your spotlights. Do you want a warm white hue? Or a cool white glow?

When choosing kitchen spotlights, it's also worth considering whether you want to opt for a dimmer switch. This will give you the option to control the mood of the room; you may need a brighter space when cooking dinner but prefer a glow in the evening when dining — brilliant for entertaining.

Under-cabinet lighting is great for illuminating the functional spaces where you prepare food, providing light in all the right places.

LED under cabinet lighting and fluorescent lights are probably the most popular, as these emit very little heat — but provide plenty of brightness.

While you can utilise under-cabinet lighting to illuminate work surfaces, a lit extractor can provide lighting for your cooking area, and, as Melissa explains: 'Lights can also be fitted within drawers and pantry units to switch on when a cupboard or drawer is opened.'

David Conlon, head designer and founder at En Masse kitchens, tells us: 'Under-cabinet lights are always a good choice in order to "buy back" surface light from protruding wall cabinet and shelving.

'One continuous strip here is more effective than spotlights. Be careful with LED strip lighting if you have a highly reflective work surface or backsplash such as stainless steel or glass, as this will reflect the individual diodes within the lighting strip. The LED will need to be recessed and you may also need to use a diffuser.'

If your sink isn't situated by a window and flooded with natural light, you may need to think about lighting the space above. Recessed ceiling lights are popular when it comes to over-the-sink lighting choices, however, pendant lighting can work well too — so long as they don't hang too low.

Decorative lighting in a kitchen adds atmosphere, impact and visual interest. Instead of having a functional purpose, it is predominately used for aesthetic purposes and can help to set the mood.

For example, you might like to hang soft warm fairy lights above cabinets or around open shelving. Best of all, it's cost-effective options and often adds the perfect finishing touch.

Natural lighting will make your space inviting and dynamic. Some of the ways to utilise natural light is to consider fitting skylights, large windows or doors with glass panelling. These are more costly than other kitchen lighting, but it will naturally enhance your space — particularly when the sun is shining.

'It's important for all of us to re-think the way we live indoors,' says Grant Sneddon, VELUX Daylight expert. 'Daylight is a powerful mood booster and good for our health and wellbeing, helping to create a positive atmosphere at home. Bringing light in from above with roof windows is the perfect solution for achieving daylight for longer throughout the day.'

If you're planning a kitchen renovation project in the near future, think about the placement of both windows and ceiling lights. If you have a pitched roof or a flat roof, consider getting a skylight fitted. Modular skylights are designed to bring natural light into the home, however they are among the more expensive options.

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