How important is lighting in a kitchen design?
The kitchen is the heart of the home, it's the gathering place. Good lighting draws people into the kitchen like the glow of a roaring fire.

Does good lighting have to be expensive?
Of course not, but you'd be surprised at how expensive bad lighting can be.

What's the most common mistake when it comes to kitchen lighting?
The most common mistake is trying to light the entire kitchen with one fixture centered in the ceiling. It ends up being what I call a "glare bomb", visually overpowering everything in the space É including family and friends. The best type of lighting involves light layering where task, ambient, accent and decorative lighting are effectively blended together.

What does layering light accomplish?
No single light source can provide all the necessary light. For example, the optimum task light comes between your head and the work surface. That is why lighting located below the upper cabinets is so effective. If cabinets do not go all the way to the ceiling, indirect lighting installed on top will provide a soft ambient light. Each layer of light is a piece of the puzzle.

Why are kitchens so often under lit?
Lighting is often the last thing considered in a design and the first thing cut from the budget. Even if you don't have the budget for pendants over the center island, at least install the junction boxes and purchase fixtures when additional funds become available, or put them on a holiday wish list.

Whichtype of lighting is most often overlooked?
Of the four types, ambient light is usually overlooked. It is what I like to call the humanizing ingredient to any lighting design. Indirect lighting softens the shadows on faces and makes people feel instantly welcome.

How do you determine how much of each lighting type is needed?
That is where years of lighting design experience comes into play. I often help architects, kitchen & bath specialists, interior designers and homeowners create a lighting design that suits their specific layout. What doesn't work is a grid of recessed down lights, which is what I often see on a generic lighting plan. This creates what I call the "Swiss cheese" effect, where the ceiling is filled with way too many holes.

How is lighting placement determined?
First, I look at how the kitchen is laid out to determine where various kinds of light are needed. For example, over the center island I might use 1-3 pendant fixtures to provide both ambient and decorative illumination. In between these fixtures I would recommend the installation of recessed adjustable fixtures to cross illuminate the island's work surface.

What are some ways to use accent lighting in a kitchen?
Since people are spending more time in the kitchen, as a center for casual entertaining, it's natural to hang art to be enjoyed by all. Recessed, adjustable, low voltage fixtures can be used to high light the art. The MR16 bulbs often used in these fixtures, come in a variety of beam spreads, so if the art changes, a simple change of bulb will be all that is needed to illuminate the new art.

What type of fixtures function well as task lighting?
There are a great variety of linear task lights and puck lights that are available for installation beneath upper cabinets. In many instances we use incandescent (halogen or xenon) and fluorescent lamping. We are now also using the amazingly energy efficient and environmentally friendly LED (light emitting diode) sources.

Where else could task lighting be placed?
In addition to beneath the overhead cabinets and above the island, I would also make sure there is adequate task light in the pantry. On occasion, we install lighting inside glass fronted cabinets to illuminate collections of china and glassware, but I would consider this more accent than task light.

Why use dimmers in a kitchen?
Like any room in the house, it is nice to have a variety of light levels available. When you are preparing a meal or cleaning up it is nice to have a bright punch of illumination available. Later on in the evening, when lingering over a glass of wine with friends, it is nice to have the ability to dim the lights to a pleasing glow.

Would you recommend zoning kitchen lighting?
Absolutely. The task lighting should be on 1 dimmer, the accent lighting on a second dimmer, respectively the decorative and ambient lights on separate dimmers. This allows you to raise and lower complimentary lighting sources to a wide variety of pleasant settings.

What do designers need to keep in mind when selecting decorative fixtures?
You want to make sure that the scale of the fixtures is right for the space and that the shade material has enough opacity to effectively hide the light source.

What advantage is there to working with a lighting designer?
As a lighting designer, I have years of experience blending lighting into architectural and decorative details. Lighting designers are a part of the design team, working in tandem with other team members to create a cohesive overall design. As lighting specialists, we are aware of the latest lighting developments.