Guide to avoiding lighting mistakes

There are many significant benefits to using LED lighting in a kitchen. One of the main reasons to ensure that lighting is installed correctly is to avoid the customer going and getting the lighting completely wrong, spoiling the overall finish of their kitchen. Here are some examples of common lighting mistakes that can be avoided.

In this example, there is very limited lighting in the kitchen, other than from the ceiling. The lighting is also different temperatures which makes the style inconsistent and a bit messy. There is no task lighting under the cabinets which is resulting in shadows on the worktops, meaning they will be dark and hard to use in the evening.

In this kitchen, there are dark and unsightly shadows all around the room. This is because the only light is coming from the ceiling spot lights. This room would benefit from LED tape and aluminium profiles under the cabinets to bring some much needed light to the worktops. There is also an open shelving unit for wine above the fridge. Introducing some spot lights to this space would create a feature of the internal storage.

The task lighting in this kitchen is very effective, however the room could be improved by introducing some areas of ambient lighting. If LED tape was introduced to the over cabinet areas and spot lights to the plinths this room could be used for both daytime cooking and work, but also evening socialising. It is not always appropriate to have a kitchen be well lit and bright, sometimes it is best to use dimmer and more subtle lights to create a softer mood.

The style of this kitchen is traditional and cosy, yet the ceiling lighting in the kitchen is cool and clinical. This room would be better suited to 3000 kelvin warm white lighting. There appears to be some 2700 kelvin extra warm white lighting under the kitchen cabinets which is bringing an orange tone to the room. Bringing one consistent colour temperature to this space would improve the style immediately.

There is no essential task lighting for the worktops in this kitchen. Although there is natural light in the room as soon as it is night-time it will be very difficult to work or cook in this kitchen.