Kitchen Lighting: Putting the Light Where You Need It
Kitchen lighting is a challenge in the best of conditions. Lighting levels, fixture spacing, ambient lighting, task lighting and decorative lighting are all in play. In my last post, I alluded to a particular challenging lighting challenge relating to the placement of a soffit crown moulding above a row of kitchen cabinets. The underside of the soffit is just over 10′ off the floor. The soffit and moulding fall 12” in front of the face of the upper cabinet. Exactly where I locate recessed down lights to eliminate shadows and properly light the counter top below.
THE KITCHEN LIGHTING QUESTION
The question facing me in this particular situation is, “Is there a way to bring light the counter top from the ceiling in a manner that does not create shadows on the counter top?” The answer is yes, but it’s not going to be easy…
LIGHTING OPTION 1:
I could pull the down lights outside the soffit, as in this sketch.
Not my first choice. Even with a 55 degree flood, as in this WAC LED downlight with a 2” aperture, the cone of light from the down light hits far down the upper cabinet’s face. The upper row of cabinets are left “in the dark”. (The red tick mark in the sketch shows where the cone of light will begin hitting the cabinet’s face.Typical ALL sketches.) In addition, when a person stands at the counter with the ceiling light source behind them, shadows will be cast on the counter, unless under cabinet lights are installed and used.
LIGHTING OPTION 2:
The second option is locating the down lights closer to the upper cabinets. This option eliminates any shadowing on the counter top. However, there will be hot spots on the upper cabinet door fronts because the lights are so close to the cabinets. There are always pros and cons…
The next question is lamping. A spot flood lamp’s beam spread is too small. What about a narrow beam flood or regular beam flood lamp? As an example, I’ll use the same WAC LED with a 2” aperture from Option 1. Lots of light output. Minimal presence in the ceiling.
The 30 degree flood light’s output is terrific. I wish the beam spread were better.
When I look at the photometric data, the 55 degree flood really needs the overlapping cones of light to be effective, given the distance between ceiling and counters top. The down light’s cone of light is hitting the upper cabinets much higher on the cabinet’s face. (Note the red tick mark in the sketch.) The overlapping beam spread will help eliminate any shadows on the counter top.
Depending on the paint color and counter top, I’d add under cabinet lighting to fill in and supplement the light from the downlight. For example, this Hafele LED under cabinet fixture would work perfectly.
LIGHTING OPTION 3:
As I worked on the Second Lighting Option, I found myself wondering whether a cove light could be designed, allowing light to wash the entire upper cabinet front. I decided to explore the idea using JUNO’s ARC L LED track light. One of the advantages of track lighting is it’s flexibility. You can add, subtract and direct the light as you choose.
Given the fixture’s narrow cone of light, I felt I needed to add fill light between the fixtures. In this sketch I doubled the number of fixtures. The result is improved upper cabinet and counter top lighting.
But there will still be hot spots on the cabinet faces. Could the hot spots be eliminated?
LIGHTING OPTION 4
Back in the day, when Sally and I designed commercial/corporate interiors, we often installed light slots where the wall and ceiling intersect, washing the wall with light from ceiling to the floor. Perhaps a light slot would be the solution for this particular kitchen lighting dilemma.
Starfire’s slick indirect LED fixture, the VersaLux LED Wall Grazer, is perfect for this light slot. And it’s available with three different light levels!
I’m confident it will evenly wash the upper cabinet fronts.
Beautiful light. Expensive fixture. There’s another less expensive way to skin the cat, using simple single tube T5 or T8 fluorescent fixtures. Just be sure to spec/select Soft White!!!
Build a 6” wide x 6” high slot, tuck a continuous row of single tube fluorescent fixtures up in the top front corner. Voila! Understand the limitations. The fixtures only come in certain lengths. There may be slight shadowing between each fixture. The light coming out of the slot will be “sloppier”, more diffuse because there is no carefully designed reflector directing most all the light directly down the front the cabinets.
LIGHTING OPTION 5
Last but not least, I want to circle back to a notion similar to Option 1 to solve our kitchen lighting challenge. What if we used adjustable multi-head fixture, such as WAC’s Mini LED Multiple Spot fixture, instead of a typical wall washer?
What are the advantages? The heads can be adjusted higher and turned slightly away form each other. This accomplishes two things. First, the light falls higher on the cabinet faces over a much wider area. Second, with lamp heads from each fixture pointed toward each other, shadows are eliminated.
If anyone is getting nudgie about the upper cabinets having dark interiors, we can always add Hafele’s or Richelieu’s LED cabinet lighting.
This solution could be applied to/added to any of the above options.
WHICH KITCHEN LIGHTING OPTION IS MY FAVORITE?
I surprised even myself. I’d choose either OPTION 4’s less expensive light slot solution or OPTION 5 with the multiple LED spots. Why?
- My gut. With over 40 years of experience, I trust my instincts.
- That experience brings value to the table. The value is creative design and problem solving skills.
- They both address and solve the dilemma in a creative/cost effective manner. Our clients love us when we solve problems in this manner.
- They’re different. Unexpected. Great talking point while sitting at the kitchen island. Clients love to be taken places they didn’t know they need to go.
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If Sally and I can help you with any aspect of the design of your home, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form on our website, here:
www.wilsonkelseydesign.com/contact
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I always leave your posts with so much more knowledge than I came to them with, John. Thanks for explaining all of these options so thoroughly. No wonder your clients love working with you.
Thank you Leslie. I’m glad to hear my posts broaden your knowledge.
John
Those light slots are so cool!
Yes they are! It’s amazing, we used to do them all the time in our commercial work. Yet it’s not occurred to me it use them in residential until just now.
Cheers,
John
What a great discussion exploring all the lighting options. I love using the cove lighting technique in a modern interior but I might have overlooked that option with traditional crown molding. So nice to see how it works here.
I agree, Judith. It’s not a conventional solution in a traditional setting. But I thin in this case, it has merit.
Cheers,
John
Such a good explanation! I learned a lot. Thank you!
I’m delighted to hear you learned from the post.
Enjoy your weekend.
John
Great information!
Glad you found it all useful!
John
Great information John. The light slots are a terrific solution that I might not have considered in a residential setting. I’ll have to keep that one in mind for the future!
We used to use light slots all the time in our commercial interiors work. Hopefully this will be a reminder to me too keep it in mind for future projects. Harder to do in a traditional setting vs a contemporary setting I suspect.
John
Just brilliant as usual John! I agree with your decision.
Thank you, Jennifer. I think I like the multi-head spots the most. What I would recommend first.
Cheers,
John
I love it when a solution is so well thought out such as this! A client can see the pros and cons, instead of just being told what to do!
Thank you Julie.
Getting client by-in is so important. If they feel they have ownership in the process and decision, everything always seems to go smoother.
Cheers,
John
I always love to see your process and your renderings, John! Thank you for such a thoughtful exposition of the lighting options here – the slots are a fascinating option – you are such a wealth of knowledge!
Thank, Janet. If you ever have any questions or need a little help on a project, give me a shout. I’d be delighted to help out.
John
I really appreciate the detailed way you think about lighting.
Hey Lisa,
Over the years, I’ve grown to believe lighting can make or break a project, so I tend to fuss over it quite a it. Glad to hear you found the post useful!
Cheers,
John
Oh wow, John! This is such an in-depth example of your skills and expertise. This also should solidify why hiring an Interior Designer, to get the best results, is key!
I really loved the way you took us through all of the options, with the pros and cons, and the option you would personally choose.
Glad you liked the post, Sheri. Hope you will find ways to incorporate some of the ideas into your work.
John