Lighting options for the kitchen work area

Backlighting the countertop in the kitchen is an important part, which increases the convenience of work and can improve the interior. But it is not always possible to arrange quality lighting. To do everything right, you need to study how to choose a place, what light sources to install and familiarize yourself with popular mistakes to avoid.

Peculiarities of lighting the work area

There are several requirements for the lighting of the work surface. It should illuminate everything well, not create a "theater of shadows" of objects on the tabletop and conveniently turn on. To a large extent, all these characteristics depend on the location, which is chosen responsibly.

Choosing a location for the light

Proper placement plays an important role in ease of use. The light must go from top to bottom, so the installation of lamps in the countertop itself or on the wall will not do. It is better to build lighting in the bottom of the hinged cabinet of the kitchen set. This will avoid shadows from a person and from the cabinet itself, and conveniently highlight just the work area.

After that, it remains to choose exactly where the lamps will be located on the cabinet. There are several solutions:

1. At a small distance from the wall.
2. In the middle of the bottom of the cabinet.
3. A short distance from the outer edge.

Fixing the tape closer to the outer edge.

In the first two options, the problem is that the light will fall on all the objects on the countertop, and from them will fall a shadow on the work area. Minimizing this will help to position closer to the extreme edge of the set.

If for the person who works in the kitchen, only the work area will be illuminated, then for the person sitting at the table the lamps will be above eye level. Therefore, it is necessary to use a decorative bar, which concentrates the light on the tabletop and will hide from the eyes of the person who is not involved in the work.

Which light sources to choose

There are several lighting devices with which you can organize the lighting of your work area in the kitchen. Each option has advantages and disadvantages. The choice should also depend on the size of the work area.

Spot or linear

Typical applications for countertop illumination in the kitchen are spot or linear light fixtures.

Spot lighting

The peculiarity of the lighting device of this type is that it can be used as the main light in the room or be additional, highlighting a particular element of the interior. There are built-in, overhead and modular options. Backlighting of the kitchen table is carried out by suspended designs.

A variant of spot lighting of the surface.

Scattered light from such fixtures for a few meters, this is quite enough to illuminate the working area, but if necessary, the radius can be increased with special diffusers. Built-in versions will be best hidden in the headset. Among the overhead, there are also self-contained battery-operated lights, they only need to be fixed over the working area, you will not have to work with the wiring.

Linear lighting

One of the options for the linear type - fluorescent lights. They emit daylight, which is comfortable for the eyes, but at the same time this light will be very bright, which is not always convenient. Even one fluorescent lamp is able to illuminate the tabletop well, and it plugs directly into the socket. Installation is simple, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to hide the lamp itself and the mains cable, built-in lighting with such a lamp will not work.

The use of fluorescent lamps.

Also refers to the linear lighting include LED strip. It has many advantages: a soft light, economical power consumption, simple installation. There are models of LED strips with the ability brightness adjustment и colorThat will help to create an unusual decor.

In favor of LED lighting in the kitchen workplace and the fact that it is not afraid of exposure to moisture, dirt, temperature differences. Hidden tape can be in special thin boxes.

Application of LED strip.

Read also

Installing LED lighting in the kitchen

 

In what style would look good LED lighting

In addition to its functional value, the lighting becomes also a part of the interior of the room. It is best suited to complement these styles: modern, high-tech and minimalism.

Features of these three interior styles are the use of modern technology, the presence of plastic and metal elements, the simplicity of geometric shapes. And the possibility of using multicolored LEDs will help to provide a futuristic atmosphere.

Kitchen in the style of high-tech.

For modernism, high-tech and minimalism, LED lights will be suitable in almost any form, for other styles will need to add a little design:

1. Classic. Classic interior is not quite compatible with modern lighting, so it is better to make it a hidden type. Ribbons will perform their main functions, but will not stand out from the rest of the elements. For the classics suit ribbons with yellow light, it will add warmth.
2. Loft. A popular style for the interiors of homes and apartments, in which LED lighting will look good if it is hidden not in a plastic box, and fix on a metal base.
3. Provence. Soft light will go well with the light colors of furniture, coverings and other elements. Painted wooden slats can be used to frame the lighting.

Tip! When choosing the lighting it is necessary to pay attention to variants with medium brightness, it should be enough to illuminate the working area, but it should not stand out too much.

The lighting should not be too bright.

Popular mistakes when organizing lighting

Independently it is not so easy to understand the peculiarities of arranging lighting of the working area in the kitchen. Therefore, before starting the work, it is useful to get acquainted with popular mistakes, which you should try to avoid:

1. Planning the lighting before setting up the kitchen. You can only choose the lighting option, its power and location in the finished kitchen. After all, during the renovation plans often change or the result may not meet the planning.
2. Directly directed light near the window. If in most cases the streams of light should go from top to bottom, then near the window it is better to make them at an angle, otherwise there will be glare from the glass.
3. Arrangement of a single light source .. There is an opinion that a powerful lamp is enough for the entire kitchen. In fact, this is not true, because when you work at the table top, the light from the ceiling lamp will rest on the figure of a person, a shadow will form, which will cover the entire work area.
   There should be several sources of light in the kitchen.
4. The use of decorative plafonds. Devices with plafonds of unusual shape, drawings and other decor can look beautiful, but for the kitchen will not quite go. It is necessary to choose fixtures and lamps in the simplest possible shapes that are easy to clean from grease and stains.
5. Mixing designs. The light fixture should blend in with the overall style in the room. Harmony with the main chandelier in the kitchen is also important.
6. Installing different models by light temperature. An important point, because when one part of the lighting is in warm tones, and the other - in cold tones, it strongly hurts the eyes.

At the end of the thematic video.