Modern Kitchen Lighting
The kitchen in any home can play host to a variety of activities. Generally, the hub of great cooking and baking endeavors; your kitchen is where delicious meets delightful conversation. Kitchens are great spaces to discuss the events of the day with your children, have a coffee with neighbors or simply reflect on your own. Whatever role the kitchen plays in your home, it’s important to put some time into creating an atmosphere that fits your personal style and needs.
One of the most effective paths to creating an amazing, comfortable and inviting kitchen is to kick up your lighting schemes. Where and how you place your lighting can greatly affect how colors in your kitchen interact and how certain surface materials are displayed. It may seem like a small thing, but changing up your lighting can make a big difference in your kitchen’s overall feel and appearance.
Illuminating with a modern statement
If it’s a modern look you want, try adding a high light rail on the ceiling that winds its way throughout the kitchen. On this rail, silver or stainless steel lights can be added that will give the entire room a metallic, modern twist that compliments the rest of your kitchen décor.
The bold and the colorful
On the flip side of the kitchen coin, if you’re aiming for a more colorful and cozy feel, having neutral or silver lights can take away from that homey feeling and detracts from your multi-toned design goal. A unique and stunning way to take your kitchen from casual to brilliantly creative is to add blown glass light covers to your overhead lights. These glass covers will throw light in a multitude of direction and reflect their own swirling colors off of other surface colors. This will create a warm, rainbow effect that also makes a great conversation starter if your kitchen is a place you tend to host social gatherings.
Taking the rustic route
A rustic touch is a popular décor choice for many kitchens and with good cause. It gives homeowners the chance to display antique items that might otherwise be passed over, and creates a family-oriented atmosphere that speaks to adults and children alike. When you’re attempting to create a rustic kitchen, it’s important to pick lighting that brings out the best in your theme. Going with light brown or papery light covers or shades will give your kitchen more of a “glowing” effect and really work well with copper accent tones. The creative advantage in a rustic theme is the opportunity to even add fun details to your lighting covers like abstract designs or country scenes. In low lighting, this will create a picturesque wall of rustic wonder.
The beauty of bright lighting
No matter what type of decorative theme you going with, it’s essential that your lighting compliment the primary features in your kitchen. If you have darker granite countertops, you’ll notice a beautiful, but subtle string of lighter tones that seem to float underneath. Some may even notice light metallic hues such as gold. These are best brought out with bright lighting and should be considered when you’re aiming to display all of the visual advantages that come with beautiful granite countertops.
Decide when to dim
Choosing lighting in your kitchen that can be altered on a daily basis will only help you highlight your kitchen’s best features. Those homes that host lighter granite or even marble countertops will be amazed at how much sparkle and shine can be brought out in the right type of dim lighting. Under darker tones, a light countertop can pop and be a perfect kitchen centerpiece. Use lighting dimmers to your advantage and give yourself the freedom to change up the feeling in your kitchen from casual daytime hangout to sophisticated nighttime social hour.
Add a little extra lighting
Nobody ever said that your kitchen lighting is solely restricted to overhead lamps. Go ahead and mix it up by adding any number of lamps to increase light, color or creative flair at will! Just take placement into consideration and don’t overdo it. The general rule of thumb is to stick with the triangle method when it comes to standing lamp lighting. Lamps go best in threes and when evenly placed, can create calming and balanced lighting in your kitchen. Smaller lamp additions can also be a fun place to mix up lampshades and highlight some of your favorite colors that show up in your granite countertops!
