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Lighting Help!! Kitchen / Dining Area Comments and Opinions Here!

4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

Hey All,

I think I've finally settled on a kitchen design that should flow well and serve our needs. I'm currently working on cabinet interiors (drawers, pullouts, shelves, etc.) What I'm sort of struggling with is lighting the kitchen. I can't seem to get a straight answer. I've feel like I've learned about everything from BR and Par bulbs to amps, watts, lumens, foot-candles and I'm still not 100% on some final questions. I'm working on another diagram to show the light count I'm considering but I'm wondering if I'm crazy because of the quantity of lights. Also, I'm having difficulty finding the luminesce and candella specs for bulbs that show exact foot candles at which heights and their appropriate diameters. Can someone provide guidance?? Here's what I have so far; 14 general recessed cans, dimmable, 3 pendant lights, 1 dining light, and one above sink light and undercabinet led lights. Questions Below.

  • Am I crazy off with these numbers?
  • Is roughly 100fc too much?
  • I have the cabinets and the island (on non-seating side) lined with lights right above the edge, is this sufficient?
  • The remaining lights are in the walkway centers (south and east walls), does this work?
  • I have recessed lights at 48" from the fridge front and 36" in front of the pantry. Does this work?
  • Cans are placed roughly 4' from another aside from the above about the pantry and the fridge










Comments (4)

  • 4 years ago

    If you can mark the actual light placement on the plan that would be more helpful than interpreting sentences.

    100fc is definitely on the high side for an entire kitchen, at the low side for a surgery table. Even as a professional, I do not attempt to calculate footcandles of lights over an entire space. We hand lighting layouts to the electrical engineer, who then hands it to Cooper Lighting, who's computers spit out the photometrics. Light throws cross and overlap, so it is not a black and white equation. So do not get bogged down in fc numbers and exact cone angles.

    For a kitchen of this size and level, start with the basics of your preference and budget for size of lumenaire, trim style, room cabinets and finishes (e.g. glossy, lots of nooks for shadows, etc), and aesthetic goals. For typical kitchen use, lighting cannot be engineered exactly perfect (neither aesthetically or functionally), instead there is lots of leeway in how lights are placed to make it function and look great.

    And prior to lighting, it could be helpful to have your kitchen layout reviewed first, there are some really sharp people that might have some input.

  • 4 years ago

    @3onthetree thanks for the comment! It's taking me a bit but I've uploaded a new blueprint with the lighting I talked about. I'll attach to this comment as well. I appreciate your perspective. I'm aware 100fc may be on the high side but there's a good chance we end up with very dark (almost black) cabinetry so I want to ensure we have enough light especially for the hard to see spots. I'd rather have more light that I can dim than not enough light. Also as a DIYer I don't have access to a lighting guy that can do photometrics for me (hence the attempted calcs). Any help and additional input would be appreciated.


  • 4 years ago

    You certainly don't need another row of lights between the sink wall counter edge lights and the island lights. You also don't need a sink light and one at the sink counter edge. The outer aisles not sure of other adjacent rooms and where openings are. The island you don't want pendants banging your forehead and if you have a chandelier shown for the table you don't want pendants competing with that.

    Maybe still a new clean thread for the cabinet layout would be beneficial, I'm thinking there will be some input on the microwave, the island seating, the cabinets flanking the windows, and some function placement like the wine rack.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Interesting @3onthetree Agree with the sink light will remove it. Are you saying I should remove the bright orange middle row of lights above the island and dining area? From the pendant/ chandelier perspective. Are you thinking perhaps 4 pendants centered across the middle extending across the island and dining are or a single long chandelier doing the same? Also, some of the items you mentioned such as the wine rack have changed. Lastly, I do have a thread for the kitchen design, take a look here. Thanks for your input thus far! Also, currently all walls closed and single door entry in the south east corner - https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6262730/kitchen-dining-area-remodel-ideas-and-questions