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stm25rs

Lighting for kitchen in new build

3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

Working on lighting layout for the kitchen of a new build. Rendering and dimensions are below. We want to do 2 pendants over the island, and there will be recessed lights under the upper cabinets. Will 2 recessed lights for each aisle (the cooktop aisle and the sink aisle) be sufficient?


We aren't doing any uppers next to the hood. The hood itself is lit, but I'm slightly concerned about lighting for the counters next to the range. Majority of prep work will of course be at the island. Will the aisle recessed lights be sufficient for lighting that counter space? I'm leaning towards 4" cans for most of the house, we could maybe do 2" cans above those bits of counter next to the cooktop?


There will be some sort of fixture/pendant over the dining area. The point of view of the rendering is from the living room area, which will have some recessed lights plus some floor or end table lamps.





Comments (7)

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    IMO you can never have too much light in akitchen I like all LED 4000K bulbs and you need more than you think Get to a good lighting store and talk to a lighting designer this is the time to get this right .IMO the wlakways are too small and maybe you do not need a n island with seating the you could alter the island a bit to have bigger walkways . I lke 48" in front of my range and 54" min infront of the fridge.

  • 3 years ago

    Are you open to layout suggestions?

  • 3 years ago

    Don’t light the walkways. Light the countertops. If a light is centered over the walkway, you will create a shadow on the counter while trying to work there. Lights should line up with the edge of the counter. However, if not spaced correctly, the lights can make weird shapes/reflections on the upper cabinets. I agree with Patricia— talk to a lighting designer.

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    Four recessed lights will not be enough for a kitchen that size…

  • 3 years ago

    Light the counters, not the aisles. Please visit this quick visual guide to learn some things about kitchen lighting https://languageoflight.blog/2023/01/11/dont-do-this-kitchens/

  • 3 years ago

    You need more lights, but if you are a person that likes a darker space, just install more lights but in separate groups with their own switch (with dimmers). You want flexibility and control for any possible lighting situations.

    What looks out of scale is the windows. I would want all the windows to be taller.

    Why lower cabinets on either side of the range? I would want drawers there too.

    With the fridge next to the oven, there is a good chance that at some point someone is going to fling the right fridge door open and hit an open oven door. While building, we rented a house with this setup and the fridge door had dents that matched the speed oven and main oven doors.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    We stopped by the lot again today, and I had miscounted - the electrician has marked for 6 lights, but I definitely don't like the placement they're suggesting. I like a well lit kitchen, and we will be doing separate circuits for recessed vs pendants vs under cabinet, and they'll all be on dimmers.

    Regarding overall layout, we have a bunch of drawer stacks, and wanted some cabinet door storage. Those window sizes also aren't correct. The width for the sink window is correct, but ours is taller. The other windows are way off from actual.

    We also stopped in at a local lighting showroom and the guy there suggested the following. I asked about lighting the countertops, and he said "but then you might not have enough light on the island." Which I'm not sure is valid, because we plan to do somewhat chunky multi-bulb pendants that will provide a lot of task light - we are not just doing decorative mood lighting for the pendants.



    Taking some of the advice in this thread, I've came up with the following. Over the counter edges in front of the glass uppers, and the 24" counters next to the cooktops, then more for the seating side of the island, the oven/fridge, and the other end of the island. Also want to put a single can over the sink, potentially on it's own switch.



    The other part of this lighting equation is the lighting on the hood blower, so if anyone has suggestions for a blower with great lighting, I'd love to hear them.


    I am also reaching out to a couple of lighting designer paid professionals.