Kitchen Guides
Kitchen Lighting: 12 Ways LEDs Can Add a Sparkle to Your Space
See how to use new energy-saving lights to illuminate your kitchen, light a countertop and add style, too
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are energy-saving light sources that last for years and offer tremendous flexibility for your design project. They can be used for task lighting, general room lighting and accent lighting. Here are some sensible-style ways to incorporate them into your kitchen.
1. LEDs make great accent lights for floating shelves. Their slim profile makes them ideal for this application.
2. Recessed ceiling lights are a primary source of room illumination in many kitchens. Traditionally, they’ve used halogen or other incandescent sources. New remodelling kits let you replace those fixtures easily and more affordably with long-lasting, energy-saving LEDs. Another benefit: If your ceilings are high, you may not ever have to drag out the ladder again to change a bulb: LEDs can last up to 20 years.
So, why should you use recessed lights?
So, why should you use recessed lights?
3. Glass countertops can be lit from below by LED lights. They provide dramatic accent lighting for a glass countertop’s beautiful translucent surface.
4. Toekicks are a great place to add LEDs to your kitchen. They can provide both accent lighting and nighttime illumination.
Check out ways to use LED strip lighting at home
Check out ways to use LED strip lighting at home
5. LEDs can be used to highlight architectural features, like the tray ceiling or cove moulding in a traditional kitchen.
7. If you’re showing off your serveware or collectibles in glass-fronted cabinets, consider lighting their interiors with LEDs. Options include rope lighting that can hide behind face frames or puck lights that hide in the cabinet tops. Glass shelves let the light flow from the top of the cabinet to the bottom.
8. You don’t have to limit your cabinet interior lighting to accent only. LEDs shown here, can be used as task lighting for drawers, deep bases, dark corners and other areas needing more illumination.
Take a look at kitchen cabinet lighting ideas
Take a look at kitchen cabinet lighting ideas
9. LEDs installed behind a translucent backsplash – like glass – is an ideal accent light application.
Chianti LED Down Pendant by Bruck Lighting Systems
10. Pendant lights continue to be popular in kitchens, especially over islands and peninsulas. Happily, there is an increasingly large selection of LED-powered pendants that save energy while not stinting on style.
11. Once reserved for dining rooms and ballrooms, chandeliers have become popular fixtures for kitchens, too. If this is the look you’re seeking for your traditional kitchen, consider shopping for an LED-powered fixture. The selection, while still small, is growing every year.
Here’s how to choose a chandelier
Here’s how to choose a chandelier
12. Some ceilings cannot accommodate recessed lights, or are too high for them to provide enough functional illumination. In these situations, you’re likely going to use track, cable or monorail lights, as shown here. New models are being introduced that take advantage of LED energy savings and durability.
Read more:
10 Reasons to Say Yes to LED Lights
Tell us:
Have you used LED lights in your kitchen? How does it affect the look and feel of the space? Share your experiences in the Comments below.
Read more:
10 Reasons to Say Yes to LED Lights
Tell us:
Have you used LED lights in your kitchen? How does it affect the look and feel of the space? Share your experiences in the Comments below.