Modern kitchens are now used to fulfill several functionalities. Gone are the days when they were just a space to cook the food and maybe sometimes even eat. Today, children use it as the place to finish their school work; husbands use it as a place to chat with their wives, while some owners even use this place to host dinner parties. Kitchens also enjoy the reputation of being one of those places where experimentation with colours and designs can be done. The same holds true for kitchen lighting products.

Different Types of Kitchen Lighting

Every room in a house requires a particular kind of lighting. Kitchens, on the other hand, can be a space where one can experiment with a mix of lighting types to create unique combinations. Some of the common lighting types that can be used are:

• Ambient Lighting: This is considered to be the general base lighting for any room. It is synonymous with overhead lighting, unless uplighting or indirect lighting is specified. Wall lights are the chief source of this form of lighting. In the kitchen, they are mostly used in the eating area, since this way the space can also double up as a reading area.

• Accent Lighting: This is also known as task lighting. They can also be used to create a sense of separation in the same room. In kitchens, they are mostly used over the cooking area, in order to keep it well illuminated.

• Track Lighting: These are used to provide accent lighting over a long stretch of space. They can be used in series to provide enough illumination for proper functioning of the sink area.

• Decorative Lighting: These can be produced by using both accent and ambient lighting sources and are a must for those who want to entertain guests in the kitchen.

Kitchen Lighting: Some Ideas

A lot can be done with the kitchen space if the designer is willing to experiment with lights. Kitchen lighting is not about flamboyance; it is about functionality and simplicity. The objective here is to give a comfortable feel to the kitchen, while still being stylish.

One way of decorating a kitchen is with the use of dimmers. It is a great means of creating the right ambience, while still being economical. Larger kitchens make extensive use of task lighting for highlighting the countertop spaces. Dimmers will allow the user to dim down the lights of particular areas that are not currently in use.

An alternative way to this is by using LED lighting. Here, track lighting can be used to cover the whole working area of the kitchen. Another important aspect to keep in mind is to choose lights that complement the features of the kitchen and blend in with the colours. Those who want to create an overall theme in the kitchen can even match the style of the fixtures with the styles chosen for the ceilings, walls and utensils of the kitchen.

Kitchen Lighting: Using Wall Lights

Wall lights have always been used as a part of the overall kitchen lighting and there is absolutely no reason why this practice should be discontinued. These light sources produce rich ambient light and can be used to illuminate large areas with equal intensities.

The two premier varieties of wall lights that can be used in kitchens are crystal and LED based. Amongst them, LED lighting products are preferred because of their beautiful and vibrant light and also because of the huge economical advantage they offer. For instance, one LED product, called the Orbital wall light, can be placed anywhere in the kitchen to provide a very beautiful and soothing feel to the space. Food presented in this light will look inviting even if it isn't garnished too well.