Your kitchen could arguably be called the most important room in your house.  It is central to that most important of activities for your daily survival, eating.  A well designed and lit kitchen can create a more inviting and harmonious heart for your home.

Décor ideas in any room essentially aim for one of two goals, fashion or function.  For any design specialist their goals are to achieve a merging of the two goals and hopefully reach the ideal of a room that is both fashionable and functional.  With a kitchen you definitely want to choose a lighting scheme that leans towards function, because the last thing you want in the room where all your food is prepared is improper lighting.

Sunlight

It makes for the cheapest and most environmentally green ways to light a kitchen.  Nothing makes light like the sun does.  Open up your blinds and let the sun shine.  Unfortunately some kitchens are designed with small windows or low levels of exposure that keep sunlight out.  There are a few cheats you can do to bring sunlight into a kitchen.

Of course the best way is to just install better windows with a greater amount of exposure.  However, this may not be the most cost effective way, as window installation could be a major project and rather expensive.  It may also be an option unavailable to you if you are in a rental property.

Barring that option, you can try to bring a bit more light in through other ways.  Open up windows fully in adjacent rooms, paint walls in light colors, and you can even use large mirrors to try and direct some of that sunlight towards your kitchen.

Hanging and Overhead Lighting

The typical kitchen design often includes an overhead light source.  These may be overhead light fixtures such as a fluorescent installation, or an arrangement of bulbs.  Hanging lamps are another way that offers an attractive design that can offer great functionality in a kitchen.

The ideal placement for any hanging arrangement should be one that descends over and directly lights the important areas of your kitchen.  Areas like your sink, food prep counters, and your oven range are all proper candidates where you should install a hanging light arrangement.  You’ll want them installed above head level but close enough that the benefit of their light is centered exactly where you need it, such as over a serving counter so you can easily see if those steaks are cooked to your perfect medium rare (or any other preferred doneness).

Recessed and Under-Cabinet Lighting

One of the most popular trends in home and kitchen lighting design is the use of recessed and under-cabinet lighting schemes.  These lighting designs are commonly seen in art galleries, helping to illuminate portraits and sculptures.  Their use in home design intends to bring home some of the elegance of an art gallery.

They can certainly help a kitchen achieve a very streamlined look, bringing home the feel of a professional restaurant’s kitchen.  For the do-it-yourself crowd installing these are often to be considered quite easy to do.

Remember the function

Remember that the placement of any lights in a kitchen should focus on the functionality of the room and do little to impede it.  It’s the reason that most lighting designs use hanging or recessed ceiling lights. The last thing you want in a kitchen is a lamp on your counter, you may accidentally tip the lamp and you certainly don’t want to be serving your food with shards of glass.

Of course, how you design a lighting scheme in your home is something that should be catered to your tastes as an individual.  Energize your kitchen life and bring a little bit more light into your home, by yourself or with the help of a professional.

Ross Donald is a freelance writer and design expert with the home and outdoor lighting specialists at LightingSale.com.  Ross loves working with people to design their ideal home and understands how important it is to feel both safe and comfortable in your four walls.