3 Tips to Get the Best Kitchen Lighting with Spotlights

When you’re planning a kitchen renovation, you want to make sure you’ll have the right amount of lighting with options for different scenarios. The amount of lighting you’ll need to finely chop your vegetable is different from what you’ll want during a laid-back dinner with your family.

Kitchen spotlights are a popular solution to ensure you’ll get the illumination you’ll need without lighting the entire kitchen the same all at once. However, there isn’t an obvious answer as to exactly how many spotlights you should get or precisely where you should place them.

If you’re looking for some helpful advice on choosing and installing kitchen spotlights, here’s some guidance provided by lighting experts:

1. Customization to Your Space

There is no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to kitchen spotlight configuration. However, there are certain principles to help ensure light is evenly distributed as well as focused where it is most needed.

When you enter the kitchen, light should not be the first thing you notice. Light itself should not be the “star of the show” of your kitchen, instead it should be what makes the most important and enchanting features in your kitchen shine.

One trick is to put your spotlights on different circuits so that you won’t have to turn on all your spotlights at once. Instead, you’ll be able to create ambient lighting for different tasks and different moods. This may be especially important if you have a larger kitchen or one with an unusual shape.

2. Measurements 

If you’re wondering where to place your lights, you can follow a measurement that has proven wildly popular in Europe (and is easily translated into an American context): place your kitchen spotlights one meter apart in every direction. This includes one meter from where the wall meets the ceiling. 

This measurement plan will help you avoid shadows and gaps in your lighting without overcrowding. It’s especially useful in a kitchen with a standard ceiling height.

If your kitchen has tall ceilings, any ceiling slants, or skylights of any sort, follow the measurement guideline of dividing the ceiling height by 2 and then using that number to space your lights.

While this guideline may mean that your lights are not arranged in a symmetrical pattern, this will give you the lighting you need without overpowering the space. The simple fact of the matter is that in an unusually shaped kitchen, the varying angles will make it impossible to achieve perfect symmetry. What you need is lighting that will still be functional.

3. Pay Attention to Your Kitchen Zones

Some areas of your kitchen will require more lighting than others. In particular, there are areas of your kitchen layout that should be designed for preparing and cooking your dishes. For example, a kitchen island is often a workspace where you will want the spotlights evenly spaced across the working surface.

That said, other areas of your kitchen might benefit from other forms of lighting. For example, if you have a prominent art piece or an accent wall in your kitchen, you might want a directional spotlight that draws attention to that location while leaving the what immediately surrounds it in less light.

Also, if there is a space in your kitchen that’s used primarily for eating and/or for gathering with friends and family, you might want softer lighting that will evoke a more relaxed feel. You may opt for fewer spotlights while adding candlelight or just a small decorative lamp to create an understated atmosphere in that section.

Are you getting ready to remodel your kitchen? Here at RTA Wood Cabinets, we’ll offer you a FREE kitchen design to help you optimize your kitchen layout. This is a kitchen design with cabinets that you’ll love so much, you’ll be excited to illuminate them with the most beautiful kitchen lighting! 

To learn more, reach out and give us a call today at: 1-800-788-7575.