Thursday, August 22, 2013

Kitchen Lighting: Any Advice?

I've been working out in the house this morning, trying to finish up the reinstallation of the electrical lines... And looking at our lighting plan for the kitchen, have realized that I'm not entirely satisfied that it is a good plan. So I would like some input...
 
This first drawing shows the current plan. Orange dots indicate the lights I am sure about. The three in a row will be pendant or fancy recessed lights over the dining table. The orange light over the sink is (obviously) task lighting for the sink. We are also very sure that we will put under-cabinet lights that light up the counter tops. The blue dot is a potential fan &/or task light, and the green dots are recessed lights... A window over the sink and the sliding glass door provide a lot of light. The corner where the fridge is will probably the darkest part of the room.
 
My worry is that, although I imagine we will mostly use the cabinet and sink lights, those two recessed lights won't be enough if, for whatever reason, I really want to light up the whole room.
Would it be better to install some like this?
Or will I want a couple of lights over the island? The potential  fan might kill task lighting for the island, as the blades might interfere with them, and the idea of using a fan light as a task light sounds silly, so should we just scrap the fan? We could put a couple lights over the island and have them on their own switch. Or would two good lights (or one big light) over the island be enough for the whole kitchen??? We also don't want to spend a lot of money on lighting that we won't use.
I am in the turmoil of indecision, and need to get it figured out soon. hellllllp meeeeee.......

1 comment:

Melissa B said...

Hi Wendy, I typed a comment yesterday, but i guess it didn't go through. I was just passing along the info that the "rule of thumb" for can lights is to put one every three to four feet, depending on ceiling height, if you don't want dark spots/shadowed spaces in between. (and obviously working with joist placement to keep them evenly spaced. Hope that helps.

Melissa B.