Kitchen Lighting | Design & Installation

How Kitchen Lighting Works: Task, Ambient And Accent

The best kitchen lighting design combines different layers of light to suit how you use your kitchen.

Task lighting provides focused light over working areas such as worktops, sinks and hobs. Ambient lighting provides general illumination throughout the room, while accent lighting highlights features such as cabinetry, shelving or a kitchen island.

Combining these different layers creates a balanced lighting scheme that provides practical illumination while enhancing the overall kitchen design.

Kitchen Ceiling Lights And Spotlights

Kitchen ceiling lights provide the main source of illumination in many kitchens, with recessed kitchen spotlights and LED downlights particularly popular for creating an even spread of light.

Positioning is important, as poorly placed spotlights can leave shadows over worktops and preparation areas. As part of your kitchen design, we’ll plan their location around your kitchen layout to ensure the areas where you need light most are properly illuminated.

Most modern kitchen LED lighting also offers a choice of colour temperature, allowing warmer or cooler lighting to complement the style, colours and finishes of your new kitchen.

Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting

Under cabinet kitchen lighting provides direct task lighting across your kitchen worktops, helping illuminate food preparation and working areas that overhead lighting may leave in shadow.

LED strips can provide continuous, even illumination, while individual lights offer a more focused effect. As part of your wider kitchen design, we can explore the most suitable options and plan the lighting alongside your cabinetry and electrical specification for a clean, integrated finish.

Kitchen Island Lighting

The right kitchen island lighting can make your island both a practical working area and a focal point within the room.

Pendant lights are a popular option, providing useful task lighting while introducing another design feature above the island. Alternatively, recessed ceiling lights can maintain the clean lines of a more minimalist kitchen.

As part of your kitchen design, we’ll consider the size, position and use of your kitchen island, alongside the style and finish of the wider room, to help you choose the most suitable lighting.

Kitchen Wall Lights And Pendant Lighting

Wall and pendant lights can introduce softer ambient lighting and work particularly well in kitchen-dining spaces, breakfast areas and open-plan kitchens.

From contemporary fittings to more traditional designs, lighting can also introduce a contrasting material, colour or finish that complements your wider kitchen scheme.

In traditional kitchens, for example, wall and pendant lighting can be particularly effective in creating a warmer, more inviting atmosphere.

Low-Level And Plinth Lighting

Low-level kitchen LED lighting can be incorporated into plinths beneath floor units or around a kitchen island to create a subtle ambient glow.

As well as adding depth to the design, plinth lighting can provide gentle illumination when you don’t need the main kitchen lights switched on. It can be particularly effective within contemporary kitchens and linear kitchen designs, where lighting can emphasise clean lines and cabinetry.

Recessed And Accent Kitchen Lighting

Accent lighting allows individual features within your kitchen to stand out, adding depth and character to the overall design.

LED lighting can be incorporated into glazed cabinets, open shelving, niches and display areas, while subtle lighting around worktops and cabinetry can create a more architectural effect.

These smaller details can make a significant difference to the finished kitchen, which is why we consider them as part of the complete design rather than adding them as an afterthought.

Smart Kitchen Lighting Controls

Your lighting can also be designed to give you greater control over how your kitchen looks and feels throughout the day.

Dimmer switches and separate lighting zones can allow task, ambient and accent lighting to be controlled independently, while compatible smart lighting can provide additional app or voice-controlled functionality.

If smart technology is something you’re interested in, we can consider lighting controls alongside the wider electrical requirements during the design stage.

To explore more ways technology can be incorporated into your kitchen, read our guide to smart appliances in the kitchen.

Kitchen Lighting Ideas And Inspiration

With so many different kitchen lighting ideas available, deciding what will work best in your new kitchen can feel difficult.

Your kitchen size and layout, cabinetry, worktops, natural light and how you use the room can all influence the right lighting scheme. For example, lighter cabinetry and worktops can reflect more light, while darker finishes can create a different atmosphere and may influence how lighting is incorporated into the design.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, our essential guide to kitchen lighting explores the different types of lighting available, how they can work together and the key considerations when planning lighting for your new kitchen.

Kitchen Lighting As Part Of Our Full Design And Installation Service

At More Kitchens, we don’t undertake kitchen lighting or electrical works as a standalone service. Instead, lighting can be designed, specified and installed as part of our complete kitchen design and installation service, tailored to your requirements and wider kitchen design.

From initial design and specification through to installation and finishing touches, we manage your entire kitchen renovation. Your lighting can therefore be planned alongside your cabinetry, kitchen appliances, worktops and layout from the outset, helping everything work together as one complete design.

If you’re considering a complete kitchen renovation, the first step is to explore your ideas and requirements with one of our experienced kitchen designers. To get started, book a free home design appointment, or visit our kitchen showrooms in Leeds, Harrogate, Otley or Mirfield.