Lighting for the Kitchen...
From elegant to comfy, the kitchen in your home is often the busiest. You need lighting that is task oriented and adds personality and defines your space. Kitchen lighting is often created in layers. Ambient lighting includes recessed and surface mounted lighting that lights the room. Task lighting will spot light into a certain area and can be dimmed to provide a warm accent when you are not working in the space. Accent lighting decorates, enhancing architectural or design elements in the room OR giving a room a design element that wasn't there before.
From elegant to comfy, the kitchen in your home is often the busiest. You need lighting that is task oriented and adds personality and defines your space. Kitchen lighting is often created in layers. Ambient lighting includes recessed and surface mounted lighting that lights the room. Task lighting will spot light into a certain area and can be dimmed to provide a warm accent when you are not working in the space. Accent lighting decorates, enhancing architectural or design elements in the room OR giving a room a design element that wasn't there before.
Does your kitchen have a stand-alone bench or bench top? Does you kitchen have high ceilings? Pendant lighting fixtures are ideal for these situations. Different pendants offer different features. For instance, a glass pendant will illuminate the room, as well as the bench or counter top below. A spun metal pendant will create a pool of light below perfect for tasks or as an accent to your room.
Typically, a kitchen includes more than one type of lighting: pendants for over a bench, sink or counter; under cabinet or over cabinet strip lighting to accent areas in the kitchen and ambient lighting (either flush mount, track or recessed lighting) to provide general lighting for the entire room. Just give us a call and Lightscene will help design the lighting for your kitchen.
Typically, a kitchen includes more than one type of lighting: pendants for over a bench, sink or counter; under cabinet or over cabinet strip lighting to accent areas in the kitchen and ambient lighting (either flush mount, track or recessed lighting) to provide general lighting for the entire room. Just give us a call and Lightscene will help design the lighting for your kitchen.
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Pendants for Kitchen Spaces
A group of pendants or a singular island pendant is ideal for islands and breakfast bars, with smaller fixtures generally hung in odd numbers, and larger pendants in pairs. Keep in mind that the pendants should not prohibit those standing around the island from seeing one another. Every space is different so heights will vary, but pendants should typically be hung with the bottom of the fixture 710mm - 860mm from the counter top. Pendants can also replace ceiling lighting fixtures in room with high ceilings in which recessed lights or flush mounted fixtures won't allow the light from the fixture to reach the floor. (See Hinkley's Flecter to the right.) |
Stinson by Hinkley Lighting
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Fletcher by Hinkley Lighting
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HINT: If you are employing layers of light in your kitchen, be sure that the various lighting apparatus is on different switching. You might want to light each layer separately so you can control lights during different activities. For instance, under cabinet lighting provides great light for prepping dinner. Put the same under cabinet lighting on dimmer switch and your counter tops are softly accented.
Firebird pendants by Tech Lighting
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The Right Pendant!
There are pendants in every design, size and type, not to mention finish or glass type. There are pendants in very modern designs, like Feiss' Lexi pendant to traditional pendants like Sea Gull's Industrial Modern Pratt Street collection (see above). The Fizz pendants by Hubbardton Forge provide task lighting for the bench top below. Put these pendants on a dimmer switch and they will provide both ambient and accent lighting for your kitchen in a minimal design. The tracking lighting system by LBL Lighting lets you combine pendants and spot lighting to meet your ambient and task lighting requirements. Spots can be ordered with LED components. |
Amelia by Hinkley Lighting
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Lacey by Kichler Lighting
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Cabot by Fredrick Ramond
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How to Make the Kitchen Elegant
Chandeliers are used in kitchens as well as dining rooms and entries. Placing two large pendants or chandeliers over a bench top will add instant sophistication and turn your kitchen into an entertainment area. To add instant "glam slam" to your kitchen, consider crystal. Maybe a style like Hinkley's Casa above that matches an aesthetic. |
Regis by Fredrick Ramond
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HINT: LED LIGHTING. Some of your decorator lighting can be made with LED components. Or, use a LED light bulb in an E27 socket or use a LED light bulb in a G9 socket. There are even full glass E12 LED lamps in different brightness choices and shapes. Choosing a LED light bulb gives you the opportunity to choose your own LED temperature, allowing you to adjust the bulb's color to your personal taste. TLC will help select the best option for your requirements.
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Going Contemporary?
American lighting designers are redefining modern with LED pendants. For instance, the mini Facette by LBL Lighting whispers sophisticated elegance. Light flows through hundreds of triangular facets at the bottom of the elongated shade, with the upper portion being purposefully masked with texturized paint to draw the eye toward the light. (shown left). |
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Decorating with Light!
You can choose a lighting collection and add an aesthetic to your kitchen. Since a kitchen is often surrounded by family and entertaining areas, decorating your kitchen with lighting allows you to keep your walls free for cabinetry and counters uncluttered. Lighting can also allow you to take a plain room and add instant pizzazz. To the right, Kichler Aster collection is a modernized traditional European orb with ribbed glass domes. The structure is clean and simple, but adds elegance in a Natural Brass or a Polished Nickel finish. |
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Kichler's Everly pendants features many sizes of shapes of Italian jar glass with single or multiples.
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Hinkley's Charlotte collection is a traditional Mid-Century look with off-white textured shades.
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Hubbardton Forge's Fizz collection with clear bubble glass and a spun brass collar!
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LBL Lighting's Duke Grande collection... A glass shade is edge-lit with LEDs with glass beads (fizz) or Silver Mica flakes which are embedded within.
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Hinkley's Amelia collection. Lots of different sizes in spun and finished metal shades, glass shades in a variety of metal finish options.
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Hubbardton Forge's Erlenmeyer collection. Custom made with thick glass and metal finishes in a variety of combinations and finishes.
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Feiss' Hobson collection. Pendants in many sizes, multi-pendant combinations in metal and glass shades. There are several finish options.
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Cadence pendants from Hubbardton Forge... gentle curves of steel surround an oval orb (your choice of glass and finish).
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Vermont Modern's Hook, Vine & Sinker... pendant trio ... perfect for a kitchenette. Choices of colorful cords and finish options.
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Sea Gull Lighting's Pratt Street collection. Pratt Street is a very industrial modern design, in glass and metal shades in choices of finish colors.
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Feiss' Lucia collection. The Lucia lighting collection by Feiss is a completely fresh, contemporary take on crystal light fixtures.
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Feiss' Waveform collection. Clear blown glass closed at the bottom is accented by vacuum-plated metal at the cone. Chose from finishes.
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