The Importance of Good Kitchen Lighting

The kitchen is the heart of many homes, and it’s no surprise that it gets plenty of use every day as you prepare and serve meals to your family and friends. But if you don’t have good kitchen lighting, cooking can be an uncomfortable and annoying experience. Don’t let that happen! Instead, make sure you have the right kind of lighting before you start cooking in the kitchen. Here are five reasons why good kitchen lighting is important.

A brightly-lit work area that maximizes your visibility  

Good kitchen lighting can be as simple as turning on your overhead light and pointing it in your direction. In fact, many chefs suggest that you install a dimmer switch if you don’t already have one so that you can brighten or darken your space depending on what task is at hand. Beyond good posture, proper lighting also prevents cross-contamination—when raw meat. For example, touches vegetables or other cooked foods. Good kitchen lighting can help prevent food-borne illnesses by ensuring that everything stays separated.

Ensures your safety while cooking

The first reason a well-lit kitchen is important is to ensure your safety while cooking. Having good lighting in a kitchen helps you avoid cutting yourself on sharp knives, as well as seeing other possible hazards. While it may seem that bright lights are more dangerous than dim ones, studies have shown that people actually use less light in rooms with high natural light and therefore reduce their exposure to dangerous rays. That being said, one reason it’s essential to have good lighting in your work area is to avoid using more energy than necessary, which can greatly add up at the end of every month.

Food preparation is easy and efficient 

Let’s face it: kitchen lighting isn’t something most of us give much thought to. But that’s why I love good kitchen lighting—it makes food preparation easy and efficient. It helps me see what I’m cooking, and cuts down on time spent fumbling around in dark, dingy corners with my pots and pans. And when you consider that cooking is one of America’s favorite pastimes—according to a survey by The NPD Group—that matters. Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of skill or money to do something about your situation; here are five tips for getting started.

You can see the counters cracks and crevices for dirt and debris

To keep your kitchen clean and free from dirt, you need good lighting. Poorly lit spaces will show cracks and crevices for dirt and debris to hide in and make life harder for you when it’s time to scrub down after a meal. If you aren’t sure how much light you need, one thing you can do is create shadows by holding up a penny or a light-colored marker at arm’s length. Anything that casts a shadow over 2 feet tall means there’s not enough light. You can also use inexpensive LED lights as task lights on your counters, an easy way to upgrade your space without going overboard.

Makes your kitchen seem cleaner, bigger, and more fashionable

Installing good kitchen lighting will make your kitchen seem cleaner, bigger, and more fashionable. Without good lighting in your kitchen, it’s easy to feel that you’re living in a drab cave and you’ll often find yourself wanting to avoid using it as much as possible. If there’s one room in which you should never compromise on lighting quality, it’s your kitchen. Investing in high-quality lighting for your home is an absolute must if you want a brighter and more welcoming environment. Good kitchen lighting can also help reduce eye strain when cooking and looking at food. You’ll find yourself cooking with confidence, making clean-up easier too!

 Ambient lighting controls the mood in your kitchen 

Your kitchen may not be a stage, but it’s an important part of your home. It’s where you cook, it’s where you eat, and–if you’re like most people–it might be where you do some much-needed relaxation during times when your day-to-day life is getting to be too much. So, it’s no surprise that ambient lighting has been studied for its effect on mood. Most research suggests that at least 10% of a room’s lighting should come from overhead fixtures (with dimmers) and about 20% from other sources like lamps and windows.

 Draw attention to aspects of your kitchen that you like a lot

When it comes to creating a bright, cheery space for your kitchen, good lighting is essential. There are tons of different light fixtures you can invest in to make your cooking area more appealing. While you’re shopping around for kitchen lighting, there are some aspects of a kitchen that you should really start to draw attention to by making them stand out with better lighting. For example, consider how much easier it will be to work on dinner prep when all your ingredients and equipment are well-lit and clear to see. Or maybe you like hanging out in your kitchen on weekends—better lighting can make sitting down at a table easy as well as inviting!