Kitchen Remodeling: The thing about lighting

Picture a room with no lights ...

Planning for lighting involves a lot of variables. How should they look? Recessed? Tracks? How many? How will they relate to your layout? Where will you stand? Where will your shadow land?

Our remodel kept part of our old kitchen layout, but extended and added to other areas. We started with 7 recessed can lights that roughly followed the inner contour of our cabinets and knew that they worked fairly well. We used this as the template in shifting a few of our light around, using the same strategy relative to the new layout. The final effect is pretty good, though we do have some shadowing under the upper cabinets (this is not a fundamental problem though because you rarely need to see super well deep in the back of a cabinet). We could later add under-counter lights to compensate if needed.

Our decision was partly financial; keeping half our existing lights as-is was a lot cheaper than doing anything else. We like the look of recessed lighting as well. Recessed lighting is somewhat directional though, so entire areas might only be illuminated by 1 or 2 of them instead of by most of them. This can lead to harsh shadows which are unpredictable without some serious CAD software. Note to self: write a kitchen planning web page. Recessed lighting is also set in place once installed, meaning you have to get it right on the first try.

Track lighting is the other major option. They have more stylistic variety and are adjustable after installation, allowing you to fine-tune them to your exact kitchen once it's finished. If you want your lights to be eye-catching, this is the way to go.

No matter your choice, err on the side of too much lighting. A kitchen's utility is seriously reduced if you can't see everything clearly. You can always hook up subsets of lights to multiple switches or to dimmers if you want a way out (or switch to lower wattage bulbs). When in doubt, put in more of them. I'd recommend at least 1 75 watt light per 25 square feet.

You will need to pick between standard or halogen bulbs. Many people prefer halogen in the kitchen for a brighter, whiter light. The technical details is the light's color temperature. Regular incandescents are about 2500-2700 K[elvin], halogens are in the 3000s somewhere and daylight is right around 5000K (though there are some decidedly cold-blue 6500K bulbs out there too). The closer to daylight, the more true color you see items in, but the less "homey" the vibe.

The kitchen lighting is also a place where I know no compromise. Marisa's stuck with me and my 5000K daylight bulbs. We did add some cool glass pendants with vintage fancy coil incandescents for mood, and everyone's happy!