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15 Stunning Kitchen Lighting Ideas

The center of everyone’s home is the kitchen. It seems to pull people in for good food, great conversations and even a family game night here and there. There are almost as many reasons for lighting your kitchen well as there are lights to fulfill them… from bright task lights over a working kitchen island to dimmable, soft undercabinet lights for those late-night snacks, lighting your kitchen with top style points without sacrificing function is the goal for homeowners today. Let’s look at some of our favorite kitchen lighting ideas…

Two white pendant lights with metal accents hanging over kitchen island

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Idea 1: Overhead Pendant Lights

The most typical kitchen pendant lighting ideas are task-oriented… perfect positioned to bathe your kitchen island in task light, or as ambient lighting over your kitchen table, pendant lights provide all the right stuff while looking amazing doing it. Today’s pendant lights use all kinds of materials (linen shades are typical, but you’ll also find wicker, rattan, jute and even concrete) and finishes, including dramatic two-tone finished pendants. Take care to buy the right size pendants and space them appropriately to impress your guests every time they come over.

LED under cabinet lights installed underneath kitchen cabinets

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Idea 2: Under-Cabinet Lighting

In any room, one of the primary goals should be to create layered lighting. A time-honored kitchen light fixture ideas is to add under-cabinet lighting above your countertops. These days, adding the quality of a Kichler Lighting 4U Series 4U27K30WHT under-cabinet light is super simple (everything you need is inside the fixture), though many prefer to use LED tape under the lip of their cabinets to light up their counters (LED tape requires that a driver/controller be placed somewhere, typically inside one of the cabinets). Puck lights are another option for under cabinet luminosity… but remember whichever lighting option you choose make sure that you can dim those lights when need be.

Seven recessed lights installed in kitchen ceiling

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Idea 3: Recessed Ceiling Lights

The next step to building layered lighting is adding recessed lighting. In the past, people would have ceiling cans installed to create an inset light source that lights your space evenly throughout the entire kitchen. Those were large, heavy, had to be installed when the kitchen was built, and because of all their components they were expensive they were used sparingly. These days, the DALS Lighting 5006-CC-WH recessed LED lights don’t need special cans – simply put the driver above the ceiling and clip the light in place. Running a series of these lights for your kitchen is easy to do, and when wired into a dimmer switch provides an easy way to set the mood just right.

One track light with three lights over a large kitchen island

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Idea 4: Track Lighting

One of our favorite small kitchen lighting ideas, track lighting, allows you to aim the light exactly where you need it. With our extensive inventory you can get track lighting with as many as six lighting heads – each pointed to an area where you need additional light (stoves, countertops, islands, and the like) giving you wide coverage with a single light fixture. Although you can select basic track lights that are almost all function, you can also select highly decorative track lighting like the Eglo Lighting Hornwood 43045A track light. Some of our track lights even allow you to change out the heads (lighting components) to change the beam spread (wideness of the light path) to bathe an area in light or focus in tightly on a kitchen component you love.

Two crystal chandeliers hanging over a kitchen island

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Idea 5: Statement Chandeliers

Chandeliers are at the top of our list for decorative kitchen lighting ideas. Installing one or a pair over an amazing kitchen island, kitchen table, or work prep area not only adds a powerful amount of light to your work areas but is an amazing opportunity to showcase your personal style in your kitchen space. By selecting an amazing kitchen chandelier, you create what we call an ocular magnet – a focal point that everyone identifies as they walk into your kitchen.

A kitchen with under cabinet lighting installed under cabinets

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Idea 6: Cabinet and Drawer Lights

You’ve done it before… searching through a dark cabinet to find the veggie to go with the chicken and open the can only to find out it’s not the right can. The reality is that adding light to cabinets and drawers helps everyone to find what they need quicker and get it right the first time. Adding LED cabinet lighting, like the Maxim Lighting CounterMax 89801AL cabinet light is easy, and it only takes up 0.5” in height. Trigger your in-cabinet lighting by using a motion sensor or trigger switch so that when the door is opened, the light turns on automatically.

LED tape lighting installed underneath a floating shelf in a kitchen lit up at night

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Idea 7: Shelf and Display Lighting

You can see it in real estate trends nationwide, floating, or exposed shelving in a kitchen is all the rage. Shelving that doesn’t just hold up your items, they provide a showcase for them to shine. It’s not on most people’s kitchen light fixture ideas list, but it should be… take a look at the dramatic effect that the DALS Lighting LED tape light kit has on the back of the shelving – lighting both upward and downwards by bouncing the light off the back wall. This dramatic wall wash is one way to add interesting features to your kitchen without breaking the bank, but don’t exclude mini spotlights to handle the same lighting feature.

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Idea 8: Dimmable Lights

We cannot emphasize enough how much dimmers change the lighting in your room. With a simple touch, you can lower the lighting for a romantic, candle-lit dinner for two or crank it up to 11 for the semi-annual deep cleaning. Adding a dimmer to the Kichler Lighting Winslow 44032BK pendant light seen here over the sink allows you to see perfectly well during late-night scrub-a-thons, and tone the lighting down to use as a night light when you sneak into the kitchen for a snack at midnight. Be careful though – some dimmers don’t play well with LEDs, so make sure you have dimmers that are compatible with your lamps/bulbs.

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Idea 9: Smart Kitchen Lighting

The first smart lighting device people became aware of were smart bulbs, which allow your Wi-Fi attached bulbs to be turned on/off and dimmed with either a smartphone app or using a smart home ecosystem (like Alexa, Siri, or Google Home). Soon, these bulbs weren’t just white but could change color completely. Smart switches allow the same remote access but use whatever bulbs you choose and controls them all at once. Finally, there’s a new and exciting option you should add to your kitchen ceiling lights ideas and may have never heard of before – the SkyX plug & play lighting base! Once the ceiling dock installed, it takes only 3 seconds to hang a new light fixture… and with the smart base you get full Wi-Fi control like the rest, with an interesting color-changing LED ring base.

A kitchen with under cabinet lighting installed under kitchen cabinets and a pendant light hanging over the kitchen sink

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Idea 10: Niche and Accent Lighting

Plenty of kitchen lights ideas include some specific areas that need to be lit. Enhance the architectural elements in your home like a breakfast nook, coffee station, or chopping board by adding just a little extra lighting there. The Kichler Lighting 4U Series 4U27K30WHE provides brilliant light (in 2700 Kelvin) exactly where you need it. Consider adding small spotlights or floodlights to architectural features or your favorite artwork to really make them pop! Let’s not forget that LED tape lighting can get into all the nooks and crannies, allowing lighting to come from interesting prospectives and angles for those special places in your kitchen.

Two mini pendant lights hanging over a kitchen island

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Idea 11: Task Lighting for Cooking

There are certain areas of your kitchen where there’s no such thing as having too much light. High task areas like prep stations, working kitchen islands and cooking areas all benefit from selecting the right task lighting for the job. There’s a reason that hanging gorgeous pendant lights over your kitchen island is one of the classic kitchen ceiling light ideas – it just looks amazing. The Quoizel Lighting Grant GRT1508BN pendant lights shown here add the perfect touch of nostalgic Americana to this beautiful kitchen, while providing much needed down lighting for the surface below. Other areas, like cooking spaces, don’t lend themselves to hanging fixtures – there we suggest adding gimbal lights to be able to aim your lighting perfectly over your cooking area.

Two glass cone shaped pendant lights hanging in a kitchen with lots of windows

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Idea 12: Natural Lighting

There’s a reason that the #1 thing that prospective homebuyers are looking for is “lots of natural light.” As gorgeous as our kitchen lighting is, there is no substitute for natural sunlight streaming into your kitchen. Not only does natural sunlight kick our body’s Vitamin-D system into gear, but the golden rays of the sun help fight depression and even Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Here we have the sun doing the heavy lifting in this light, airy kitchen while the Hinkley Lighting Vance 41047SK pendants take over the primary lighting duties when the sun sets.

LED Tape lights installed in kitchen cabinets

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Idea 13: Glass Cabinet Lighting

One of the best trends in kitchen cabinets these days is to use glass-fronted cabinets to show off all your fancy dishes, serving ware, or decor. Whether you love neutrals, or your collection of dishware is more eclectic, transparent glass front cabinets will do the trick. To really make your collection pop, add LED tape lighting (like the Kichler Lighting 4TI Series 4T116S30WH tape lights shown here) to the inside of your cabinets, lining each side (on a dimmer, naturally). As a bonus, this makes it so much easier for guests to find the mug they need for their afternoon tea.

Tape lighting installed underneath kitchen cabinets

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Idea 14: Toe Kick Lighting

You know that little indentation at the bottom of your cabinets? It’s called a toe kick and it’s designed to allow you to stand closer to the counter while doing tasks (while your feet can rest partially underneath the cabinet, keeping your center of gravity). Some of the best modern kitchen lighting ideas beautify this normally function-only space by adding LED tape lights. The unique glow from LED tape lighting, like the Kichler Lighting 6TI Series 6T116S27WH tape light, creates a stunning visual enhancement to your cabinets that you and your guests will savor for years to come.

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Idea 15: Breakfast Bar Lights

Although some prefer to use pendant lighting over their kitchen tables or breakfast bars, we think that linear pendants like this deserve to be on your kitchen table lighting ideas list. The Kichler Lighting Crosby linear pendant echoes the size and shape of this rectangular table, providing ample light to each and every seating position. Not only does this provide ample ambient (general) lighting, but it bathes the table in plenty of task lighting for those fine tasks like finishing algebra homework or that four-hour game of Monopoly.

As you can see, with the myriad of ways that you have available to add lighting everywhere from the toe kick to the ceiling give you a host of options to choose from. Think about these kitchen lighting ideas and pick a few that make the best sense for your space and add the much-needed layering that adds almost infinite flexibility to your lighting plan.

15 Stunning Kitchen Lighting Ideas

Idea 1: Overhead Pendant Lights

Idea 2: Under-Cabinet Lighting

Idea 3: Recessed Ceiling Lights

Idea 4: Track Lighting

Idea 5: Statement Chandeliers

Idea 6: Cabinet and Drawer Lights

Idea 7: Shelf and Display Lighting

Idea 8: Dimmable Lights

Idea 9: Smart Kitchen Lighting

Idea 10: Niche and Accent Lighting

Idea 11: Task Lighting for Cooking

Idea 12: Natural Lighting

Idea 13: Glass Cabinet Lighting

Idea 14: Toe Kick Lighting

Idea 15: Breakfast Bar Lights

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