15 Layered Kitchen Lighting Ideas for Style and Function

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.