- 1). Recommend lighting for general illumination first. Overhead ceiling fixtures, including recessed pot lights, are important. These instruments paint a broad wash of light throughout the kitchen area. The kitchen, as the heart of the home, should be brightly lit in an even manner.
- 2). Avoid recommending florescent tube fixtures or compact florescent lamps (CFLs) for this general wash lighting, as the color tone of these types of lamps is far too cold for a warm and cozy kitchen. Incandescent and halogen lamps cast a warm light more appropriate for a kitchen.
- 3). Suggest placing the wall switches for general illumination fixtures at every entrance to the kitchen. General overhead lights should be easy to turn on and off as you enter the kitchen area, particularly in dark kitchens with few natural light sources. Placing a wall switch in the middle of the kitchen work center is also sometimes helpful to avoid unnecessary steps, particularly in very large kitchens.
- 4). Encourage inclusion of visual highlight instruments. A beautiful hanging pendant or chandelier fixture helps to reinforce the overall design of the kitchen. While these fixtures may not accomplish much in terms of providing general illumination or task lighting, they are still important.
- 5). Recommend placing any hanging pendant lights carefully so they do not interfere with views or hang so low that guests are apt to bump their heads on the instrument. Install pendant lights and chandeliers only over counters and islands for this reason.
- 6). Insist on lots of specific task lighting. Task lighting is the most important aspect of kitchen lighting. Every counter area should be "covered" with a task lighting instrument such as an under-cabinet halogen "hockey puck" light. Light the sink area and the stovetop with strong task lights as well. Florescent lights are never acceptable for task lighting: halogen lights are best.
- 7). Remember to fill in any heavy shadows cast by people standing at a task area. Avoid these annoying shadows by providing light from more than one source. If a ceiling fixture casts a shadow while you are working at the stove, add a second fixture, like a task light, directly over the stove to fill the shadow. This is a safety precaution as much as an aesthetic choice: cooks must be able to easily see what they are doing.
- 8). Install the wall switches for task lights in the most convenient and logical locations around the kitchen. Consider installing these task lights in separate zones: if meal preparation is confined to one part of the counter, there is no reason to light all of the work zones.
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