Welcome to the first episode of the Light My nest podcast!

Today I’m talking about the basics of kitchen lighting design. One of the things I enjoy the most about my job is that I get to visit and see so many really amazing homes. Homes that need a lighting fix. The thing is that most people see and buy their homes in daylight. I can’t tell you, just how many times I’ve heard the following: ”We have this open floor plan with lots of skylights, large windows and an amazing view. I love my kitchen during the daytime, but at night it feels like a dungeon. When I go out there and take a look I see something like a 24’ ceiling with recessed lights that struggle to illuminate the room, and that’s it for lighting the space. It might look wonderfully minimal, but it for sure isn’t working. If you just got a new kitchen, you spent days on end choosing the right tone of granite, woods for the cabinet and tile. And now you can’t even see it all properly at night when you want to spend time there or you are having people over! That’s a crying shame. You’d be amazed, how much difference lighting can do. The right lighting can bring out all the nuances and color in the granite or tile. It is comfortable and invites to linger – or do the opposite, make you want to get out of there (think fast food restaurant vs. restaurant) So, let’s get started on how to do it right. One of the first things you do when you lay out a lighting plan is to find out the activities that take place in the space and go from there. It's just a fact: the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is also usually the busiest room of the house The Kitchen is today's gathering place for friends and family. It’s not only used for cooking, but also for visiting with friends, home work, reading the paper and just relaxing. At our house it seems always to be the place where everyone ends up while dinner is being prepared. No matter how many comfy armchairs the living has to offer or how nice the deck is on a summer evening, everybody is crowded into the kitchen. Ok, but now to the basics of a good lighting design One of the things you’ll hear me say A LOT is: One light can’t do the job by itself Create layers of light Just like in any other living space it is important to create multiple layers of light in the kitchen. Task, ambient, accent and decorative lighting will together create the inviting atmosphere you want. Task Lighting Don’t settle for poor task lights in the kitchen. (If you use the kitchen for serious cooking, treat yourself to the lighting a chef would expect. And if you don’t cook much, but love to entertain - ditto.) For the work areas in your kitchen undercabinet lighting is a great way to light the counters There are a lot of choices out there: Halogen, Fluorescent, Xenon and LED, linear lights, puck lights or tape lighting. Here I’ll only give you the short version of their individual virtues: Halogen Halogen provides excellent task lighting and really brings out the color and sparkle in granite and other surfaces. The clean, white light offers illumination that is hard to beat. The drawback of halogen lighting is the heat it produces. In a kitchen this could be a turn-off. Xenon Xenon lamps (bulbs) look almost identical to their Halogen counterparts. Xenon and Halogen are two types of fill gas. Xenon runs a tad cooler but still nowhere near fluorescents or LED. Fluorescent Fluorescent under cabinet lights have a bad rep. Most of us still remember the cheap garage lights that flickered and hummed, and made us look sickly. If you haven’t checked out fluorescent lights lately you are in for a surprise. Recent advances in the technology of fluorescent lights have made them an excellent option. LED Cool, long lasting, super energy efficient. What is there not to love about LED? Maybe the price, but that’s coming down rapidly as we speak. LED has so much to offer. The main advantage is the incredible savings in energy and the long life span. In addition LEDs generate very little heat, which is a major plus in a kitchen. Add to that the advantages of a tiny footprint, choices of color temperature and color rendering and virtually no maintenance and you see, why we are in love. How much light do I need on the countertop? At a minimum 125 lumens per linear foor. For a 6’ counter that’s about the same as a good old 60W incandescent bulb. Not overly bright, so you can easily up this number for your most important work areas. Pendant lights are an excellent way of providing focused task lighting onto a work surface for your island or for counters without upper cabinets. Recessed cans are generally positioned too far from the counters and the cone of light is therefore very wide and more diffused. They are great for filling in between the more direct task lights. Pendant lights over the island or counters should hang just above eye level when you are standing. (Rule of thumb: 30" above the counter. Same goes for your breakfast table. 30”, since now you are seated and the table is lower. You can add to that for very large rooms with high ceilings. Choose fixtures with with diffusers that soften the glare of a naked bulb. Other issues to look out for are hot spots where you see the reflection of the individual diodes on you counter top and multiple surface shadows. With very shiny surfaces you might want to choose lights where the lamps are shielded more. Ambient Lighting is the soft, general light that fills the space with an inviting glow. In a kitchen it is often recessed lights or a diffused overhead light, but you can add wall sconces, or linear lighting on top of a cabinet that acts as general lighting for the room. Ambient lighting is not intended to stand out or make it on its own. Too often we see recessed cans used exclusively to light a kitchen. The problem with light coming only from above is that it gives such a bland atmosphere – just like a hospital waiting room. Track Lighting is wonderful – when used correctly. But one of the most common issues we face with our remodel clients is track that is in the wrong place. If you are trying to get light in a lot of places, like in a kitchen with all the counters and cabinets, it is tempting to just put up a track with a bunch of heads that can be aimed in all directions. The problem is just that you will inevitably look into at least one glaring spot at any given time. In addition you will most likely block the light when you open a cabinet. And then we have the “Swiss Cheese Effect” – too many recessed lights in a room – don’t do it! Accent Lighting adds drama and that little extra perk. Track lights and adjustable recessed cans highlight what you treasure from artwork to a collection of canisters, a natural stone fireplace or other interesting architectural features. The light that bounces back into the room is a pleasant addition to the overall lighting and shouldn’t create unpleasant glare if directed properly. With its slender profile LED tape lighting fits into a lot of places and is a quick, inexpensive way of adding pizzazz to a kitchen. Decorative lighting is the diva among in the room. The unique focal point that pretends to be the only light source around. It’s the fun, magical chandelier or a unique pendant light that add charm and character. With some help from strategically placed spotlights this piece can take center stage even without carrying the heavy load. The secret with all the layers of light is that none of these fixtures could make it on its own, but as a team they make a room shine. So, how much light do I need for my kitchen? How many watts or lumens? Well, the amount of watts is not going to be helpful, since the different lamp types use so vastly different amounts of energy. A kitchen lit only with LEDs would use a lot less watts than a kitchen lit with incandescent bulbs. That’s the reason we go by lumens. And we actually calculate the amount of light needed for each surface by measuring footcandles. I’ll spare you these complicated calculations here and just give you some quick and dirty guidelines The minimum amount of lumens recommended for kitchens by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). Dining table 315 lumens Counters 360 lumens Range 450 lumens Sink 450 lumens Pantry 1080 lumens 8’ x 10’ Kitchen 4810 lumens Do keep in mind that this is the minimum. The kitchen asks for effective lighting at a fairly bright level for tasks as well as decorative lighting to create an inviting, livable space. Recessed downlights can assure even illumination of the kitchen, but please, please don't ask them to do the job all by themselves! Lighting coming just from above creates a bland, hospital-waiting-room feel. You can do better than that! Decorative pendant lights are ideal for lighting an island while adding your personal style to the decor. Depending on the size of the island, two or three pendant lights are usually sufficient. A dimmer switch allows for bright task lighting for food preparation or homework, while allowing the lights to be lowered for atmosphere. Please note: Kitchen counters and other work areas need to be well lit and free of shadows. Under-cabinet lighting strips provide effective task lighting. If at all possible mount the lights at the front edge of the cabinet. The lights should, however, be shielded so that you don't look into bright lights while sitting at the breakfast or dining table. Under-cabinet Kitchen Lighting – at least 125 lumens per ft. Please note that there can be a huge difference between cheap LED strips or pucks and the quality brands. A friend of mine just proudly showed off her new kitchen with beautiful cabinetry, but once she turned on the in-cabinet puck lights, she had bought for $6.95 at a local hardware store the entire place took on a sickly hue. I'm all for saving energy, but not for the cheap shortcuts that don't do the job they promise to do. Fluorescent lighting fixtures are suitable because they are efficient. They do not put out much heat and they create an even light, and with the newer electronic ballasts, they do not flicker or hum anymore. Yes, they have a bad rep, but I think it is in many cases unjustified. Of course they are now being pushed aside by LED fixtures. LED undercabinet lights are very popular now and will probably own the scene in a few years and it's easy to see why: Super slim in profile LED strips or puck lights can virtually disappear while providing plenty of light for a kitchen counter. The sink needs good lighting. It is after all one of the most used area in the kitchen. Recessed downlights or pendants work well if there are no overhead cabinets for undercabinet lighting. The built-in lighting in the range hood should accommodate at least a 60W bulb. A breakfast area is also frequently used for reading, so good overhead light is a must. Here the decor determines the style: from chandeliers to high-tech flexible track lighting with colorful pendants the choice is yours. As with dining tables, the light over the breakfast table should also hang approximately 30? above the table so you can see under it when seated and it yet hangs low enough to embrace the area with a warm, inviting glow. If your kitchen and dining area are within the same open area it is important to have the kitchen lights on a dimmer, so you can focus the eyes on the beautiful dining table and away from the pots and pans used to prepare the dinner. In a contemporary kitchen, a low voltage monorail with a variety of track heads and colorful glass mini-pendants can run through the work and dining areas without interruption of design. The spots can highlight decorative features in the kitchen like a collection of colorful canisters on top of the cabinets. At the same time they provide general, ambient light. Good general lighting is needed for all casual activities. It permits comfortable clean-up and easy view into drawers. Recessed downlights are a good choice. An important little point to pay attention to is the use of low voltage pendants in a kitchen that is REALLY used for cooking. Cooking grease and low voltage connections don't mix well. With a downdraft range without a hood I found out the hard way! But moving the fixture just a few feet away from the cooktop took care of the problem. With the open floor plan, the kitchen design and décor has changed as well. The kitchen is more like an extension of the rest of the living spaces and therefore the Try to think about the general feel of your home and continue the color temperature of the lighting from other areas of the house into the kitchen. Here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a lot of the homes have lots of saturated colors, rough materials, natural stone and dark woods. All these factors are so important to pay attention to when you choose your light sources. Everything I mentioned above calls for a lot more more light than you’d need in purely white surroundings. A warmer color temperature of the light will look more natural and create a warm atmosphere. The incandescent lamps that are being phased out had a color temperature of 2700K, which is the number you’d find on the box when you now look for a replacement lamp. This would be a good choice for this kind of project. We are just doing the lighting for a wonderful contemporary completely white kitchen. Here we chose a much cooler color temperature, so the light wouldn’t tint the surfaces yellow.