Kitchen sink lighting: Sizing & Placement.

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Distance of pendant lights over kitchen sink from wall.

Lighting a kitchen sink with window.

Sizing & placement of lights over the sink.

Lighting a kitchen sink without window

When there are no cabinets above kitchen sink without window

LED spot downlights, flush mount light fixture, track lights or a single big pendant lights are the ideal light sources for illuminating kitchen sink without window when there are no cabinets above sink.

LED spot downlights are excellent at casting light on anything directly below them. The flush mount light fixture ensures a shadowless illumination of sink as they distribute light to a much wider area that makes shadows difficult to form.

A single big pendant light is also excellent at illuminating the sink provided it is hanged at a proper height above sink. Two pendant lights can be used only when there is enough free space on the wall above sink i.e a minimum gap of 25 inches must be there between two adjacent cabinets on the wall.

If the gap is not sufficient then a single big pendant light can do the work of illuminating the sink properly while efficiently utilizing narrow the space on wall.

When there are cabinets above sink without window

If the distance between the bottom of cabinets and the sink is less, then indirect lighting can be used to illuminate the sink whereas if the distance between the bottom of cabinets and the sink is high then recessed lights can be used to illuminate the sink.

The reason for that is indirect lighting is used to add accent lighting. This lighting is of soft contrast and is not very bright. This means if indirect lighting is used from a very high position above sink the sink may not get proper illumination.

Hence, it is when the distance between the bottom of cabinets and the sink is 20 inches or less indirect lighting can be used.

Positioning & sizing of luminaries to illuminate kitchen sink

pendant lights sizing and placement over sink

The size of pendant lights over kitchen sink varies as per configuration of pendant lights i.e if two pendant lights are installed over kitchen sink, the size of each pendant light should be 3 – 4 inches wide

whereaas if a single pendant light is installed over kitchen sink then its size should be bigger i.e 6 inches and above.

Now Let’s discuss about the placement of pendant lights,

In order to illuminate the kitchen sink, pendant lights should be placed at a height of 26 – 30 inches from the sink.

For a double sink if pendant lights are used in pair then there should be a gap of 2 ft between pendant lights whereas for small sized single sink there should be hap of 1.5 ft between the pendant lights.

Apart from that there should be proper distance that pendant lights needs to maintain from the wall behind as well.

If overall lighting in kitchen is not sufficiently bright then installing a light fixture over kitchen sink is a good idea. While installing pendant lights over kitchen sink placing it at a proper distance from the walls is also important.

Distance of pendant lights over kitchen sink from wall

Ideally, for a standard size kitchen sink, the pendant lights are placed at a distance of 4 to 6 inches away from the wall so that it does not come in the way while doing work near the sink.

see image below for reference.

Not all kitchen sinks are identical. Some are placed very close to the wall while some sinks as shown in the image above are placed at a distance from the wall.

Hence, the distance of pendant lights over kitchen sink from the wall also depends on the kitchen sink placement itself.

Below is a helpful table that shows recommended pendant light distance from the wall over a kitchen sink.

kitchen sink distance from wall	pendant light distance form the wall
1 to 2 inches	6 inches
3 inches	8 inches
4 inches	9 inches
5 inches	10 inches
6 inches	12 inches

Typically kitchen sink can be found placed anywhere around 1 to 6 inches far from the wall behind. Thus, the total distance at which pendant lights are to be installed will vary accordingly.

Let’s see what happens when pendant lights are placed too close to the wall and when they are placed at a distance.

Placing lights to close to the wall.

As clearly seen in the image that light is focusing more on one point and makes that point too bright to cause glare. Therefore, placing light too close to the wall should be avoided.

However, if the situation is such that pendant light has to be placed close to the wall then adding shades to the pendant light can help to minimize this glare. Shades will prevent this focus of light and distribute all the light downwards on the sink.

When lights are placed at a distance

After placing pendant lights at a distance, the light intensity gradually decreases as it reaches towards the wall hence lights do not focus only at one point, and even spread of light occurs throughout the kitchen sink.

How window near kitchen sink impacts the distance of pendant lights from wall.

Just like a wall, glass on the windows is also a good reflector of light.

If pendant lights are placed too close to the window near kitchen sink, it can cause unwanted reflections and glares while working near the sink. However, keeping a minimum distance of 6 inches from the window can help to minimize it.

Along with that covering the glass surface of window with a curtain is a handy option to reduce unwanted glares. Fabric curtains are excellent for this purpose.

Recommended size of pendant light over kitchen sink

The total square area of a kitchen sink is small. The width of pendant light should not be more than 6 inches for kitchen sink. Pendant light bigger than 7 inches might need to be placed slightly backward which may cause the light to fall where it is not required.

Pendant lights with a width of 3 to 6 inches are ideal for placement such that light falls only where it is required. Such small also offers another advantage i.e. installing multiple pendant lights without making the space look crowded.

How many pendant lights should be installed over kitchen sink?

Generally, 2 pendant lights with a width of 3 to 6 inches can enhance the look of kitchen sink.

But most people prefer a single small pendant light of size greater than 7 inches with a shade that casts all the light exactly where it is required.

The best practices are either to use a single big pendant light or two small pendant lights over the kitchen sink. Using more than two pendant lights can make the space look crowded.

Does pendant light over kitchen sink need to be damp rated

Pouring hot water in the kitchen sink makes vapors that can immediately enter the light fixture. Hence, it is a good practice to have pendant lights over the kitchen sink damp-rated.

This will ensure that accidental splashes or moisture do not impair the working of pendant lights. Apart from that damp rated pendants are much easier to clean than normal pendants. They are also fairly resistant to dust

A simple way to check if a pendant light is damp-rated or not is to see the description of product where it says “wet location”, “waterproof”, “damp rated”.

Additional information for illuminating kitchen sink.

Lighting experts recommend around 600 to 700 lumens per square foot for a visually demanding area like a kitchen. If overall lighting in the kitchen is dull then choosing a pendant light with LED bulbs will help better illuminate the area compared to incandescent bulbs as LEDs are more bright than incandescent bulbs.

We know light intensity decreases as we move away from the source. If a pendant light illuminates 600 lumens then placing it at a height of 2 to 3 feet from the kitchen sink will not affect its intensity over the sink.

How to reduce glare

While distancing pendant lights from the wall it is also important to consider the height of pendant light at which it is going to hang. Avoid installing them near eye levels or below it. Make sure they are always placed higher than one’s height. This will help to significantly reduce glare.

Color temperature of pendant lights

kitchen is a visually demanding area hence the color temperature of lights should be in the daylight white temperature range i.e. ( 5000k – 6500k ). Proper color temperature of lights in kitchen helps improve ones working efficiency.

Again LED pendant lights are preferred choice over incandescent pendant lights. As incandescent pendant lights have a temperature range of warm white i.e. (2500k – 3000k)

Best material for pendant lights above kitchen sink.

There is moisture near the kitchen sink always, therefore, undoubtedly glass as well as plastic pendant lights are preferred over metal pendant lights.

But this does not mean that metal pendant lights cannot be used near kitchen sink. They can but make sure they are covered with paint so that moisture does not affect the look of metal.

Does pendant light over kitchen sink and kitchen island need to match.

Many modern kitchens have islands in the center. If both kitchen sink, as well as kitchen island, are illuminated with pendant lights then try to add variety in the pendant lights.

Different locations have different requirements of lighting and thus shape and size vary, also it is difficult to use the same size pendant light in the kitchen sink as the island. The size recommendation for pendant lights for kitchen sink is relatively smaller.

SIMPLIFIED CONCLUSION

• For most kitchens pendant lights can be placed at a distance of 4 to 6 inches from the wall behind.
• Don’t add more than two pendant lights. The best practice is to use one big pendant light or two small pendant lights.
• Prefer water-resistant pendant lights over normal pendant lights for kitchen sink.

Recessed lights sizing & placement over sink

Recessed lights over kitchen sink can be either 3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, or even 6 inches in width. When to use a particular size of recessed light depends upon a couple of factors.

For instance, the space available for the installation of recessed lights as well as the presence of cabinets above the sink.

If there are no cabinets above the sink and the space available on the ceiling is 20 inches or less then recessed lights of width 5 – 6 inches should be used whereas if there are cabinets above the sink, then smaller size recessed lights i.e 3 – 4 inches in width should be used.

The recessed lights that are installed on the ceiling are required to be brighter compared to recessed lights that are installed close to the sink. Hence, it is a good practice to use recessed lights of bigger size when they are to be installed on the ceiling as they are more energy efficient and provide more brightness compared to smaller size recessed lights.

Placement

When two recessed lights of 3 – 4 inches in width are installed over the sink then there should be a gap of 8 inches between the two recessed lights.

Recessed lights whether of small size or bigger, while installing them, there should be a gap of 3 inches kept from the wall. This gap helps to eliminate glare and uneven distribution of light.

Wall sconce sizing and placement over the kitchen sink

Wall scones used to illuminate the kitchen should be 4 – 5 inches in width.

Normally wall sconces are installed in pairs (individual sconce at either side of sink), but when the space above the sink is narrow a single wall sconce facing downwards can also be installed to get lighting over the sink. This individual wall sconce is generally of greater size i.e minimum of 6 inches in width.

Placement :

height above the sink = 20 – 24 inches

distance between two sconces = 26 inches.

distance between each sconce when 3 wall sconces are used = 12 inches

Track lights sizing and placement over kitchen sink

Track lights that are 3 inches wide are sufficient to illuminate the kitchen sink. Since the lighting requirement of the kitchen sink is not very high, 3 inches (8-watt) track lights can focus the light just over the sink without making it too bright.

Placement

2 track lights heads are sufficient to illuminate a double sink whereas for a small size sink only one track light head is sufficient.

Distance of track from the wall = 2 inches

(know what should be the wattage of different light fixtures over sink here.)

Lighting a Kitchen sink with window

Kitchen sink with a window gets plenty of light during day however during night, light sources are required near sink to get the required lighting. Below are the placement and sizing tips of light sources to illuminate the kitchen sink.

What light fixtures can be used to illuminate kitchen sink with window

Kitchen sink with window can be illuminated by number of different light sources for eg, recessed lights, pendant lights, wall sconces as well as track lights.

When to use a particular light fixture depends upon the positioning and size of window in the kitchen.

When to use wall sconces :

If the width of the window is smaller than the width of sink, then wall sconces can be used.

The reason for that is the way how wall sconces emit light. In order to receive proper illumination from the wall sconce, the desired area to be illuminated must be close to the light fixture. If the area to be illuminated is away from the wall sconce then the light may not reach there properly.

When the width of the window is lesser than the width of the sink there is enough space left around the window for wall sconces to be installed. Near the window and above the sink is a correct place for wall scones to act as an excellent source of light for illuminating the sink.

When to use pendant lights :

If the width of the window is bigger than that of the sink, then pendant lights can be used.

The reason for that is to maintain aesthetic aspect of the sink as well as to get required lighting properly without glares. When the width of the window is larger than the width of the sink, a light source is required that can cast light directly over the sink.

There are multiple light sources that can do it like recessed lights, track lights and pendant lights. However recessed lights and track lights have their own factors that should be considered before using them.

Pendant light on the other hand can be used as an individual light source or in pairs directly over the sink. The benefit of using pendant lights is that they provide light exactly where it is required without much loss in brightness as their adjustable hanging height plays a big role in it.

When to use recessed lights :

There are two scenarios in which recessed lights can be used over kitchen sink with window.

1. When there are too many hanging light fixtures in kitchen or ceiling height is small.
2. Recessed lights over kitchen sink can be used when the general illumination of kitchen is also done by recessed lights. If recessed lights are only installed on the ceiling above the sink, then the rest of the ceiling may look dull.

When cabinets are installed over kitchen sink either pendant lights, recessed lights or spot lights can be installed on them to illuminate the sink. If hanging light fixture like pendant lights are also used in other areas of kitchen like over the island or a chandelier on ceiling at the center of kitchen then pendant lights should be avoided over sink as there would be too many hanging light fixtures in the kitchen.

To get a minimalist look recessed lights can be used over sink. Recessed lights can be placed either at ceiling or under the cabinets.

But if there are no cabinets over sink, then recessed lights should only be used when they are also used on the ceiling for general illumination so that an overall balanced look can be achieved.

When to use track lights :

When recessed lights are used in fewer numbers i.e 4 then track lights can be added to the ceiling to illuminate the sink. While adding track lights on the ceiling, the ceiling should not get too occupied by light fixtures.

It is only when recessed lights are not used or used in a small number (1 at each corner) that track lights can be used to illuminate the sink.

In a kitchen without a window near the sink, there may be cabinets above the sink, or may not be. Now we will discuss the best light sources that can be used in these two different sink arrangements.

Which light fixture is good if the kitchen sink is on island?

If a kitchen sink is on the island then either chandelier, pendant lights, or flush mount light fixture can be used. The configuration of pendant lights over the island is explained here.

Chandelier can be used over the sink when the size of kitchen is not more than 5 feet in length. When the length of the kitchen island is large (> 6 ft), a chandelier may not look proportional over the island. In such case, multiple pendant lights should be preferred.

Apart from that, flush mount light fixtures can be used over the sink on island if there are already other hanging light fixtures in the kitchen. Due to the design of kitchen, some prefer a flush look to the ceiling. In such cases, flush-mount light fixtures should be chosen.