Kitchens may or may not have island. Having an island in the kitchen may look great with proper lighting. But if there is no island in the kitchen lighting needs to be done in a different way.
To light a kitchen with no island lighting experts recommends flush mount or semi flush mount ceiling light fixtures to be used for general illumination whereas for task lighting, light sources which provide light concentrated at a small area should be used.
Generally, a kitchen is designed without island to save space and make the kichen more airy. Therefore, in such a kitchen, hanging light fixtures may make the space look less airy. Hence, a flush or semi flush mount ceiling light fixture is preferred.
For lighting the countertops of task areas, a big light source is not required because the light is required only over a small area. Therefore, light sources like recessed lights, track lights etc are used which are good at casting the light at a small area.
Having discussed what kind of light sources should be preferred to light a kitchen without island. Now let’s jump straight into some of the lighting ideas for lighting a kitchen without island
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USING ONLY RECESSED LIGHTS FOR ENTIRE KITCHEN
An easy and elegant way to illuminate kitchen with no island is to use recessed lights.
For a medium size kitchen with average ceiling height, recessed lights can be spaced evenly on the ceiling to get both general lighting as well as task lighting.
While using recessed lights their shape, size and number should be properly selected as per the needs of the kitchen.
In mudular kitchens sometimes there is dark area left above the cabinets which looks bad. There also recessed lights as well as some other light sources can be used to get rid of darker areas.
Some other examples
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USING A FLUSH MOUNT OR SEMI FLUSH MOUNT LIGHT FIXTURE
This type of lighting is suitable both for small size kitchen as well as for large size kitchens. If the kitchen is of small size then a big flush mount light can provide sufficient light for both general as well as task area.
The size of flush mount light fixture should be in accordance to the dimensions of kitchen.
It should be noted that for bigger size kitchen, additional light sources are required to illuminate the task area. If done properly a flush mount light fixture used along with other light fixtures can look exceptionally good as shown in the lighting idea below.
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ADDING NATURAL DAY LIGHT IN THE KITCHEN
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The video below demonstrates how to install skylights on the ceiling.
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ADDING PROFILE LIGHTS ON THE CEILING
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COMBINATION OF RECESSED LIGHTING & ACCENT LIGHTING
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USING SPOT LIGHTS
How to light a linear shaped kitchen without island ?
The best way to illuminate a linear kitchen without island is by illuminating the task areas and eliminating any dark spots near the countertops and cabinets.
To light the task area, first step is the illuminate the countertops. To make the lighting design efficient, light sources therefore should be placed close to the countertops. for example LED strip lights, small size recessed lights (3″ to 4″) or LED tubes that can be installed under the cabinets.
It is only if there are no cabinets in the kitchen, that the light source has to be installed away from the countertops i.e. on the ceiling.
By doing so, light sources that used less power can be utilized while maintaining proper illumination in the kitchen.
Compared to any other design of kitchen, in a linear kitchen, task lighting is much more important. That’s because every activity in a linear kitchen occurs near a fixed area close to the wall which reduces the requirement of dedicated general lighting.
That’s also true for open floor plan design layouts in which kitchen area receives illumination from other light sources aimed to illuminate specific area for eg. living area or dining area and some light reflects towards kitchen as well.
How to light an L shaped kitchen with no island
To light an L shaped kitchen without island, equal emphasis should be given to both task lighting and general illumination.
When the kitchen is designed in an L shape, the zone of focus is no longer linear i.e the activities are to be performed right in front while being aware of the other side of kitchen.
In simple terms, an L-shaped kitchen requires more attentiveness compared to a linear design kitchen.
Hence, general illumination becomes important.
To get general illumination, the best way is to install a flush mount light fixture on the ceiling.
After using the flush mount light fixture the next place to illuminate is the countertop of kitchen.
How to illuminate a U shaped kitchen with no island
Compared to an L shaped kitchen a U shaped kitchen is comparatively more attention demanding.
Since it is a proven fact that in an indoor environment bright ceiling helps to improve one’s attentiveness. From this fact, the proper lighting design for illuminating a U shaped kitchen involves, recessed lights to make the ceiling bright.
After installing recessed lights other light sources can be planned to be added in the lighting design which could be a semi flush mount light fixture or even a hanging light fixture.
By using recessed lighting for general illumination most of the lighting requirement is already completed and thus adding a variety in lighting becomes easier.
