Kitchen lighting
Published
In short: a single lamp in the middle of the ceiling does not light the work area at all, because the person at the worktop stands with their back to it and casts a shadow onto the exact spot where they are cutting. That is why task lighting goes under the base of the wall units, nearer the front edge rather than the wall. It has to be decided before the build, not after: a recessed profile needs a groove in the unit base, and the supply needs a socket or a cable brought out where the unit will later stand. Once the kitchen is fitted, both jobs mean cutting into a finished door.
Why the ceiling does not help
You can test this without us and without instruments: switch on the main kitchen light, stand the way you stand when you chop, and look at the board. The shadow of your own shoulders covers the working strip, and the brighter the ceiling lamp, the sharper that shadow gets.
So task lighting is not decoration and not atmosphere. It is the only light in a kitchen that actually does a job. Everything else, from the ceiling to the lamp over the table to lit glass doors, is added on top once the main thing is covered.
Four places where light makes sense
Each option below solves a different problem, and three of the four must be planned while the kitchen is still a drawing.
Under the wall units
This is the main one. The profile sits nearer the front edge of the base rather than against the wall, so the light lands on the worktop instead of the splashback. On a unit deeper than 32 cm the difference between those two positions is visible straight away. The groove for the profile is cut in the workshop, otherwise it means cutting a finished door later.
Inside tall units
Worth having in a larder unit and in the deep cupboard under the sink, where you are looking into a dark corner. It runs off a door switch. Not essential, but it is also planned ahead, because the carcase side needs a channel for the cable.
Over an island or table
Here the light is social rather than functional: it gathers people around the table. The bottom of the fitting sits roughly 70 to 75 cm above the surface, so it does not shine into the eyes of whoever is sitting opposite. The only thing the kitchen decides is where the ceiling point goes, and that is electrical work done before fitting.
Plinth lighting
Purely decorative, a line of light at floor level. It has one practical use: at night it is enough to move around by without the main light. It goes in last and needs the plinth to keep a groove or a removable section, otherwise replacing the strip in three years means taking the bottom run apart.
What to decide before the build
Where the sockets and outlets go
The supply enters the unit from above or from the side, and the point must sit where the carcase will later hide it. Draw the line of the wall units on the wall in pencil and mark a cross where the cable comes out. That is enough to stop an electrician from leaving a cable in the middle of the splashback.
What the switch will be
Three options: a wall switch, a sensor under the unit, and a movement detector. The sensor is convenient until your hands are wet or covered in dough, at which point it stops responding, and that is the most common complaint. A movement detector in a kitchen triggers every time somebody walks past, so it belongs inside cupboards rather than under them.
What colour the light is
For the work area choose a neutral white close to daylight: warm yellow light makes it harder to judge the real colour of meat or greens. Over an island or in the plinth a warmer light suits better. The one rule is not to mix two different tones along the same run of units, because the difference between neighbouring sections shows immediately.
The short answers
A strip or a ready-made fitting?
A strip in an aluminium profile gives an even line with no visible dots and lasts longer, because the profile carries the heat away. Ready-made surface fittings go up faster and need no groove, but they light in patches and the gaps between them show on the splashback. If the kitchen is not built yet, use a profile; if you are adding light to a finished kitchen, use surface fittings.
Can lighting be added to a kitchen that is already fitted?
Yes, and it is done often. The difference is that without a groove the profile is surface mounted and sits a few millimetres below the base of the unit, and the cable has to run in trunking or be chased into the wall. It looks tidy, but not the same as a recessed line, and it is a separate job.
How much light is enough?
The guide is simple: one continuous line along the whole working strip, not two short pieces at the ends. The entire worktop between the sink and the hob should be lit, because that is where the chopping happens. If there is a dark gap wider than about 20 cm between sections, the eye notices it and you end up stepping closer to the light.
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Where to start
Tell us where the sockets are in your kitchen and we will say what can be lit without chasing the wall.
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- MEBLI DIM KUZMENKO
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