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As you can see from these gorgeous images, today’s kitchen is more than just an area for preparing daily meals. It has become the focal point within the home for entertaining family and friends. This kitchen evolution has also changed how lighting designers accentuate the various architectural components; allowing it to not only be an efficient workspace, but also a beautiful work or art.

In order to create the perfect look within this center space, you must achieve the proper lighting. Whether venturing to the refrigerator for a midnight snack or preparing a four-course gourmet meal, the right lighting will significantly transform your kitchen from just a place to eat, into a complete dining experience.

Here are some tips to make your kitchen shine:

• Select the most important aspects of your kitchen to light. This will usually be counter tops, islands and the dining area. These are the places where you should focus your light. Blanketing the entire kitchen in fluorescents will be overwhelming and detract from the beauty of the room.

• Lighting under cabinets should be done with care. This is a great way to shed some light on countertops, but with granite or other reflective surfaces, the illumination may shine off the counter and causing a glare.

• Add illumination above surfaces by adding upward lighting on top of refrigerators, cabinets and cupboards. Like under cabinet lighting, this prevents dark spots and shadow, but it also allows light to be reflected off the ceiling, brightening the room without a direct beam for a more natural glow.

• Lighting the dining area can be done with a single hanging lamp. Instead of surrounding the table with light, the single chandelier or lamp can create and intimate atmosphere when the rest of the kitchen lights are turned off.

• Footlights along floorboards add to both the safety and the beauty of a room. Small bulbs will cast a soft glow along the floor to light the way when getting a late night snack and they reduce shadows when used in conjunction with all other kitchen lighting.

• Using recessed lights along the ceiling is a great way to illuminate the entire kitchen while preparing a meal. With a focused beam spread, the light can be cast in the right direction to highlight in the areas where you need it most.

• Layer the lighting in your kitchen. Have lights that turn on with different switches so that you can choose whether to use the recessed lights, hanging lamps and pendants, footlights or all of the above. This will allow you the option to illuminate as little or as much as you need for anything from a romantic dinner party to a family meal.

• Don’t use too much light. Using a high wattage bulb may be too harsh and overbearing. You may want to consider a lower wattage in a softer color as white can wash out colors and strain the eye.

• Make sure your fixtures suit your needs. A beautiful pendant lamp may work to embellish your room but won’t cast enough light. Select fixtures that will add to your décor but are also functional so you get the best of both worlds.

• Work with your space, not against it. For open kitchens that connect with living rooms, make sure the lighting design flows from room to room. You may want to create individual scenes where light is more focused, but you definitely don’t want them to clash.

Cheryl Hamilton-Gray’s Kitchen was voted San Diego Home & Garden’s 15th Annual “Kitchen of The Year ” Lighting Designer: Lighting Distinctions, Photo Credits: Allen Carrasco

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