Lights can save lives. A 2021 meta-analysis of 28 studies found that a lack of lighting in the home was tied to worse health outcomes, including higher rates of depression.  

However, you can’t just hang up a bunch of lightbulbs in your home and expect to get healthier. When you are implementing a kitchen lighting design you need to be smart. You have to be mindful of kitchen lighting mistakes and take steps to avoid them.  

What kind of lights should you install in your kitchen in Santaluz? Where should these lights go? How can you save money and optimize lighting for your health?  

Let’s go over some of the more common kitchen lighting mistakes and how you can make sure you don’t fall into the same trap. 

Relying on One Light Fixture 

Many people with small kitchens opt for one light fixture. They assume that a large chandelier or a group of track lights will provide them with all the light they need.  

It is true that a small kitchen does not require dozens of lightbulbs. Yet, you should select a few kitchen light fixtures, so all parts of the room are illuminated. A large chandelier may not provide enough light for your walls and flooring.  

Take a look at your kitchen before you look at options for kitchen lights. If there is one part of your room that is dark, you should install a light there. 

Forgetting About Task Lights 

The best kitchen lighting setup will have layers of lights. Many Santaluz homeowners focus on ambient lighting providing enough light that they can see everything clearly.  

Task lights can be just as important as ambient ones. Task fixtures focus on work areas so you can have enough light to perform a task without straining your eyes.  

At a minimum, you should place task lights over your stove and oven. You should also place a light over the area where you cut produce, mix ingredients and run appliances. You may want to place small lights in your cabinets so you can see inside them.  

Highlighting the Wrong Spots 

Though you should put task lights in essential areas, you should not put them in every location. You probably do not need extra light over your sink, so avoid putting a fixture there.  

Accent lights are decorative lights that call a visitor’s attention to a part of your kitchen. It is okay to put an accent light over your dining area, but don’t install a big fixture that will cast light throughout your kitchen, as you risk diverting your visitor’s attention.  

You should also avoid installing multiple accent fixtures in your space. If you already have a fixture over your table, you should not put one over your refrigerator. This will be too distracting. 

Selecting Disproportionate Fixtures 

Your fixtures should match the proportions of the objects in your kitchen. Placing a tiny pendant light over a big table can be jarring, or make the room seem bigger than it is.  

You can find the right fixture to put over a table by measuring the table’s width. Pick a fixture with a diameter that is 10 to 14 inches shorter than the width.  

For ambient and pendant fixtures, you should measure the width and height of your Santaluz kitchen in feet. Convert the numbers into inches and find a fixture with roughly the same dimensions.  

Opting for Bright Bulbs 

You may assume that the more light you have the better your kitchen will be. However, very bright lights can induce headaches and eye pain, especially in people with light sensitivity.  

Using layers of light should help you avoid over-illuminating your kitchen. If you feel like you have too much light you can add dimmers to your bulbs. You can adjust the dimmers when you want a little extra light for reading or examining ingredients.  

Spending Too Much on Your Kitchen Light Fixtures 

You can keep your kitchen lighting budget down by following a few steps. Avoid placing too many fixtures or too many lightbulbs in your Santaluz kitchen.  

All of your fixtures should have LED bulbs in them. These bulbs last 25% longer on average than incandescent bulbs and they use less electricity. 

You can also opt to install LED strips in your home, especially underneath your kitchen cabinets. Hire a company to install your LED lights, as you risk damaging your lights if you install them yourself. 

Missing Out on Natural Light 

Natural light offers many benefits that electric lights cannot provide. You can obtain substantial health benefits from sunlight because sunlight prompts the body to produce vitamin D. You can treat natural light as an extra layer of light and might be able to avoid buying an ambient fixture if you have enough sunlight. 

If you have a piece of furniture in front of your windows, move it out of the way. During the day open your curtains so the light can shine inside your kitchen. Use your natural light as a starting point and add fixtures to illuminate areas that it doesn’t reach. 

If you like, you can place another window or renovate your window frames so you can let more light in. Skylights face toward the sky, so they can let in a lot of light at once. You can install mirrors or window frames to cast light toward particular spots. 

Avoiding Kitchen Lighting Mistakes in Santaluz 

You can easily avoid kitchen lighting mistakes. You should create three layers of lights, using several fixtures to illuminate all parts of your room. Task lights highlight work areas, yet you shouldn’t put them all over the room.  

Your fixtures should match the size of your Santaluz kitchen. Though you need enough light to see everything, you shouldn’t install very bright bulbs. Feel free to use LEDs and natural light as light sources.  

Go to the experts on kitchen lights when you need help. Lighting Distinctions serves the Santaluz area. Contact us today.