Welcome to our gallery featuring kitchen lighting ideas!
The kitchen is perhaps the most important room to have excellent lighting.
Kitchens are used for a multitude of activities and most of them require being able to see well – making the lighting choice a pivotal one. Many kitchens end up using a combination of light styles to create a bright, inviting environment.
Here we have compiled a list of lighting ideas broken into categories for easy navigation: hanging lights, dome lights, rail lighting, recessed lighting, skylights, under-counter or under-cabinet lighting, vent hood lighting, and wall-mounted lighting.
Each of these categories offers something different to a kitchen depending on style choice and design. Hanging lights, also known as pendant lights, are easily the most versatile. Coming in an astounding array of designs, these lights can fit in any space and are available in many sizes. They can diffuse light throughout the room, or create spotlights to highlight a specific area.
Some examples of single-origin coffee are Sea Island Coffee, Small Batch Ethiopia Nano Challa coffee, Peet’s Guatemala San Sebastian coffee, or Monsoon Malabar coffee. Each of these single-origin coffees has unique flavor notes endemic to the region from which it originates.
Of course, as known to all some brands like Philips/Lifx/Sengled/Lohasled offer a lot of smart bulbs nowadays which would also add scores of to your decoration, we may talk about in suitable time.
Dome lights are a classic choice for many rooms, not just the kitchen, though dome lights don’t have to come in the unattractive design you are probably imagining. Just like hanging lights, they can come in many different sizes and styles!
Rail lights, or track lighting as they are also known, are the most customizable of the options. Easily moveable, they can be adjusted and changed depending on where light is needed.
For an all-over glow or to show off a feature of the kitchen, recessed lighting is the way to go. Recessed lighting can be subtle or bold, simple or bright and colorful. It doesn’t have to just be in the ceiling either, you can recess lighting around walls, cabinets, and even in an island (we have a cool example of this)!
Skylights are a great option if you want to rely on natural light during the day. Sunlight is a preferred lighting method for most people as it shows the truest colors and can show off subtle hues in a kitchen that may be lost under artificial lighting.
Under-cabinet lighting is the best way to get the lighting to darker countertops when overhead cabinets shade them. It can also help to highlight and show off a gorgeous countertop.
Vent hood lighting is a unique and creative addition to a kitchen. Many of them are used strictly to light up a cooktop or work area but some of them actually work to light up a good portion of the kitchen.
Something about wall-mounted lighting adds a bit of charm to a room, regardless of the style. Wall lamps and sconces are best for fitting lighting into tight spaces or hard-to-reach spots.
We hope that you can find something here to suit your needs! Please enjoy!
1. Hanging Lights
Pendant lighting is a great way to bring light into the center of the room and add a striking visual to the room. This type of light, with a glass enclosure, creates diffused, soft lighting that encompasses a large area of the room.
See more of this home here. Designed by Locati Architects. Photography by Roger Wade Studio.
Popular kitchen lighting ideas are pendant lights with shades, like the ones above, creating a more direct source of light onto the workspace of the island below them. This offers great lighting for the center of the kitchenbut requires more lighting around the perimeter of the room to light the entire kitchen.
See more of this home here. Source: Zillow DigsTM / Listings
These large, industrial-styled lamps create large pools of light over the island, which in turn reflects the light from the white surface. This requires subtler light around the rest of the room.
See more of this home here. Designed by John Kraemer and Sons.
This lamp is more for decoration than actual lighting, but the soft, gentle light would create a cozy intimate setting. Can lights help to light the space properly for working and cooking?
See our in-depth review of this kitchen design.
These lights are also more for decoration and would create interesting shadow patterns on the walls. Clear bulbs would offer stark, bright lighting to the room creating plenty of light for the dining table below.
See more of this home here. Designed by SAOTA.
These delicate pendant lights add a whimsical touch seen throughout this kitchen. Though beautiful these lights would create soft pools of light on the island but would do little to light the rest of the room on their own.
See more of this home here. Designed by Miller and Miller Real Estate.
These stark, monochromatic pendants are great visual additions to this striking kitchen. The white shades offer a nice diffused light throughout the room.
See more of this home here. Designed by Jane Lockhart Interior Design.
These classy and sophisticated lights add a delicate touch to this room. The crystal clear bulbs illuminate the space with bright, clean light, requiring very little extra lighting.
See more of this home here. Designed by Oliver Burns.
Less for extensive lighting and more for decorative, intimate lighting, this lamp creates a striking contrast to the bright white of the surrounding cabinetry.
This sleek and minimal pendant light creates a clean, bright light for the space that requires little extra lighting. Reflective surfaces help to extend the reach of the lighting.
See more of this home here. Designed by Base Architecture.
The simple and structural design makes these lights interesting and creates a cool visual that fits in with the rest of this striking kitchen. The frosted white sides of the cube shades make for a soft, ambient glow.
These narrow, gilded lights highlight the breakfast bar and complement the warm glow of the kitchen while standing out against the cabinetry. The narrow shades create a spotlight on the counter, showing off the patterning on the granite countertops.
See more of this home here. Designed by DLB Custom Home Design.
This modern, minimal hanging light creates an interesting visual of the precise lines of this kitchen. Frosted tubes cast a subtle glow to illuminate both functional areas of the room.
These multi-colored pendants cast a warm, cozy glow over the granite counters of this expansive kitchen. The assistance of recessed can lighting helps to light the work surfaces and areas that the pendant lights can’t reach.
See more of this home here. Designed by Antarya Design.
These sleek, streamlined bar lights, complete the minimalist style of this kitchen. The highly reflective surface of the stainless steel counter helps give the light an ambient quality that suffuses the entire kitchen with light.
See more of this home here. Designed by Patkau Architects.
These shiny brass lights make a stunning statement against the black subway tile of this monochromatic kitchen. Golden light reflects from the insides of the pendant lights and warms up the stark kitchen colors.
2. Chandeliers
A stunning chandelier brings this already marvelous kitchen to a whole different level. The reflective crystals create a stunning light display on the countertops and walls.
Source: Zillow DigsTM
A uniquely designed wrought iron chandelier makes a striking centerpiece in this room. The twinkling lights illuminate the room well, added to by additional can lights to light up the perimeter workspaces.
In such a modern, colorful kitchen this angular chandelier is a perfect fit. The many layers and pieces layer to create a warm glow that emanates from within and lights the table below well.
Source: Zillow DigsTM
Even in a small kitchen like this, a nice chandelier can heighten the appeal of the room considerably. Directional lights ensure that the entire room is lit evenly with a nice glow.
3. Dome Lights
Sometimes just a simple dome light is enough to fill a space with light. This one sits on a pedestal, allowing light to emanate from all sides of the light and reflect off the ceiling, creating a more ambient glow.
Dome lights aren’t only reserved for small fixtures, this large lattice light is a great example of that. This fixture is large enough to light the entire kitchen almost by itself.
Little square lights continue the monochromatic coloring of this room right up to the ceiling. Bright, clean light can be directed by pivoting the light socket which is a good feature to ensure that every surface can get enough light.
Pivoting dome lights create multiple pools of light around the kitchen. This creates an interesting pattern of light and shadow along the surfaces but allows for light to be adjusted to where one needs it while working.
See more of this home here. Designed by Ippolito Fleitz Group.
4. Rail Lighting
Railing lighting, also known as track lighting, allows for lights to be placed at the discretion of the installer. This means that one can decide where the most concentrated light is needed and place or angle lights as needed. This can create even lighting throughout the space.
See more of this home here. Available on AirBnB.ca
5. Recessed Lighting
Recessed lighting helps to create a great ambient glow around the room and ensures that every space is well-lit. Can lights are a common form of recessed lighting, as seen here?
Here is an example of larger recessed lighting, filling this whole space with bright, spacious light. Covering a larger area, it reflects off the white surfaces of this airy kitchen and fills the room with more light.
This kitchen shows two different types of recessed lighting – the ambient blue lighting and the smaller can lights in the ceiling. These can lights create pools of light around the kitchen while the blue lights create an interesting visual when viewed against the burgundy color scheme of the rest of the room.
Small can lights are recessed into the recessed ceiling, which in turn is surrounded by bars of recessed lighting creating both a subtle ambient glow and pools of bright white light around the room. The spotlights show off the gorgeous granite, as well as lighting up the surfaces used for working and eating.
Source: Zillow DigsTM
Recessed lighting along the inner edge of the ceiling arch works to highlight the unique feature of this kitchen. It offers a soft ambient glow to the room while the can lights illuminate the rest of the room.
This room has so much recessed lighting – where do we start? The lighting hidden under the dropped panel of the in-ceiling stove hood is an excellent way to show off this little seen feature. The black island would be a statement piece by itself but the addition of recessed lighting gives it an extra intriguing touch. The most interesting feature is the recessed lighting surrounding the cabinets. This adds an interesting highlight to a rather plain area of the kitchen.
See more of this home here. Designed by David James Architects.
6. Skylights
Large skylights open this room up to plenty of natural light and allow the subtle textures and colors of the walls and floor to showcase. White walls help to reflect the light around the room, filling the space with even more light.
See more of this home here. Designed by Robson Rak Architects.
One large skylight in this room brightens up the space considerably while can lights help to brighten up the counter space better for those working in the kitchen.
A large skylight is the main source of light in this sleek, minimalist kitchen during the day, but in the evening this fun, bubble-shaped lights fill the room with a soft, glowing light.
See more of this home here. Designed by Base Architecture.
7. Under Counter or Under Cabinet Lighting
Under cabinet lighting can be a great way to get direct light to counters. It is also a nice way to highlight a beautiful design feature; these particular lights cast a lovely golden glow onto the cupboards and countertops.
See more of this home here. Designed by JM Architecture.
These uniquely shaped spotlights do a great job of lighting up the countertop of this little tea corner with soft, white light. The glossy white backsplash helps to diffuse reflected light around the space as well.
These little spotlights add a subtle glow to the counter space for better lighting. The upper cabinets, with their backlit glass doors, make for a great place to display collectibles or fancy kitchen pieces.
These above-cabinet lights create a highlight for the lovely natural wood cabinets that take center stage in this kitchen. The puddles of light also brighten up the granite counters – showing off the flecks of color in them.
This funky, recessed lighting also illuminates the countertops and cabinetry in this modern kitchen. The bright green accent wall creates a fun contrast to the white and beige tones of this room.
This kitchen is full of interesting lighting fixtures. The under-cabinet lights do a great job of illuminating the counters and the kitchen as a whole. Small spotlights in the ceiling make up for what the cabinet lights can’t reach. The creative hanging lights over the island offer great directional light.
8. Vent Hood Lighting
The overall lighting in this room is stellar, but the highlight of the room is the stunning light plate of the stove hood. Matching the style of the freestanding transparent wine rack, the stove hood offers a soft glow of light over the island and the rest of the room.
See more of this home here. Designed by +Modern Design.
The four small, but bright, spotlights in this stove hood ensure that the cooktop is well-lit and the small breakfast bar of the island is lit as well. The impressive amount of white in this kitchen reflects so much from the recessed lighting in the ceiling that the stove hood lights are only necessary for the cooktop.
9. Wall Mounted Lighting
Gold accents in this kitchen offer it a generous touch of sophistication. The black-shaded lamps highlight the mirrored doors along the wall and create puddles of light on either side of the doorway. Under cabinet lighting and soft can lights help to suffuse the room with plenty of light.
See more of this home here. Designed by Brain Factory.
These industrial-styled utility lamps create not only an interesting feature in the kitchenbut also double as extra storage for often-used kitchen tools. The extendable arms of these lamps ensure that light can reach any part of the counter that one might be working at.
While not entirely wall-mounted, these tiny little bar lights above the cabinets create a unique and interesting light feature in this kitchen. They supply a lot of light to the kitchen as a whole but they do draw the eye up along the striking red cabinets.
Source: Zillow DigsTM
The impressive cathedral ceilings in this kitchen are illuminated by small wall sconces that help to keep the shadows away. Matching the design of the pendant light hanging from the ceiling, may not do more than cast a soft glow over the kitchen, but they highlight the vaulted arch and windows along the ceiling.
