Kitchen Remodeling · Service

Kitchen lighting — stop working in your own shadow

One bright fitting in the middle of the ceiling puts your body between the light and the chopping board. Layered lighting fixes that, and it has to be set out against the cabinets rather than the room.

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In short

What is kitchen lighting installation?

Kitchen lighting installation means designing and wiring several layers rather than fitting one bright light. Task lighting sits directly over the work surfaces, ambient lighting fills the room, and accent lighting handles the rest. The specifically kitchen part of the problem is that you stand between a ceiling light and the worktop, so light coming from above and behind you creates shadow exactly where you are cutting.

Triggers

Signs you need kitchen lighting installation

You cast a shadow onto the chopping board whenever you stand at the worktop
The hob has no dedicated light other than whatever the extractor provides, and it is dim or broken
The whole kitchen runs off one switch, so it is either full brightness or nothing
Recessed downlights were installed in a grid before the cabinets went in, so several are now inside the wall units
Some fittings are noticeably warmer or cooler in colour than others because they have been replaced piecemeal
The sink is in front of a window and is unusable after dark
The island or table has no light of its own and reads as a dark hole in the middle of the room

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The job

How kitchen lighting installation actually works

Establish the layers and what each is for

Task light over the worktops, hob and sink; ambient light for general circulation; accent light for glazed cabinets, plinths or shelving. Each layer gets its own circuit and switch — that is what makes the design usable rather than decorative.

Watch for: A plan that is a grid of downlights and nothing else. It is the most commonly installed kitchen lighting scheme and it is the one that produces the shadow problem this page exists to describe.
Set out recessed fittings against the cabinets, not the room

Downlights serving worktops are positioned forward of the wall cabinets so the light lands on the front edge of the counter rather than on the cabinet doors. That means the setting-out happens against the kitchen plan, not against the centre of the ceiling.

Watch for: Downlights positioned on a symmetrical grid before the kitchen layout is fixed. Symmetry looks tidy on a ceiling plan and puts half the fittings in the wrong place once the cabinetry arrives.
Under-cabinet task lighting

Fitted towards the front underside of the wall cabinets so the light falls on the worktop rather than washing the splashback. Continuous strip gives even coverage; individual pucks give scallops on the wall behind.

Watch for: Under-cabinet lighting mounted at the back and visible in reflection off a glossy splashback. It is worth checking the driver location too — an inaccessible driver means dismantling a cabinet when it eventually fails.
Colour temperature and rendering, chosen once

Pick one colour temperature for the whole kitchen and stick to it across every layer, and pay attention to colour rendering — food and finishes look markedly different under poor-quality light.

Watch for: Mixing colour temperatures across layers, which is what happens when fittings are bought at different times. It is immediately visible and there is no way to correct it other than replacing fittings.
Switching, dimming and controls

Layers need to be switched separately and, ideally, dimmed. Dimming has to be specified with the fittings — not every LED fitting dims, and dimmer and driver compatibility is what determines whether it flickers or buzzes.

Watch for: Dimmers added later to fittings that were not specified as dimmable. Flicker and audible buzz are the usual result and the fix is usually replacing the fittings.
First fix, before anything is closed up

Cables are run to every fitting position, switch drop and under-cabinet supply while walls and ceilings are open, and the work is inspected before it is covered.

Watch for: Under-cabinet supplies forgotten at first fix. Adding them afterwards means either surface trunking or cutting into a finished splashback.
Second fix, commissioning and handover

Fittings installed, drivers positioned accessibly, dimming range set and the scheme checked at night with the room as it will actually be used.

Watch for: Signing off a lighting scheme in daylight. It tells you nothing about the thing you installed it for.

Money

What does kitchen lighting installation cost?

Driven by how many circuits are being run rather than by the fittings. Adding switched layers where none exist means chasing walls and lifting floors; extending an existing circuit is far less. Dimmable, high-colour-rendering fittings cost more than basic ones and are the part most worth spending on.

See the full kitchen lighting installation cost guide — by material, size and region →

Kitchen planning tools → Plan the layers alongside the layout.

Straight answer

When kitchen lighting installation is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

The cabinet layout is not finalised. Lighting is set out against the kitchen, not the room. Running cables and cutting ceilings before the cabinetry plan is fixed produces downlights inside wall units, and correcting it means patching a ceiling you have just finished.
You want to add dimming to fittings you already own. Not all LED fittings dim, and those that do need compatible drivers and dimmers. Retrofitting dimming to an incompatible scheme produces flicker and buzz, and the honest fix is new fittings rather than a different dimmer.
The panel is already at capacity. Adding lighting circuits to a full board turns a lighting job into an electrical service upgrade. Worth establishing before design, and it belongs with the wider electrical work rather than being discovered mid-project.
You are buying fittings before the scheme is designed. Fittings bought on appearance rarely combine into a coherent scheme, and mismatched colour temperature across layers is not correctable afterwards. Design the layers, then choose fittings to fit them.
The real problem is the daylight. If the kitchen is dark during the day, artificial lighting is treating a symptom. A window, a rooflight or opening into a brighter room addresses it, and it is worth pricing that before spending on an elaborate electrical scheme.

Your options

Types of kitchen lighting installation

Lighting products

Pendant and under-cabinet lighting product guides in the Products archive.

Kitchen problems

Bad kitchen lighting as a symptom, and what else it usually indicates.

Layout guides

Lighting is set out against the layout, so start here if the plan is not fixed.

Electrical services

General lighting installation and panel work, owned by the electrical trade.

Compare kitchen remodeling options side by side →

Before you sign

What to check when hiring for kitchen lighting installation

Will you set the fittings out against the cabinet plan, and can I see the reflected ceiling layout?

The difference between light on the worktop and light on the cabinet doors. If the answer is a ceiling grid, that is the wrong answer.
How many separately switched layers am I getting?

A scheme on one switch is not a scheme. Separate switching is what makes layered lighting usable rather than just expensive.
Are these fittings dimmable, and are the dimmers and drivers matched?

Flicker and buzz come from mismatched components, and the fix is replacing fittings rather than adjusting anything.
What colour temperature and colour rendering are you specifying, across all layers?

One temperature throughout. Mixed colour temperature is immediately visible and cannot be corrected without replacing fittings.
Where will the under-cabinet drivers sit, and are they accessible?

Drivers fail before the LEDs do. One buried inside a sealed cabinet means dismantling joinery to change a component.
Does the existing panel have capacity for the additional circuits?

Determines whether this is a lighting job or the start of a service upgrade. Better answered at survey than at first fix.
Will you walk the scheme with me at night before final sign-off?

A lighting scheme approved in daylight has not been checked. This is the only test that matters.

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Local pros

Kitchen Lighting Installation near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Kitchen Island Installation

Pendant and task light over an island

Backsplash Installation

Under-cabinet light changes how tile reads

Kitchen Remodel

When lighting is designed in from the start

Budget Kitchen Remodel

Lighting is the most under-rated budget upgrade

All kitchen remodeling services →

FAQ

Kitchen Lighting Installation — questions people ask

Still have a question? Talk to our team →

What lighting does a kitchen actually need?

Three layers, separately switched. Task lighting directly over the worktops, hob and sink so that you are not working in your own shadow; ambient lighting so the room is comfortable to be in when nobody is cooking; and accent lighting for anything you want to draw attention to. A single central fitting cannot do any of these jobs well, which is why it is the most common complaint in kitchens that were otherwise well built.

Where should under-cabinet lights go?

Towards the front underside of the wall cabinets, so the light falls onto the working surface rather than washing down the splashback. Mounted at the back, they light the tile and reflect into your eyes off a glossy surface. Continuous strip gives even coverage across the run; individual pucks are cheaper but produce visible scallops of light and shadow along the backsplash.

How many recessed downlights does a kitchen need?

It is the wrong question, and answering it with a number is how kitchens end up with a symmetrical grid that lights the cabinet doors. Position matters far more than count: fittings serving the worktops sit forward of the wall units, and the rest are placed for circulation. A designer or electrician who asks to see the kitchen plan before answering is giving you a better answer than one who quotes a quantity.

Should kitchen lighting be warm or cool?

Whichever you prefer, applied consistently. The mistake is not the temperature but the mixture — layers bought at different times end up visibly different, and there is no correction short of replacing fittings. Colour rendering is the specification worth more attention than temperature: under poor-quality light, food and finishes look noticeably wrong, and it is the thing people notice without being able to name it.

Do I need an electrician, or is this a DIY job?

Adding, extending or altering kitchen circuits is regulated work in most jurisdictions and is inspected. Beyond the legal position, the parts of this job that go wrong — dimmer and driver compatibility, cable routes at first fix, panel capacity — are exactly the parts that are invisible until they fail. Replacing a like-for-like fitting is a different matter from installing a scheme.

Can lighting be improved without rewiring?

Sometimes meaningfully. Plug-in or battery under-cabinet lighting, better lamps in existing fittings, and getting a consistent colour temperature across what is already there all help and involve no cabling. What cannot be achieved without wiring is separately switched layers, which is the thing that makes a kitchen lighting scheme work. Treat the non-invasive options as an improvement rather than as the solution.