Kitchen lighting - stop working in your own shadow

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.

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

Seeing something not on this list? Browse kitchen remodeling problems by symptom →

How kitchen lighting installation actually works

1. 1

   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 forA 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.

2. 2

   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 forDownlights 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.

3. 3

   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 forUnder-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.

4. 4

   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 forMixing 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.

5. 5

   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 forDimmers 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.

6. 6

   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 forUnder-cabinet supplies forgotten at first fix. Adding them afterwards means either surface trunking or cutting into a finished splashback.

7. 7

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

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 →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →

Kitchen planning tools → Plan the layers alongside the layout.