Table Of Contents
The kitchen is the heart of the home and your lighting needs to work just as hard as the rest of the space. A well-lit kitchen isn’t just about brightness; it’s about balance, warmth, and creating the right mood at the right time.
Here are our favourite tips and tricks to make sure your kitchen island (and the whole room) shines.
Keep It Consistent
Colour temperature is everything. Nothing ruins a beautiful kitchen faster than mismatched light, especially when you’ve got warm pendants glowing overhead and a harsh, cool-white range hood light in the middle of it all.
Our golden rule: stick to warm white (around 3000K) throughout. It keeps the space inviting, cohesive, and comfortable for both cooking and entertaining.
Strip Lighting - Small But Mighty
Strip lighting under cabinetry is a game-changer. It puts light exactly where you need it : your bench tops. Pop it on a dimmer and it can swing between sensible task lighting for chopping veggies and soft ambient lighting for dinner parties.
Pro tip: if your range hood is built into the cabinetry, run the strip right behind it. That way, you don’t end up with a dark “gap tooth” in your lighting line.
Pedant Power - Form and Function
The kitchen island is the perfect place for pendants, because the bench isn’t going anywhere. But here’s the catch, not all pendants are created equal.
If your island is for food prep, avoid purely decorative pendants that don’t pull their weight. Look for designs that give you both style and function, like directional pendants (we love the Unios Titanium Pendants) or linear pendants that provide shadowless illumination across the bench.
Want to level up? Go for linear pendants with uplighting (like Fluxwood Tenn Up, Rakumba High Line, Occhio Mito Volo or Unios FX).
They bounce soft light off the ceiling, creating a relaxed glow while helping you see into cupboards and drawers.
And here’s a sizing tip: pendants should usually be slightly shorter than the island bench. As a rule of thumb, 100 – 400mm shorter on either end looks the best. For example, with a 3m bench, a 2.5m pendant is just right.
Downlights Done Right
Not into pendants? That is cool.
What about surface mounted downlights above the island instead? They can help anchor the space and add architectural detail without taking over the look.
The key is focus! Avoid peppering downlights across the whole ceiling. Instead, concentrate them where they’re needed most: over benches and work areas, not just the floor.
Wall Lights for a Soft Touch
Wall lights might not be the first thing you think of in a kitchen, but they can add a decorative accent and double as gentle, ambient light.
At night, they’re perfect for creating a safe glow when you sneak in for that late-night snack.
The Final Recipe
Great kitchen lighting is all about layering: task, ambient, and accent. Stick to a warm, consistent colour temperature, use strip lighting for precision, pendants for personality and function, and down lights or wall lights to complete the picture.
Do it right, and your kitchen won’t just be functional, it’ll feel as good as it looks.
