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Kitchen is one of the active areas of your home. A lot of work is done here like cooking food and entertaining the guests. For these reasons you need good lighting in the kitchen. To make the lighting right, you need to choose the right color for your kitchen. In this article I discuss about what color light is best for kitchen.
Most of the kitchen gets enough lighting during daytime. Kitchen needs good lighting mainly during the evenings. The kitchen space should be bright and should suit the mood of the user.
Before knowing about what color light is best for kitchen, it is important to learn about the types of lighting. There are three main types of lighting in the kitchen. They are ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. The ambient lighting gives the basic light to the room. The task lighting is used to focus a specific area in the kitchen. The accent lighting creates focal points in the kitchen.
3 main types of lighting in the kitchen
- Ambient lighting: Ambient lighting is the best option for kitchen. In ambient lighting, the light is distributed adequately. It gives good illumination. This is one of the best ways to fill the kitchen space with lights. You can use chandeliers, pendant lights and flush mounts to create ambient lighting in the kitchen.
- Task lighting: The task lighting is provided when the user need light to perform a specific activity in the kitchen space. This gives light in a particular area of the kitchen. Install task lighting above your work table, that is, in areas where you use knives. The under cabinet lighting is one of the best task lighting. Task lighting helps to avoid casting shadows on the workspace.
- Accent lighting: The accent lighting makes the kitchen look inviting. With accent lighting, the kitchen ceiling looks taller.
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Let us now look into the details of our main question?
What color light is best for kitchen?
The color of light influences the aesthetics of the kitchen to a great extent. Use white based or yellow based lights. They are the most delicate colors and increase the functionality in the kitchen. Make sure you don’t make the kitchen too bright. Using too much of yellow light will make the kitchen appear distorted. Also, if the kitchen is excessively bright, then it becomes unwelcoming and sterile.
The ideal illumination of light for kitchen should be between 7,000 lumens and 8,000 lumens. Make sure the wattage of the lights is to the recommended lumens while buying. A 100-watts incandescent bulb gives 7000-8000 lumens of light.
Use recessed lights and down lights in the region that requires most of the lighting. The best place to place them is stove, kitchen table and workshops.
If you are still wondering, What color light is best for kitchen, you may choose crimson based lights. The lights with the tint of crimson will spark up the work space in the kitchen.
Apart from lumens, you should also check on the kelvin rating of the light while buying. A lower kelvin lighting gives cool lighting in the kitchen. On the other hand, a higher kelvin rating gives a warm lighting in the kitchen.
The following table will give a better insight:
| Kelvin Rating | Light Intensity |
|---|---|
| Less than 2000 kelvin | Dim. More like a candle light |
| 2000 K to 3000 K | Lights with tint of yellow |
| 3100 K to 4500 K | White light |
| 4600 K to 6500 K | Bluish white light |
| 6,500 K | Blue lights |
To provide right lighting to the kitchen, you should choose the best color temperature for kitchen lighting. Higher the temperature, cooler the light. For instance, the lights used in hospitals are of 2700 Kelvin.
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Color light ranges for kitchen
The best color temperature for kitchen lighting is in the range of yellow to white. The color range has big impact on the functionality and aesthetics of your kitchen. How to choose the color range? The best way is to choose the light in the middle of the spectrum. This is almost yellow. Does this mean all the colors should be yellow? No. That will make your kitchen too bright. So what should do you do? Go for mix of colors. Choose yellow and white lights in areas that require focus. For instance, choose yellow and white light in the areas where you use knives. Choose light green or blue hues in corners. This will improve the attire of your kitchen.
Do not use lights that falls on the extremes of the spectrum. For instance, avoid using dark violet or red colors. This will make the kitchen look darker and dull.
If you have an island, go for white based focus lights. Use hang lamps above the islands.
Q: Could I use red toned lights in kitchen?
Red based lights stimulate the appetite. So use them wisely. Generally it is good to avoid them. However, if you therapist insists or you want to install red lighting for health purposes, then fix them in corners. Do not use red based lights above stoves or work tables.
Importance of choosing the right color light for kitchen
The color of the lights plays a major role in functionality and aesthetics of the kitchen. White color lights in kitchen increases the working efficiency of the user. Colors like yellow and blue cheers the users. Blue color brings a person out of depression and enhances his or her mood.
The colors in the kitchen unify design and structure of the area. The color lights bring in liveliness and vibrancy. Good color lighting increases the ambience of the kitchen. It helps family and friends enjoy their time. Therefore, it is important to use a wide palate of colors while installing lights. Color lights bring in comforting atmosphere for the users to enjoy cooking!
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Choose wisely! Do not make your kitchen too bright or too dark. Hope the ideas will help you choose the best lights for your kitchen.
