Task Lighting...Kitchens

Task is the backbone of your lighting plan. I want to qualify these posts by saying these posts are primarily for kitchens. Bath will be next week. As I have said living rooms, bedrooms and to some extent foyers do not need as much light
Case in point: You are watching television. You shut off the lights.


The most common task lights are Recessed, track and undercounter lighting.

Although spaces are inherently different, typically recessed should be 12-18 inches from the wall and spaced 3-5 feet apart depending on ceiling height. Next week, I will cover the different cans and trims in depth, if there is a request.






Track is more flexible than Recessed, because lights can be located anywhere on the length of the track. You can also hang a variety of heads and pendants as well.

Some people like the clean application of recessed. Track, on the other hand, has certainly become very interesting and distinct over the last few years....The pictures below are from our showroom









Lastly, undercounter lighting should be consider as it is the only way to light...counters. Typically, the lengths are 7,16,24,30 and 37 inchs. Electrify them to separate switches, and it is a nice effect when left on alone






Invariably, when I teach this to interior designers, someone will raise their hand and show me a beautiful kitchen in Boston Magazine with just recessed lights. Unfair, I will say. Photographers add their own lights before snapping that perfect shot. This misconception has actually engendered really bad lighting designs.

Utilizing just recessed will create a shadowing effect amongst people in the kitchen, and should never be the single lighting element.

We will discuss decorative AKA the fun stuff tomorrow