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Kitchen buying guides

Kitchen Lighting Buying Guide

Whether it is to brighten dark spaces, make a striking design statement, or to illuminate work areas, our buying guide will help you choose the right lights for your room.

What are the benefits of kitchen lighting?

The right fixtures can be a practical addition, making a room appear brighter and more spacious. They can help illuminate food preparation areas or where natural light is limited. Placed strategically, they can draw the eye through a room to showcase design features and add to the overall ambience.

What are the different types of kitchen lighting?

LED Round Magnetic Cabinet Light Natural Cabinet Crop

Cupboard lights

Cabinet lights are a great way to make units stand out, particularly enhancing glass-fronted doors. They can also provide better visibility inside cupboards and drawers to make it easier to find the items you need.

See kitchen cabinet lighting

Plinth lights

Illuminate a statement floor by adding lights beneath base cabinets and in kickboards. This will create a more open effect, drawing attention to flooring, and working well in contemporary schemes.

See kitchen plinth lighting

Sensio Polar Pro SE20055P0 LED Colour Changing 30W 5m Flexible Strip Lights Cool White

Strip lighting

Strip-LEDs are a versatile choice that can add light under cabinets and round corners, including counters or shelving. They can also be used to illuminate a unique border.

See LED tape lights

Sensio Hype R Pro SE90150P0 Brushed Steel Under Cabinet Light Neutral White

Under-cabinet lighting

If you are limited on natural light or you find larger cupboards are casting shadows over work areas, then adding fittings to the underside can make space more usable and accessible.

See downlights

How to plan kitchen lighting

Modern gloss grey kitchen with cotemporary accessories including black kitchen tap and dark grey walls and pendant lighting.

1. Choose your colours

Lights are available in two colour types – warm and natural tones. Warm has a yellow tint, suiting cosy interiors, such as farmhouse styles and vintage decors. Natural is closer to a bright white, which is a great match for contemporary styles.

2. Build in brightness

Improved energy efficiency means that low-wattage LEDs are just as bright as higher-powered incandescent options. They are also cheaper to run. Lumens are used to indicate brightness, so it is best to compare lights using this metric instead of watts.

See LED driver strips

3. Select your shape

Lights come in many different shapes making it easy to tailor them to your chosen style. Circular lights fit flush for minimal looks, while pyramid styles are best used as a stand-out design. There are also square or rectangular fittings, which can suit any decor.

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4. Pick the position

If your space lacks natural light, it is best to target dark areas first when positioning lights. This is to ensure your room is always well lit. Next, add illumination above or beneath stand-out features to draw the eye to the best parts of your room layout.

5. Fit with ease

During planning, it is useful to review where cabling and power will go to save time and hassle during installation. Our drivers can power multiple lights using a single supply, making it easy for your builder or electrician to fit.

Grey Concrete Effect Square Edged Worktop

6. Consider durability

Lastly, it is important to think about durability, especially in areas at risk of splashes and spills. The two-digit IP rating of a device indicates its resistance to dust, damage and water. Our downloadable guide below explains IP ratings in more detail.

View our IP Ratings Guide

Illuminating lighting ideas

Now you are clued up on the benefits and features of our fittings, we have put together four ideas to inspire your space.

Clerkenwell Super Matt Charcoal Alternative Angle

Brighten borders

Use strip lighting to accentuate a statement backboard to draw the eye through a room and make it appear more spacious. These strips are used to highlight the texture of our concrete-effect border to add visual interest to the room.

Light up dark drawers

Drawer lighting can be used to illuminate its contents making it easy to identify utensils during cooking. This stylish and practical feature also provides a sleek contrast to our anthracite drawers accessories.

Customise cabinets

Pair subtle cupboard lighting with frosted-glass fronts to break up banks of colour in a design. This trick can also be used to add a luxurious finish to an interior or to highlight what sits behind your units.

U shape handleless pebble grey gloss kitchen with white worktop and undermount kitchen sink and dark grey flooring.

Illuminate a large space

Introducing kickboard lights in smaller rooms can brighten where cupboards cast a shadow over the floor. In turn, this draws attention to the largest surface in a space, making a room appear more open and larger than it is.

Sensio

With thousands of designs available for all areas of the home, Sensio lighting seamlessly blend aesthetics and functionality to elevate any room. Their products are rigorously tested, simple to fit, and available in a wide selection of styles, making them a firm favourite with homeowners and trade professionals.

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