Next to a trusty knife, decent cookware, and a reliable stove, lighting is the key component in creating a kitchen that is as comfortable to hang out in as it is to cook.
In many homes today, kitchens aren’t just a place to prep a meal—they’re multifunctional spaces where people variously eat, socialize, organize, play, work, and relax. But many of these activities are best served by different types of lighting.
This is where smart lighting excels. Smart bulbs and fixtures are far more versatile than standard lights. Not only can you set them to dim automatically, but you can also tune many of them to a wide range of white tones or colors. And you can save your preferred lighting settings as a preset for easy access, so you can switch the lighting up as the need or mood arises.
“Lighting is one of the most important elements in designing any space, and one of the first things we examine and consider,” said Carly Cannell, founder and principal of New York City–based design firm Weetu. But there’s a method to creating great lighting—you can’t just wing it—and it’s all the more important in a multi-use space like a kitchen.
The good news is that once you understand a few basic concepts, you can set up a comfortable, useful, beautifully lit kitchen without resorting to guesswork.
