Kitchen
One of the most common mistakes in kitchen lighting is to add overhead lights over floors rather than above workspaces like countertops, sinks and ranges. Recessed downlights, the workhorse of most kitchens, are too often placed in front of or behind countertops. This can create harsh shadows right where you might be working with sharp knives. Instead, consider locating recessed downlights directly above the center of countertops, as CTA Design Builders did over the perimeter countertops in this kitchen.
Add Lights Under Cabinets No matter how well you place downlights, upper cabinets will always block some of the light and make the space below them dark. To fight this, consider adding undercabinet lighting, as the team at John Kraemer & Sons did here. As with recessed downlights, undercabinet lighting should be placed above the center of cabinets, rather than too far forward or back. Installing LED tape lighting that faces the backsplash will reduce reflections on glossy stone counters, but it puts the brightest light in the wrong place and leaves counters too dark. Placing LED tape lighting too far forward can also create harsh shadows on the counter. Try testing a strip of light before installing it to make sure it pushes light onto the counter evenly.
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