Updating My Kitchen - Lighting

 ZeroEnergy Design

Lighting is an important factor in a kitchen, especially at night as you want to be able to see those culinary delights your whipping up, and If you have an island work top, make the most of it by adding a statement light.

If you have a home that lacks architectural detail, (up goes my hand), you will be able to make up for it with your interior design and something as simple as a new light fitting can make all the difference. I am not an authority on kitchen lighting and you should always get professional advice, but my personal choice is a combination of LED down lights and a central statement piece which could be a chandelier type fitting or two or three suspension lights. 

When considering lighting, you also need to consider the style of your home. My home's interior is Hamptons, however my current kitchen is bland and modern, I plan to replace the kitchen but meanwhile I am making simple, cost effective changes in keeping with my style. I have already replaced the metal venetian blind with a wooden shutter and hung a plate rack to the left of the cooker. I am now looking for a light fitting to go above the island so I can get rid of the awful modern one. New lighting will completely change the look and feel of the kitchen. I was originally fixed on glass suspension lamps but since looking for inspiration I am opening myself up to other ideas.

You can see my current kitchen below, the previous 'inherited' silver toned venetian blinds and the existing modern light fitting over the island bench are not my style, neither is the kitchen but that's another story. The light fitting is not even centred over the island which bugs me greatly.

Below  to the left is a 'before' image of the kitchen, the image on the right shows my more recent wooden shutters. I chose wide wooden shutters to allow more light, they are the same shutters as in my master bedroom. You may also notice I have painted over the grey on the kitchen island. I am either going to put a sheet of panelling over it or add wood trim to make it look like panelling. At the Home show yesterday I saw a lovely whitewashed wood which I thought would look good, wood always adds warmth, especially in a white kitchen. Long term I plan to have the floorboards sanded back and white washed, however making small changes meanwhile will add up to an improved look until I replace the entire kitchen.  

Above: Wooden shutters from Brightshine

So, lets explore some inspiration, at the end of this post I have superimposed a couple of lights to see what might work for me...

Above: I really love texture and the oversized lighting - Roy Hodgson Design

Schrader & Companies

Studio 212 Interiors

Santarossa Mosaic & Tile co Inc

Transitional Kitchen

Anthony Edwards Kitchens

Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam Ltd. Paolo Moschino's Sussex farmhouse, can be seen in a previous post...here

Above: I do like large clear glass shades - DJE Design

Design - Robyn Labb Kitchens . This is a style I thought might look good over my island

Above: photographer Irvin Serrano

Visualising some inspiration, maybe two large rattan shades or a double glass chandelier, feedback welcome...