6 creative and surprisingly useful kitchen lighting ideas

​We all know that lighting can make or break an interior design scheme, but it’s even more important in the kitchen. Kitchens need to look great, but more important is how they function. This is when task lighting becomes crucial, along with design that puts a lot of thought and care into the design scheme.
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In modern kitchens, there are so many different ways you can use lighting that it can be tough to know where to start. Here are some creative, on-trend but surprisingly useful and practical ideas for your kitchen lighting scheme:

Drawer lighting.
Once you discover in-drawer lighting that pops on as soon as you open the drawer, you won’t go back. This super cool lighting idea is right on-trend but also very practical, as it allows you to see everything in a cluttered drawer at a glance. 

Make the extractor fan a lighting feature.
In many kitchens, a bulky extractor is a necessary evil. You need to have one, but the design of these appliances still tends to be more functional than attractive. If you have one that hangs from the ceiling, why not use lighting to make an architectural feature of it? If the extractor is set into a suspended ceiling plinth, surround it with spotlights or create a sense of floating by using light strips where the section meets the ceiling. 

Use lighting to add colour. If you’ve gone for a sleek, all-white kitchen but worry that it’s all looking a little clinical, it can be a good idea to add in a small, vibrant pop of colour. Lighting fixtures are the ideal way to add this injection of colour, in a stylish, playful way. 

Highlight the lines and contours of your kitchen with lighting. You can really show off the beautiful design of your kitchen with strips of colourful lighting along the bottom edges of units, or even with white lighting strips under the worktops. 

Choose a back-lit backsplash. Instead of plain old tiles on the wall, you can extend a glass backsplash across the whole of the kitchen and back light it at strategic points). This not only creates a stunning, unique lighting feature – which can highlight colours and textures in the material – but it creates ideal task lighting for worktops. 

Have fun with island and breakfast bar lighting. Your light fittings should match the style of the ‘zone’ of the kitchen they are placed in. Breakfast bars and islands are less functional and more style-focused than other parts of the kitchen, so you can really be playful and creative with lighting in these areas. Go for unusual drop pendants, dramatic or sculptural lighting – or even make your own through up-cycling or repurposing!

For advice on lighting and for help making your ideas work from a practical point of view, get in touch with A&J Kitchens. Our team have experience fitting kitchens of all kinds, from worktop replacements to full kitchen installations including lighting.