15 Kitchen Lighting Ideas for Every Style

The right lighting can make a significant difference to the feel and aesthetic of your kitchen, brightening the space, creating depth or highlighting your favourite features. If you don’t know where to start with choosing the best lighting, we have covered some kitchen lighting ideas below to give you a good starting point.

If you want help from experienced specialists to design a kitchen, including all lighting, Bayliss is your ideal solution. Visit our showroom to speak to our team.

Our Top Kitchen Lighting Design Ideas

1. Kitchen Island Lighting

Using hanging lighting over a kitchen island is a simple yet effective way to draw the eye. The ‘rule of three’ is a popular choice for over-island lighting, using three hanging pendants equal distances apart to create a sense of balance. The central location of kitchen islands means these pendants can often provide ample lighting for the whole room.

2. Sleek Under Cabinet Lights

Under-cabinet lights are an attractive and modern addition to any kitchen. These lowlights help to even out light levels in your kitchen, providing full visibility for cooking and reducing harsh shadows under cabinetry. Large, full-panel lights or simple strip and spotlights are available to suit your specific requirements and choice of interior design.

3. Uplighting for Ambience

Uplighting is a simple yet effective way to add more light to your kitchen. Uplights are typically strip lights for consistent lighting, rather than spotlights, and can be placed on top of cabinets and tall appliances, such as fridges. Uplighting reflects off pale or white ceilings, reducing the number of lights required for a bright, usable space.

4. Low-Hanging Pendant Lights

Pendants can make a big statement, adding texture, colour or interest to kitchens. There are pendant styles available to match any kitchen style, from natural-coloured scandi designs to metallic, architectural shapes. Low-hanging lights work best over surfaces, such as tables or peninsulas, where they don’t need to be directly walked around.

5. Brighten with Skylights

Natural lighting is an ideal way to bring brightness into your space without the need for continual electricity use. During the day, skylights deliver plenty of light and brightness to your kitchen. To make your skylights stand out in the evenings, add modern strip lighting recessed into the space for an additional, subtle lighting source.

6. Elegant Chandeliers

Evoke true luxury with an elegant chandelier in your kitchen. Surprisingly, chandeliers work for kitchens across a range of styles – from providing contrast in industrial spaces to expanding on the luxe feel of a modern kitchen. Chandeliers are available in a range of sizes, from compact models to larger, sprawling crystal designs.

7. Cohesive Lighting Styles

Most kitchens use more than one type of lighting to make the most of the space, from skylights to pendants to under-cabinet lighting. Being intentional about your lighting choices can help you to create a cohesive final look. For example, matching the colour temperature of your different lighting methods can prevent disharmony in your kitchen.

8. Bold Oversized Lighting

If you prefer playful kitchen lighting design ideas, opting to go big is one way to make your kitchen stand out. An oversized light, such as a novelty pendant, can be an effective way to create a statement piece in your kitchen. Bold lighting options are amplified in smaller kitchens, which is to their benefit, particularly when combined with more minimalist design choices, so your lighting can make a big impression.

9. Match Lighting to Style

If your kitchen already has a strong sense of style, you don’t want to muddy the waters with your lighting. Choose lighting that matches the existing appearance of your kitchen for a cohesive, charismatic final look. For example, combining modern lighting with modern kitchens or opting for more vintage-looking lighting for traditional kitchens.

10. Layered Lighting Effects

Layered lighting is a practical way to add dimension to kitchen spaces, using multiple lighting sources to introduce additional drama to your environment. Combining under-cabinet and base cabinet lighting with pendant lighting, for example, can create a ‘floating’ effect for your kitchen while providing plenty of light for day-to-day use.

11. Base Cabinet Lighting

Base cabinet lighting is an excellent supplemental lighting option for your kitchen, helping you achieve an attractive and modern appearance. This type of lighting can also help to introduce softness to your kitchen, while reducing the requirement for overhead lights to create the perfect mood or for that 1 am fridge raid.

12. Accent Lighting for Kitchen Walls

If you have particular areas of your kitchen you would like to highlight or spaces where extra lighting is needed, accent lighting is an ideal solution. Wall-mounted lights offer a secondary lighting option that works well for galley kitchens or smaller spaces, offering targeted illumination where you need it without overwhelming the space.

13. Lighting Controls

In-wall lighting controls and smart lighting systems offer complete freedom to create the mood that you want with your lighting, offering far more adaptability beyond an on/off system. You can choose from a traditional dimmer switch or remote control system to change the feel of your kitchen in seconds, or create your own flow in an app to change the mood of your lighting throughout the day and night.

14. Chic Black Lighting

Black lighting offers a stark, modern contrast to many kitchen designs, from minimalist whites to wood and earth tones. Choose simple black lighting options to enhance the space, creating a strong foundation for your kitchen design. You can combine black lighting with different kitchen fixtures, like taps or cabinet handles, to create a cohesive look.

15. Stylish Table Lamps

Table lamps may seem better suited to living rooms and bedrooms, but this lighting option can also provide an attractive addition to your kitchen and dining spaces. Wireless, rechargeable lamps in particular are excellent, safe alternatives to candles that can be placed anywhere, providing a practical way to create mood lighting at kitchen tables or on islands.

Kitchen Design at Bayliss

Choosing the best lighting for your kitchen is key to achieving the aesthetic you envision. At Bayliss, we can support you in making the right lighting decisions with our comprehensive kitchen design services. We partner with a range of brands, including Nolte Kuchen, NEFF, BORA, Quooker and Karndean, to create your ideal kitchen.

Since 1929, we’ve been providing customers across the Midlands with attractive, luxurious bathroom and kitchen designs. Visit our showroom to discuss your kitchen lighting ideas with our team at Bayliss.