Kitchen Island Lighting Fixtures

Potlights are one of the best ways to light a home and they are excellent for kitchens, because they are recessed into the ceiling and do not get covered in dust and grease from cooking.  They are also one of the best kitchen island lighting fixtures to use, and they are extremely efficient.  You can choose from incandescent bulbs, which are the least efficient or choose halogen, xenon or compact fluorescent bulbs to conserve power.  

A kitchen island is often a focal point in a kitchen and the place where a lot of food preparation is done – especially if there is a convenient sink in the kitchen island, so it is essential that the correct lighting is used, which also means it should not cast a shadow while you are trying to work. 

Any lighting installed over a kitchen island is best put on a dimmer.  If you have under cabinet lighting that’s also on a dimmer, on a cold night a kitchen will look warm and inviting if the lights are dimmed down.  The kitchen is the place where families congregate to eat and talk, and neighbors and friends would be entertained in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.   

Spending thousands of dollars to upgrade a kitchen with expensive granite tops and hand made cabinetry without the right lighting will only look ho-hum, but with the right kitchen island lighting fixtures your kitchen can look like something out of Home & Gardens. 

I often wonder what people are thinking when they hang crystal chandeliers in their kitchens, to me they look ridiculous and they are the devil to clean.  The light they give out is totally inadequate too.  I’ve seen them in design magazines and simply laugh at that crazy idea. 

Spotlights, potlights and easy to clean suspended lighting, are best and a combination of the two even better. When you think of spotlights and potlights you think of intense white light, but if you wanted something a little less harsh then it’s simply a case of changing out the bulb. 

If you have a pot rack with all your favorite old copper saucepans hanging from it, then lighting your kitchen island will be more of a challenge – it will all have to be measured out and discussed with the builder and the electrician before you start remodeling. 

With modern tastes looking for clean lines and sometimes a retro look, recessed lighting in the form of spotlights is timeless, and with modern bulbs you won’t have to worry about climbing up and changing out the bulbs every few weeks – some modern bulbs will last for years and burn very little power. 

If you have a very high ceiling in your kitchen, potlights and spotlights may be ineffective.  A great alternative would be to use pendulum lighting.  These come in many shapes and forms, and there’s bound to be something to suit your taste and your décor.  Again the latest ones are designed to use only the most power efficient bulbs.