Most kitchens were originally designed with a light in the centre of the room. This not only draws your eye to some place that serves no purpose, it makes the room feel smaller and you are always working in your shadow.

Unless you specifically want the light fixture itself to be a prominent feature in the room then the purpose of kitchen lighting is generally to:

• Draw attention to things that you do want to stand out,
• Provide general Illuminate for the room,
• Provide task lighting over workspaces.

That’s a lot to ask from a light in the middle of the room. One area that often gets overlooked and where all of these functions come into play is under counter lighting.

5 things that under counter lighting will do for you and your kitchen:

• Dropping the light source will bring your eye down which has the effect of making the room feel wider and more spacious,
• The purpose of any lighting is illumination but because the light source is hidden behind a light valance, the focus is on the backsplash and countertop. The light shining down will bring the true beauty and excitement of your stone countertop to life,
• Having the light ahead of you provides the best task lighting and lets you enjoy the ambience of your kitchen while you are working as opposed to facing a darkened wall,
• More lighting options mean you can have soft indirect lighting when you are not using your kitchen instead of having to choose between all or nothing. This is especially important on summer nights when you are moving in and out in order to enjoy outdoor space off of the kitchen.
• There is no question that having lights on costs money but most of the under counter lighting systems on the market today are LED’s. The bulbs are rated for tens of thousands of hours, they don’t get hot and they are super energy efficient. This means that you can have light where and when you want it and save money too.

Any better quality or custom kitchen today will have under counter lighting so if you are planning to update your kitchen with a remodel or to simply change the backsplash and countertop, now is the time to consider adding under counter lighting to the mix.