Kitchen Lighting Discussion Preparation Checklist

Note which direction the windows face and at what point in the day direct sunlight enters the room, if it does at all.

Orientation determines when artificial light is needed and where glare will be a problem, and it is easily observed.

Identify the part of the room that stays dark even on a bright day, and note what is happening in that part of the room.

The permanently dark corner is the one that most needs deliberate light, and it is rarely where a symmetrical grid would put it.

Record any point in the day when sunlight makes it hard to work at the sink or the hob, and where the glare comes from.

Glare is handled through blinds, position and finish rather than through lighting, but it needs raising in the same conversation.

If a rooflight exists or is proposed, note what it lights and what it leaves in shadow at different points of the day.

Overhead daylight behaves very differently from side daylight, and it changes what artificial light is needed underneath it.

Note how different the room feels on a dull day compared with a bright one, and when the lights currently go on.

The moment the household reaches for a switch is a useful description of what the daylight is failing to do.

Stand at the preparation surface after dark and note whether your own body puts the board you are working on into shadow.

Light arriving only from behind the cook is one of the most frequent complaints about a finished kitchen, and it can be observed in a few seconds after dark.

Repeat the observation at the sink and at the hob, and record whether the shadow falls on the thing you are looking at.

Each working position needs light from in front or above rather than from behind, and they often differ.

Note where wall units overhang the worktop and leave the surface below them in permanent shade.

The area beneath wall units is dark by construction, which is what under cabinet lighting exists to address.

Note which cupboards, larders and deep drawers are difficult to see into, and whether you currently use a torch or a phone.

The habit of reaching for a phone light is direct evidence of a lighting requirement that is easy to satisfy at planning stage.

Note which surfaces in the room are glossy or reflective, and where a bright fitting would be reflected back at eye level.

Reflections in a glossy splashback or a dark window are uncomfortable and are far easier to avoid before fittings are positioned.

Sit where people sit and look up, noting whether any proposed fitting would be directly in the line of sight.

Fittings that are comfortable when standing can be uncomfortable when seated, and both positions need testing.

Mark on a plan every surface where food is actually prepared, and treat each of them as needing light in its own right.

A general ceiling arrangement rarely lands where the work happens, and marking the surfaces makes that visible.

Ask how light will reach each working surface from in front of the person using it rather than from directly overhead.

Where the light comes from matters more than how much of it there is, and this is the question to put to the designer.

Ask what will light the hob if the extraction hood is not switched on, and whether that is acceptable.

Hood lighting is often the only light over the hob and it disappears whenever the hood is off.

Ask what will light the sink, particularly if it sits under a window that is dark for much of the evening.

In many households the sink is in use long after cooking has finished, yet it is often lit only by whatever spills across from the ceiling.

What may be installed above a sink is subject to local requirements and must be determined by a qualified electrical professional.

Note any secondary working position, such as a baking area or a spot used by a second cook, and ask for it to be lit separately.

Secondary positions are usually forgotten because they are not where the main run is.

Record whether a table in the kitchen is used for preparation, homework or paperwork, and treat it as a working surface too.

A table used for work needs task light, which is different from the decorative pendant usually proposed above it.

Decide and record whether you want light under the wall units, and note which stretches of worktop it would need to cover.

Under cabinet lighting is the most effective task light in most kitchens and it has to be allowed for before units are ordered.

Ask how any under cabinet fitting would be concealed so that the source itself is not visible from a seated position.

A visible strip reflected in a glossy splashback undoes most of the benefit, and concealment is a cabinetry detail.

Note which cupboards or larders would benefit from internal light, and ask how it would be switched.

Internal lighting that has to be switched separately is rarely used, so the switching method matters as much as the fitting.

Consider whether light at plinth level is wanted, and record what you would use it for rather than assuming it is decorative.

Plinth level light is often valued as a low level light at night, which is a different requirement from a decorative one.

Ask where cables for cabinetry lighting would run and whether that affects the internal space of any unit.

Cable routes inside cabinetry consume usable storage space and need coordinating while the units are still being planned.

All wiring arrangements must be designed and installed by a qualified electrical professional.

Ask how any concealed fitting would be replaced later and whether cabinetry would have to be disturbed to reach it.

Concealed fittings are straightforward to include at the outset and sometimes very difficult to reach afterwards, which is worth knowing beforehand.

Note whether the island is used mainly for preparation, for eating or for both, since the two need different light.

Preparation needs light on the surface while eating benefits from something softer, and one fitting rarely does both well.

Ask what mounting height is proposed for any pendant, and consider whether it blocks the view across the room.

Pendant height is a compromise between light on the surface and sightlines, and it should be discussed rather than defaulted.

Mounting heights for fittings above a working surface should be confirmed with the manufacturer and a qualified electrical professional.

If a hood will hang over the island, ask how lighting and extraction will share that space above it.

Two objects competing for the same position above an island is a familiar late clash in kitchen projects.

Note where the table will actually sit, and whether any fitting above it can be positioned after the table is in place.

Fittings positioned before the furniture arrives are frequently off centre, and it is worth agreeing how that risk is managed.

Consider whether you want the working part of the kitchen to be dimmed or switched off while people eat.

This is a switching requirement rather than a fitting one, and it needs stating before circuits are planned.

Describe how you want the room to be lit in three situations, such as early morning, cooking a meal and sitting after dark.

Describing situations lets the designer work out the zones, whereas asking for a number of switches does not.

Note every door into the room and ask what should happen when someone enters through each of them.

Switching at only one entrance is a common annoyance in a room with more than one way in.

Ask which of the lighting groups can be dimmed, and confirm that the dimming arrangement suits the fittings being considered.

Dimming compatibility depends on both the fitting and the control, so the two have to be considered together.

Compatibility between fittings and dimming controls must be confirmed by a qualified electrical professional.

Consider whether a low level light is wanted for someone crossing the kitchen at night, and how it would be controlled.

A low level night arrangement is easy to include at planning stage and impossible to add tidily later.

Walk the room and note where you would naturally reach for a switch, including beside the seating in an open plan space.

Switch positions are set early and are one of the few things owners notice every single day.

Decide how much control complexity the household will accept, including whether visitors need to be able to work the lights.

Elaborate control is enjoyed by some households and resented by others, and the preference should be stated openly.

Look at examples of warmer and cooler light and record which you prefer for this room, noting that the two rarely mix well.

Mixed light colour across a single room is noticeable and difficult to correct once fittings are installed.

Ask to see the worktop, door and floor samples under the quality of light being proposed for the room, not only under daylight.

Finishes shift considerably under artificial light, and the kitchen is used under it for a large part of the year.

Consider how food and ingredients look under the light being proposed, since this is one of the few rooms where that matters.

Colour rendering affects how food appears, which owners notice immediately and rarely think to ask about.

Ask whether all the fittings in the room will produce a consistent light colour, including any that came with an appliance.

Hood lights, in cupboard lights and ceiling fittings often differ, and the mismatch is visible in use.

Ask what happens when one fitting needs replacing and whether a matching replacement would still be obtainable.

A single replacement that does not match the rest is a small but persistent irritation.