Is The Lighting In Your Kitchen Boring? Here's How To Make It Look Extravagant

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Good lighting is one of the most-wanted kitchen features that can boost your home's value. The kind of lights and fixtures you have in the room can either make it look dated or elegant. In case your kitchen falls in the former category and the lights have started to feel boring, simple updates can give it a refined appearance. Not sure where to start? Dara Greaney, the founder and CEO of LED Light Expert (an e-commerce lighting retailer) shares a few tips on how you can use lighting to make your kitchen appear extravagant in his exclusive House Digest interview. He says, "Extravagance comes from layering light, not just adding brightness. I recommend combining ambient, task, and accent lighting so the space has depth and contrast."

There are many reasons you need to pay attention to your kitchen's lighting. "The biggest thing to understand is that the kitchen has so many functions. It's the heart of the home, but requires different looks to stay flexible," Greaney explains. "Uniform lighting creates a flat, uninspired room. It's required at times, but we need to be able to flex out of that." Fortunately, there are simple ways to do so. "Highlight textures like stone and wood with directional lighting, and keep the color temperature warm to create a refined, upscale glow," he suggests. Moreover, "Strip or roles of lighting along [the] underside of countertops or cabinets, top and bottom are also big right now," he adds. Following this simple rule will elevate the room's look and feel, giving your kitchen backsplash colors, appliances, and trendy cabinets a chance to shine.

Revealing how lighting can give your kitchen a more extravagant appearance, Dara Greaney advises us to start with the basics. He exclusively told House Digest, "Make sure 'house' lighting, usually recessed, is solid. Then move onto the drama. For the pendants or other fixtures, think coordinated metals, varied placements, and intentional focal points." To ensure your ambient and accent lighting gel well together, "recessed lights should be placed consistently above for overall illumination and pendants over the island to create a focal point and visual interest. Pendants really define the upgrade," he explains. If you don't want to spend money on expensive fixtures, try out these stunning DIY pendant light ideas to brighten up your space.

Once you figure out the basics and drama, it's time for the third layer. "Add under-cabinet lighting for both function and glow," Greaney suggests. "For high end, add the strip lighting above the cabinets, below the cabinets and below bottom cabinets, aka toe kick. Two to three continuous rows of light give a dramatic effect." He also says to "Consider interior cabinet lighting on any glass or exposed areas." The depth of layering is what nails the luxe look. "Mixing concealed LED strips with bold decorative fixtures creates contrast and sophistication," he explains. "The key is making the lighting feel curated rather than purely functional." In case you want a unique setup, feel free to experiment with different bulb colors. You can even opt for multi-colored strip lights, like Govee's RGBIC LED Strip Lights. Explore various styles and placements to find the right fit for your kitchen.

To create an extravagant look with the lighting in your kitchen, ensure the lighting feels intentional and can be modified based on the task at hand, Dara Greaney recommends in his exclusive interview with House Digest. After all, you wouldn't want to switch on the pendant, recessed, and under-cabinet lighting for fetching a glass of water at night. Or, turn on just ambient lights when chopping vegetables on the counter. To that end, "Everything should be on dimmers for flexibility," he says. Smart lights or switches can help you achieve this.

Additionally, to make sure all your hard work doesn't go to waste, Greaney highlights a few pitfalls you want to avoid. He states, "One major mistake is relying too heavily on one type of light. Just recessed cans flatten the space. Just pendants or strips is not usable light." So, you want to have a healthy mix of different kinds of lights. "Another is mixing color temperatures, which makes the kitchen feel disjointed," he adds. "Finally, choosing fixtures that are too small for the space can cheapen the look, oversized just detracts from the rest of the kitchen." So, always choose the right size pendant lights to hang over your kitchen island, or they'll look flat and hinder your line of vision.