Light Your Kitchen For Optimal Function 

Hey all. So, I mention in this video that you should place pendants at 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 and I'm getting feedback that it should be 1/4 1/2 and 3/4. We are talking about the same thing, just differently. My ideas is the lights are centred over the first third, then the second third and then the last. This places the light fixture at 1/4 , 1/2 and 3/4.

Dimmers are so important where it gets dark in the morning in Winter. When I get up at 6am in the dark and have to start making coffee and lunches in the kitchen, being able to have my lights at a dim setting rather than blasting and harsh is a real factor preserving my sanity and mood.

So… we rented a house for awhile that had an enormous window facing the back yard (south). Absolutely beautiful yard, and lovely view. Also, the sun beating in had melted the spray buttons on the faucet, and the countertops, etc, hit over 170F in the summer (we measured). We made an attempt to address this with window film, because we couldn’t install anything permanent, and the window was way too wide for a tension rod. (It really needed an awning.). We are in an area notorious for its gray skies and the kitchen was essentially useless for a few months a year. Yes, I’m sure it would have been better with a more modern window and an awning, but just make sure you plan for this when installing your mega window.

1/4 and 1/2 and 3/4 of the island length for the locations for 3 pendant lights, not as you stated as 1/3 and 2/3 and 3/3rds.

Very illuminating.

I’ve seen a lot of lighting designers say every bulb in the same room should be the same Kelvin temperature. But I agree with you when it comes to kitchens. A lot of the lights won’t be on at the same time and won’t be controlled by the same switch. I agree that everything on the same switch and/or that is likely to be on at the same time should be the same Kelvin. Something I’ve found out accidentally is that to be sure lights have exactly the same color temperature your best best is to use the same brand and exact same lightbulb in a multi light fixture. I prefer 2800 Kelvin and had a lot of 2800 Kelvin bulbs purchased at different times when they were on sale. But after I replaced a burned out bulb in a 4 armed ceiling fan light I discovered that the replacement bulb was ever so slightly cooler even though all had been labeled 2800 Kelvin. I actually haven’t seen labeling for foot candles but have seen labeling for lumens. Different manufacturers with the same Kelvin and wattage often have different lumens so I’m assuming that’s the difference.

Several important things to consider about skylights: 1) They let in more sun during the hottest time of year, when the summer sun is directly overhead. 2) Their insulation value is terrible compared to the rest of the roof, so you're getting extra heat in the summer but losing heat in the winter. 3) It's not a question of IF a skylight will leak, but WHEN, and repairs can be very expensive. 4) Keeping them clean is a hassle.

I might have been the one that introduced you to the splashback window style we do here in Australia. Im glad more channels are starting to feature this style

Such an informative video with so many useful suggestions. Thank you, Mark!

I ❤ your channel. Thank you for all the 411 you share! 😘😘😘 I’ll watch this until I learn all the terminology. Knowledge is never a waste. 😊 Years ago, I learned the acronym CRI (color rendering index). Is that something I need to remember/consider when selecting lighting? We’ve been living in a home in Florida that previous owners chose windows with green glass (Low-E 366) that allegedly reflect heat back out. I’m not sure I believe that science (they’ve reverse engineered it for the south when it was discovered to be useful in the north for keeping heat inside); however, I “discovered” I will purchase our upcoming windows with a light grey tint to cut the glare a bit here (not Low-E 366) because of the unnatural zombie green tint sunlight becomes once it passes through the Low-E 366 window glass. That’s how and when I stumbled upon CRI. So my question is: Is CRI something I need to remember/consider when selecting lighting in today’s lighting market?

When considering pot lights for general functional illumination in my little (94 sq ft) kitchen, the best thing I did in gaming out the placement and intensity was to temporarily tack 1x2 furring strips to the ceiling along the task areas and the paths connecting them. I bought more lights (7) than I would need, attached them to the furring strips using their own mounting clips and daisy-chained temporary power wires between them. By sliding them along the strips and/or shifting the strips laterally, I found placements that illuminated all of the work surfaces evenly, while also minimizing the shadows cast on the work surfaces by the person standing and doing the work (very important!). In the end, I settled on five 6-inch pots (Commercial Electric model # 91461), 1100 lumens each, 5 switchable color temps, wide beam angle of 105 degrees, on a Lutron dimmer. Outside of an operating room, it's probably the brightest room I've ever experienced, and a real pleasure to work there.

We have lots of natural light thru a window + garden door. Our under cabinet lights are on the most.

Just a comment on pendant spacing and calculations. If you are using the island length and putting a pendant in the middle and then putting the other two centered between the light and the end of the island then you’ve divided the island into fourths not thirds and the lights are going at 1/4, 1/2 (2/4), and 3/4. If you divide the island into thirds you won’t have a center light, just two lights. Of course you could divide the space between the center light and the end of island into thirds and put the two outer lights 1/3 from the edge of the island and 2/3 from the center light. But in this case your calculations would be in sixths of the total island length since you’ve got each half divided in thirds. The difference matters if your light location is being wired before the goes in and you want the boxes to be located in the proper places for the length of your island.

Thank you Mark! Great content. Regarding pot lights, my niece just had a beautiful house built--high ceilings, pot lights. The pot lights are right at the surface of the ceiling and really annoy my aging eyes with the glare. I think the best case for pot lights is to have the diffused light recessed several inches above the ceiling into the fixture so glare is minimized. I don't think you need the big vintage housing for this. I currently like the idea of flush mounts--and the pictures you showed were very well done--but, boy I need the advice of an interior designer to get that right. Very informative video as always! Thanks!

Great information-I want all of it!

Love lots of light👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I've got lots of recessed led lights and pendants over the peninsula where I prep everything and the sink. I'm uncertain about undercabinet lights. I only have one wall of wall cabinets and that's the counter that stores my small appliances. I'm just not sure I need to add that expense since I don't prep anything on that cabinet. I hate spending money I'm not gonna use a lot. Really on the fence

Thank you so much Mark for this fantastic idea I love it watching from st.petersburg looking forward for more videos more Power

I just had Razor lights installed in my kitchen! They are wonderful

As mentioned in your do's and don'ts video, I am currently DIY renovating our whole kitchen and my wife thinks I have too many 3" puck lights installed. Overall SF in the kitchen is only 135-140 SF and is a smaller galley kitchen. I currently have five (5) 3" lights in an "L" shape to light a counter top space with a span length of about 94"L + 40"W on the "L". I think it came to about 20"-22" O.C. and I put the one offset to make the "L" about 30" from the others that are inline (if I remember right from when I installed them). My wife thinks the amount of puck lights looks like a landing strip and, with our ceilings being 100" Tall, she believes the beam angles would be sufficient if I took one puck out. I put dimmers on 4 of my 5 "lighting zones" in our kitchen so, to me, that the intensity of the lighting isn't going to be clinical in brightness because you can control it. I have 6 other 3" lights in the space but think I will reduce total down from 11 to 9..... You made the comment that its better to have more lights because you can always turn them off (or dim them) but you can't turn them on if they aren't there. Also saying the puck light placement doesn't matter as much as long as the lights are effectively and properly illuminating the space. I want enough lighting but also can understand my wife's concern about looks. What is your opinion / recommendation? Thanks!

And finally: Hi Mark, great video! One thing though, in your example at minute 6:08, if you have an 8 foot long island and you want three pendant lights and you put a pendant light in the middle (at 4 feet) with the remaining pendants centered between that pendant and each end of the island then you’ve divided the island into equal quarters, not thirds. If there were pendants at equal thirds then there would only be two pendants. Drat, thought I'd be first with this observation lol.

Windows as a backsplash? Haha, that was a good one. We live in an older house with windows that have muntins. Plenty of them. A multitude of muntins, you might say. Previous owner did many renovations, one of which was a kitchen reno that ended up with the sink and the hob being right in front of the two windows of our little kitchen. With the sink it's manageable, even though the faucet is greatly in the way of operating or, even worse, cleaning the window behind the sink. The real horror is the other window with the hob right in front of it. Not only is there no physical way to fit a vent hood over the hob (since there's a window and the ceiling is not high enough - it's only 217 cm high, for those who care), so any kitchen ventilation has to rely on the windows alone - not ideal in a generally very windy and wet place as this one here. But even worse than the lack of proper, not weather-dependent ventilation is cleaning the window behind the hob. You know how annoying it is to get the greasy film, that will form as soon as you even consider frying something in your kitchen, washed off your normal backsplash or any cabinets or shelves around your hob? Now imagine having to clean that off of windows. Wooden frames, plenty muntins, hardware that includes storm hooks (because weather) - and not even being able to kneel directly on the counter in front of your window as you curse while cleaning, because the counter in front of the window is mainly taken up by the hob (and please don't judge me for climbing on the counters to clean the windows, I'm short).

Should I say 8 foot island light spacing for 3 light would be at 1/4,1/2 and 3/4. of the 8 foot?

Also have a look at Yale Appliances RU-vid video "Red Flags: Don't Buy these Appliances in 2024". They give a lot of advice similar to yours about kitchen design, OTR microwaves and ventilation.

Pendant lights should not be absolutely centered on an island that has a sink in it, especially if the island is narrower. Centering pendant lights on an island with a sink will guarantee that whoever is using the sink will feel like they're too close to the lights when using the sink, especially taller people. I would offset them a good 6-8 inches away from center if you have a sink. Also, don't install pendant lights right in front of a window, lol.

I wish small/closed off kitchen remodels were discussed more in the YT space :(

I wouldn’t put a sconce near a cooktop since it could get dirty and grimy

Foot candles? 😂 my kitchen ended up way too dark! Tip, don’t wear your clown shoes when measuring up

Great video! Do your pendant lights that go over the island have to match the light that you put above the sink? Or should their styles only coordinate?

Large windows for herb growing,and natural light!

Shouldn't three pendant lights be 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 ?

You CAN have too much lighting. Fixtures cost money. So do bulbs. So does the electrician that installs your lighting. Entirely possible to have lighting in the wrong location; lots of light where you don't need it.