Lighting is often described as the jewelry of the home. But it’s more critical than that, especially in kitchens, where it’s all about slicing, dicing and reading recipes. So maybe the new catchphrase should be: “Lights are the eyes of the home.”

“Kitchen lighting is so crucial and should be one of the first things people think about when they’re designing or remodeling a kitchen, but it often gets last priority,” says lighting consultant and interior designer Lisa Duncan of Kansas City, Missouri. “People spend tens of thousands of dollars on their kitchens, but then you can’t see the new improvements or what you’re doing if the lighting isn’t right. Then I come along, and drywall has to be ripped out.”

Instead of doing an overhaul of her decades-old kitchen, Sasha Paulsen of Overland Park, Kan., updated the lighting in her favorite room.

The foodie mines spice stores, olive oil shops and farmers markets for unusual ingredients. But her dark kitchen, with only a can light above the sink and another above the prep area, was a problem. She couldn’t always see what she had, especially in the corners under her cabinets.

With Shirley Allen of the Light Shop in Kansas City, Paulsen rethought the types of lighting in her kitchen.

― Over the sink: She swapped the can for a glass and nickel pendant that provides better illumination, which is key for washing hands and cookware (she has three racks of pots and pans). Bonus: It’s much more attractive.

― Above the table: She replaced a 1960s scalloped metal fixture original to the house with a “more inspiring” metal sculptural one with white shades. The shades eliminate the glare of a bare bulb.

― Under the cabinets: Lights were installed under the cabinets to illuminate the corners, making them more usable. And Paulsen sees a big difference when she’s performing prep work, such as slicing vegetables with a sharp mandoline.

“It’s changed my whole cooking and dining experience,” says Paulsen, who works for Johnson County Water District No. 1. “And the process of kneading dough and baking bread, too.”

Not only do under-cabinet fixtures provide proper task lighting, they add pleasant ambience for home entertaining.

“Adding under-cabinet lighting is the No. 1 thing you could do if you want to update your kitchen and make it more functional,” says architectural and kitchen designer Billie Deatherage of Deatherage Home Designs in Kansas City.

Deatherage always includes dimmer switches in her remodeling and new construction plans.

“They are inexpensive and can give you the control to make your kitchen go from production mode to entertainment mode quickly. And they save energy.”

Paulsen loves the difference a dimmer switch makes in her kitchen. But one of the challenges with kitchen lighting is that it adds heat. Lighting consultant George McMillen of Wilson Lighting in Overland Park sees the problem all the time.

“People will remodel their kitchen and love it in the fall and winter, but then spring and summer comes and suddenly, it’s too hot,” McMillen says.

So McMillen is using more LEDs (light-emitting diodes) ― particularly under-cabinet lights versus xenon and especially halogen because LEDs don’t produce as much heat, and they’re more energy-efficient. Consumer Reports recently tested 60-watt incandescent bulbs and their energy-saving equivalents. The magazine’s conclusion: You can find a CFL or LED that will give you the brightness and light quality you like, and it will save you around $50 over the life of each CFL and anywhere from $65 to $400 over the lifetime of each LED.

“The challenge with LED is the color ― it can look too warm or too cool,” he says. “But the technology is getting there.”

Designers and lighting consultants are steering away from the matching pendants above an island.

“They’re almost like a gate,” says Allen of the Light Shop. “You want to move them out of the way so you can see what’s happening in the kitchen.”

By Stacy Downs

(McClatchy Newspapers)

(MCT Information Services)