How do I light my kitchen properly?

If there is one place in the house where you must be able to see clearly, it is the kitchen! This is not just for your convenience but above all for your safety.

The ideal lighting for a kitchen: general lighting supplemented by a few, brighter light sources. A piece of advice to bear in mind - make sure that you light your hands, not your eyes!

General lighting

For the general lighting mood, choose a ceiling light or hanging light fitting fitted with laser tubes (neon lights), energy-saving bulbs or LED.
The general lighting must be powerful enough so that you can see into the back of cupboards without difficulty.
We recommend that you opt for direct lighting. It is normally more comfortable visually and indirect lighting more than halves the light output. This figure goes up again if your walls are dark.

Bright light sources to light up specific zones

To improve your visual comfort, place directional lighting above work surfaces, hobs, sinks, etc.
Ideally use LED for this additional lighting: these are more energy-saving bulbs yet powerful enough to give you good light. To find out more, read the question "How to choose your bulb" ?

A good start

A well-lit kitchen is already one step in the direction of convenience and safety. To go further, do not hesitate to review the layout of your kitchen.