Lighting Effects in the Kitchen: Natural or Fluorescent

When do you feel happiest? In a naturally lit room or in a fluorescent hell? Okay, so I clearly have asked this question in such a way as to garner a particular answer, but honestly, don’t you feel better in a naturally lit space than you do a fluorescent one? Think about it: how happy are you walking down a grocery store aisle with bare bulbs glaring down on you in comparison with being in a bright windowed room with only a couple of lights on? You see? You do prefer the natural look, and most of us do.

What it Natural?

Natural light revs us up for efficiency and offers us a way of preserving our natural health. We don’t only physically benefit from natural light, but according to the U.S. Department of Energy, we can save over 15 percent of energy just by switching over to green products and lifting the curtains from the windows. By bringing in more natural light into our space and using sustainable light bulbs set to dimmer switches, we can control the amount of lighting in our homes and make the spaces that require concentration and effort more appealing.

Think about some of the rooms you spend the most time in working. The kitchen is probably near the top of that list. Whether you’re preparing dinner or writing out the grocery list, your kitchen is a space where you get stuff done. To maintain a high level of efficiency and positivity (especially if your soufflé is anything but) your kitchen needs to be well lit and have a natural airiness to it.

Fortunately, most kitchen spaces are designed with an array of windows or skylights to help us get the natural lighting of the space right. But sometimes we still need kitchen lighting to round out the look of the space. So, what type of lighting should we use in the kitchen to maintain the natural feel but still be able to see and prepare our meals after dark?

Decorated Life shares that in order to get your kitchen space looking like it is filled with natural light and not fluorescent bulbs made of nightmares, (particularly in poorly lit spaces) you will want to adorn the room with light reflecting lighting fixtures. Wait a minute. How can we light a room with reflective lighting fixtures? It’s all in the materials.

Say Hello to Bright Spaces

Companies like Lumens and Y Lighting specialize in selling light fixtures designed using different materials, electrics and finishes. Using a highly reflective light fixture like the Acid LED Multi Light Small Pendant designed by Modern Forms will bring an eco-friendly light fixture into your space that doubles as a sort of mirror, reflecting the natural light sources in the kitchen space and bouncing them back around the room, keeping things looking fresh and vitalized. Reflective surfaces open up the space, and will help to make your kitchen a place of calm, warm delight. And don’t stop at the lighting fixtures. Interior design blog Houzz suggests painting your space in bright colors, such as white. Houzz says this will “amplify the light” and make the room feel more uplifting and bright.

It will also benefit you to decorate your kitchen with reflective furnishings, such as with mercury glass fruit or a mirrored pantry. This will open up the space and make you forget that it’s after dark outside. How? Because your lighting fixtures inside have been turned on and their rays are reflecting off of the surfaces of your kitchen, making you lose sight of what time it really is.

To get your kitchen feeling bright and cheery, just get a couple new lighting fixtures and you’ll have everything you need!