Kitchen Lighting Gets Risqué for Gen X’ers

Deep within all of us is the deep love for that traditional Rockwellian home setting that offers warmth and comfort due to its perpetual association with family. Yet there is a reason why such nostalgia is buried deep. While such a setting is often longed for during holidays and special occasions, it isn’t one that typically jives with the lifestyles and personalities of today’s Gen X’ers.

Take your kitchen, for example. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking only of the space’s function, and then designing around it accordingly. However, if you truly stop to analyze things for a second, you’ll come to the realization that the kitchen is the epicenter of your home. Almost all activity originates from there. Thus, given the amount of time that you as well as your family and friends will spend in there, should you not then plan on putting a little bit of yourself into the space with your lighting?

Successfully Combining Style and Function

Is this possible without sacrificing function? Believe it or not, style and function are not mutually exclusive. In fact, when it comes to kitchen lighting, one can enhance the other. If you’re like most plugged-in people, then you’ve likely designed your kitchen in a contemporary style. You owe it to the space not to stop that style pattern once you start installing your lights.

How can you apply the level of sophistication assigned to your generation in your kitchen lighting while still seeing to the space’s optimal function? Consider the following tips:

• Mixed recessed lights with stylish fixtures: Many feel as though recessed lights and hanging fixtures don’t mix, yet the truth is quite the opposite. Stylish hanging fixtures are typically used for task lighting, while recessed lights provide ambient lighting. Yet it’s important to know where to place canned lights. Putting them under cabinets or in over sinks ensures that they won’t take away from your hanging fixtures.
• Get creative with your pendants: Hanging pendant lighting over kitchen islands and prep areas offers you a wealth of possibilities when it comes to design. Keep in mind that these fixtures will figure prominently in your design, so don’t be afraid to get a little crazy and creative, like choosing colors contrasting your cabinetry or hanging lights unevenly.
• Incorporate sculpture: If you’re looking to go really bold and risqué with your lighting, any kitchen designer with creativity will tell you to consider a sleek, monorail style fixture that snakes its way over your surfaces from which you can hang fixtures at differing intervals.

Who says that your kitchen lighting ideas have to be boring and bland? Your home is the canvas on which you imprint your personality. Why, then, would that same principle not also apply to your lighting? Find yourself a lighting designer with creativity and fresh new design concepts. Add under counter kitchen lighting to illuminate the floor and lower storage spaces. Go ahead and make a bold, risqué statement to your kitchen with your own personal style.