How much light do I need in my kitchen
- It depends. - Really? Is that your final answer?
- Actually, yes.
How much light you need depends on several factors like the colors and textures used in the space. Here in the Southwest, homes tend to have a lot of saturated, matte colors, rough textures, wood and earth tones . As a contrast take a sleek, white, high gloss kitchen. And now try to light both and tell me how much light is needed in a kitchen.
As much as I love quick answers, rules-of-thumb and numbers, here I usually cop out with the "it depends" response. It really does. It is amazing, what a difference color and textures make. The contemporary, sleek, white kitchen not only asks for less lumens than the dark wood kitchen with the exposed brick walls, but it also needs a different, much cooler color temperature. A more intimate atmosphere can be achieved with warmer color temperatures. Or are you aiming for elegant, or maybe glamorous, or cozy? I just love it, how you can be creative with lighting create the mood and feel a place needs just with a few changes to color temperature and lamping.
The minimum amount of lumens required to meet the illuminance level recommended for kitchens by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) are as follows: .
Dining table 315 lumens
Counters 360 lumens
Range 450 lumens
Sink 450 lumens
Pantry 1080 lumens
Complete 8’ x 10’ Kitchen 4810 lumens
Do keep in mind that this is the minimum. But still, it's not a lot ( approximately equivalent o 3 x 100W incandescent) and could easily be doubled or tripled for a dark kitchen with rough textures. Love my job.
