Light Up Your Kitchen

Transform your kitchen with replacement kitchen doors from DIY Homefit

So you’re standing looking round at your kitchen and something just doesn’t look right. It feels like it’s time for a bit of a change.

If you are not in the position to undertake a complete kitchen refurbishment then one great idea to consider is fitting replacement kitchen doors as these can really transform your kitchen without too much major effort or disruption – or expense! Take a look at our gallery of kitchen pictures and ranges of replacement kitchen doors to see what a difference simply changing your doors can make.

But, whatever you decide to do to you kitchen, there is one thing that is so often overlooked. Something that can completely change the ambience of your kitchen and make the difference between it being wonderful or mediocre.

That something is lighting. Let’s look at some different types of kitchen lighting.

Pendant lights

A pendant light is one that hangs down from the ceiling. It has the advantage of bringing the light closer to the specific place where you need it, and can also brighten up the surrounding area. There is a wide variety of different types of shades for pendant lights, ranging from industrial style metal frames to more ornate frames (such as Tiffany design) or a whole range of modern designs.

Choosing the right shade is really important to create the level of light and the kind of ambience you want for your kitchen. For example, the image below shows some glass  pendant lights teamed with our Aldridge replacement kitchen doors in Denim. The overall ambience is warm and distinctive.

Surface lights

Whilst pendant lights – such as those pictured above – can look stunning, the fact that they hang down from the ceiling means that they can become an obstruction. So another popular option is surface lights.

A surface light fixes to the surface of the ceiling or wall and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can range from fluorescent tubes to spotlights to small single bulb fixtures.

You can achieve completely different lighting effects by skilful use of surface lights. You can highlight different areas of your kitchen in different ways, having some in bright light and others dimmer. Surface lights can really bring visual variety into your kitchen so think carefully about the types and locations you want.

A variant of surface lighting is to incorporate lighting into your kitchen furniture. The image below shows our Gothic replacement kitchen doors in Lissa Oak. Lighting has been incorporated into the glass-fronted cabinets to give an ethereal effect to the kitchen.

Recessed Lights

Recessed lights fit into the kitchen ceiling and require enough open space above the ceiling to contain the housing for the light. They give a streamlined look to kitchens and can provide clean bright light. They became popular in the 1980s but this has waned slightly in recent years due to the logistics of fitting them. But progress is being made all the time in terms of making recessed lighting more efficient so they are definitely still worth considering.

The image below shows our Venice replacement kitchen doors in Porcelain White. As you can see, the combination of the white units and stylish recessed lighting gives a very cool contemporary look to this kitchen.

So as you can see, your choice of kitchen lighting can make a tremendous difference to the overall appearance and ambience of your kitchen. Whether you are undertaking a complete kitchen refurbishment, or just want to make a small but significant change, lighting is an excellent place to start.