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You're planning to remodel your kitchen. You've planned out everything - you've got the granite countertops picked out, the cherry cabinets are on order, and the latest stainless steel appliances have arrived. You've thought of everything...

Except one thing.

Your kitchen lighting plan. These days, the modern kitchen must have more that just utilitarian overhead lighting. Remember the bank of overhead fluorescent lights with the clear plastic diffusion tiles and they were just about the only light source in the kitchen?

Today, you need a lighting plan in your kitchen that will help with functionality as well as the beauty of the room. You need task lighting but you also need lights to add ambiance. Here are some ideas that you can discuss with your electrician to make sure that your new kitchen is perfect in every way and that all this perfection can be seen and enjoyed.

Start with Task Lighting
Make sure that the major work areas of your kitchen have plenty of available lighting. Most new kitchen schemes have lighting under the cabinets to highlight cutting surfaces, lights over the sink or range, and illumination over a kitchen island or stand-alone counter. Lights can be spaced under cabinets to light the work areas on the counters. Recessed or pendant lights can shine down on sinks and stovetops. For kitchen islands, recessed and pendant lighting is your best choice.

Next is Lighting Control
You need to make sure you and your electrician think about how you're going to turn your lighting scheme on and off. Consider placement at the entrance(s) to the kitchen. With modern technology, you have more than just the typical on-off switch. You can have a package of switch and light dimmers installed that will allow you to control the task, ambiant, and accent lighting in the room. There can also be programmable settings that will give you pre-planned lighting looks, depending on your needs - full lighting for major food prep, an accent setting to highlight shadows and colors for a dinner party, and more. Not only can these lighting controls provide an aesthetic look, they can save money on energy and extend the life of the bulbs.

Add Accent Lighting
Accent lights can be overhead track lighting that spotlights the color of the kitchen cabinets, wall scones that can be dimmed down low, lighting within the kitchen cabinets that shines through a semi-transparent cabinet door, and recessed lights around the perimeter of the kitchen to show off the surface of the counters and the new floor.

For your lighting, you can go with the traditional incandescent bulbs or the stark fluorescent bulbs, but you might consider this an opportunity to add low voltage lighting or at least halogen bulbs to save even more energy in a room that is constantly being used and is the hub of most homes. By saving energy, you'll not only cut your electric bill but you'll also be helping to save the planet.

If you need to find an electrician or a low voltage lighting expert, you can post your job on Construction Deal - you'll have electrical pros calling you instead of having to call them at random. This will save you time. And do not get just one bid or talk to only one electrician - the more bids you have, the better your chances are of saving money and finding the right person for the job. At Construction Deal, you get to choose how many electricians will call you so you'll know how many bids you'll be receiving. And it's fast, free, and easy to post your kitchen lighting project!

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