• Previous Previous
• Next Next
• Photo 5 of 8

5. Light it up(5 of 8)

Like any other room, your small kitchen needs a combination of task and atmospheric lighting. Fluorescent lighting, which casts a bluish light impacting the colorization of objects in the room, including the food, is frequently found in kitchens. To counteract it, consider hanging pendant lights that bathe your eating area in a more appetizing color. And try these easy ways to increase the feeling of size in your small kitchen:

• Use incandescent lighting (which is more yellowish) underneath the upper cabinets shining down on the countertops. Ceiling incandescent spot lighting, when directed at the cabinetry, will increase the shadowing of the space and give the area greater visual movement through light and dark contrast as opposed to cabinetry simply shown in the cold blue of fluorescent lighting.

• Think from the ground up — lighting has also been employed in flooring in recent years, glowing like starlight at night up from the floor. It also can be installed under the base cabinetry shining down onto the toe plate.

  Cabinets lit from within and spotlighted backsplash tiles lighten up this beautiful kitchen designed by Rouzita Vahhabaghai. The space may be small, but it is sophisticated enough to be in complete view of the living areas. (Photo by Maxwell Mackenzie)