BEST · Smart Lighting
The Best Smart Lighting Systems
Cheap smart bulbs fail in the same three ways. Here's what to buy instead.
Kitchen Lighting: A Practical Guide to Getting It Right
Task light where you cut, ambient light everywhere else.
By Sofia Lindqvist, Design Director · Published August 7, 2026 · 2 min read
Photograph: Marc-Olivier Jodoin / StockSnap
Kitchen lighting has one hard requirement — you must be able to see what you're cutting — and one soft one: the room has to be pleasant when you're not cooking.
Under-cabinet light is non-negotiable
Ceiling lights put your body between the fitting and the worktop. Continuous under-cabinet strips at 2,700–3,000K solve it.
Pendant height
Hang pendants 75–85 cm above an island top, and keep them out of the sightline between people sitting opposite each other.
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