For kitchen applications, we strongly recommend a color temperature between 3000K and 4000K. Why? Well, lights below 3000K will cast a very yellowish-orange hue, which can make color perception a bit difficult if you are using the area for food prep, so we don't recommend any lighting below 3000K.
White, chilly light is best in the kitchen—a temperature range of 3,500 to 4,500 Kelvin. The Kelvin scale measures light color, and a lower number means a warmer, yellower light is preferable for a living environment than a kitchen. However, remember that you need to be able to alter the atmosphere.
These bulbs emit a bright, cool light that is close to the sun's natural light. You need bright daylight bulbs in rooms when you're reading or working on projects like cooking and crafting. Daylight bulbs are ideal for focused task lighting in rooms like kitchens and bathrooms.
Bright white bulbs often work better in bathrooms or kitchens, especially when chrome fixtures are present. If you need to do a lot of reading, daylight bulbs are an excellent choice. For everything else, soft white does an excellent job of highlighting darker woods and tones without overwhelming the senses.
For kitchens, it's best to meet somewhere in the middle of warm and cool color temperatures. This can fall around 3500K-4000K. Or, soft-white to cool white.
Color temperature is measured in kelvins - the lower the temperature, the warmer the light. To help narrow down your options to find the best color for LED under cabinet lighting, we recommend you consider CCTs between the 3000K and 5000K range for kitchen under cabinets.
We recommend Warm White for:
The living room, dining room, bedroom or any other room where you want soft lighting. Warm white is more relaxing for the eyes and softens the skin tone and reduces imperfections. We all look better in warm white.
Kitchens generally require a stronger level of lighting than a sitting room or bedroom. The exact amount of light required will depend on the size and layout of the space, but as a general rule of thumb, a kitchen will normally need around 70-80 lumens (units of light) per square foot.
Arguably, the most timeless kitchen cabinet color is white. Bright white cabinets suit a variety of beautiful kitchens, including modern, contemporary, and farmhouse styles. Brilliant whites work to give kitchens a light and airy feel, and off-white options, like the White Dove shade, provides warmth.
Bulbs that emit warm white color – These bulbs provide yellowish-white shade in a range from 3,000 to 4,000 K. They are the best option for your kitchen and bathroom.
“In a kitchen, you really do need three layers of light,” Stumm says. “Ambient is the ceiling light that illuminates the whole room; task is pendants over the island and undercabinet/counter lighting to shine on the area where you're chopping or peeling; and accent lighting.”
Unsurprisingly, a bedroom or living space needs less foot candles than a bathroom or home office. For the kitchen, there are actually two foot candle numbers to be aware of. Generally, the room needs 30 to 40 foot candles, but the working areas need 70 to 80.
Create a layered kitchen lighting design
Ambient, task, and/or accent lighting are the three types of lighting you should include at a minimum. One lighting fixture, such as a magnificent chandelier or an unusual lamp, might serve as your focal point.
4000-4500K: produces a bright white light that's ideal in kitchens, offices, workspaces and vanities where detail-oriented tasks are performed. 5000K and up: produces a bright bluish hue of light, mostly found in commercial locations.
A satin aqua cabinet color, for example, can make a dim kitchen feel lighter and brighter, while a glossy black on the kitchen island and walls can dial up the drama in the space.
What is the most popular color for kitchen cabinets? Though trend reports may show that white is falling out of favor, interior designers say that, generally, homeowners are still most drawn toward white kitchen cabinets. “It's classic and great for resale value,” says Hattie Collins of Hattie Sparks Interiors.
Kitchen lighting is commonly placed on the ceiling, underneath a cabinet or on the wall. In a modern kitchen especially, LED strip lights look great under cupboards and cabinets to light the counter tops and backsplash.
The clear and bright light that LED kitchen ceiling light fixtures create makes using your kitchen far easier. With halogen and incandescent light bulbs at low brightness, it's hard to see what you're doing unless you're right underneath or beside the light.
Warm White (Between the Yellow and White Ranges, 3000K to 4000K): These bulbs are perfect for kitchens, workspaces and bathrooms. Bright White (Between the White and Blue Ranges, 4000K to 5000K): These bulbs work best in kitchens and bathrooms with chrome or white fixtures.
Cool white LEDs tend to give you a cleaner look, perfect for modern kitchens, the Scandi look and places where the best light really counts, for instance sewing rooms and garages. Because white light is brighter and warm light, they are usually used for busier parts of the home, where you tend to cook or work.
Warm White Lighting for Kitchens
If the kitchen décor features natural materials such as tongue and groove ceilings, wood beams, hardwood floors, wood cabinets, or colors such as tans, browns, reds, and oranges. In that case, warmer white temperature lighting will work better.
By far the most versatile, popular and practical choice is LED under cabinet lighting, but there are a number of other options available too, including fluorescent, xenon, and halogen. LED lighting is also the most energy efficient and long-lasting.