Kitchen Lighting Ideas: How to Choose the Right Lighting for Your Kitchen

You can spend months choosing a benchtop, cabinetry colour and kitchen tapware, then leave the lighting until the last minute. It's an easy thing to do, but lighting can make a big difference to how the finished kitchen looks and, more importantly, how easy it is to use.

Your kitchen needs enough light to prepare dinner, but you probably don't want it lit up like a supermarket when you're having a glass of wine at the island bench. At Buildmat, we recommend choosing lighting while you're planning the cabinetry and layout, not once everything is installed. That gives you time to work out where you'll need light, where you'd like a feature and what your electrician needs to allow for.

1. Start With Three Types of Kitchen Lighting

Before shopping for beautiful pendants, think about what each light needs to do. A good kitchen light schedule usually combines a few different types, rather than asking one row of ceiling lights to do everything.

Lighting type	What it does	Examples
Ambient lighting	Lights the room generally	Downlights, ceiling lights, flush mounts
Task lighting	Lights the areas where you cook and clean	Under-cabinet LED strips, directional spotlights
Accent lighting	Draws attention to a feature or adds atmosphere	Wall lights, shelf lighting, decorative pendants

We'd usually start with general lighting and task lighting, then add decorative fixtures where they make sense. It's also worth asking your electrician about separate switches: there's no reason your feature pendants and every downlight need to come on together.

Pictured: Telbix Bonura 14 Pendant

2. Make Your Kitchen Island a Feature With Pendant Lights

A kitchen island is one of the best places to have some fun with lighting. Pendant lights can help define the island in an open-plan space, especially when the kitchen is visible from the dining and living areas.

How many pendants should go over a kitchen island?

You've probably seen plenty of kitchens with three pendants. It's a popular look, but three isn't a rule. Two might suit a smaller breakfast bar, while one long linear pendant can look cleaner above a large island. We often recommend choosing the size of the fittings first, then working out how many you actually need. Three oversized pendants can crowd a modest bench; three tiny ones can disappear over a long island.

Think about the light they produce, too. A smoked or dark glass shade can be a beautiful statement piece, but it may not provide all the task lighting you need. That's where downlights or another layer of light comes in.

How high should kitchen pendants hang?

As a starting point, pendant lights are often hung around 750–900 mm above the benchtop, depending on the fitting and ceiling height. Before deciding, check the view from both a seated and standing position. If the fitting blocks your line of sight across the kitchen, it may be too low.

For a contemporary look, the Telbix Bonura 14 Pendant combines black detailing with ribbed smoked glass. It's a decorative choice, so we'd pair it with practical task lighting rather than relying on it alone. The globe is sold separately and dimming depends on the globe and controls selected.

3. Choose Downlights for Useful General Lighting

Downlights are popular because they sit discreetly in the ceiling and don't compete with the kitchen's finishes. But here's something we encourage customers to think about: evenly spaced downlights aren't necessarily well-positioned downlights.

If you're standing at the bench and the lights are directly behind you, your body can cast a shadow across your chopping board. Work with your electrician or lighting designer to position lights around the work areas, rather than just creating a neat grid on the ceiling.

When comparing downlights, check lumens for brightness, beam angle for how widely the light spreads, colour temperature for the appearance of the light, and whether the fitting is dimmable. For existing ceilings, confirm the cut-out dimensions before buying replacement fittings. We'd also consider low-glare options in open-plan rooms where you can see across the ceiling from the lounge.

4. Try Flush Mounts or Spotlights in Smaller Kitchens

Not every kitchen has the ceiling height for hanging lights. In an apartment, galley kitchen or room with a low ceiling, a flush mount or ceiling light can keep things simple without taking up visual space.

If you want to direct light to a few different areas, take a look at ceiling spotlights. They're particularly useful when you want light towards the sink, worktop or shelving rather than one fixed pool of light. Track lighting can also work well, though the track itself becomes part of the room's look.

For example, the Telbix Picard 5 Light Spotlight in Black is worth a look if you like directional, track-style lighting in a single fixture. It has five spotlights and selectable 3000K, 4000K and 5000K colour temperatures. One thing to know before buying: this model isn't dimmable.

5. Add Under-Cabinet Lighting Where You Prepare Food

Under-cabinet lighting is easy to overlook until you're standing at the bench trying to chop vegetables in your own shadow. Overhead cupboards can block ceiling light, so a strip beneath the cabinets helps get light directly onto the worktop.

LED strip lights are a popular option because they're discreet and can run along a longer stretch of cabinetry. We recommend considering a diffuser or aluminium profile for a smoother line of light, rather than seeing individual LED dots reflected in a glossy splashback.

Plan the position, power supply and switching before the cabinetry is installed. If you want to use the strip as a softer evening light, check that the LED strip, driver and dimmer are compatible. A high colour rendering index, ideally CRI 90 or above, is also worth considering where you'll prepare food.

Pictured:Robert Gordon Curved Wall Light in Terracotta

6. Use Wall Lights and Accent Lighting Sparingly

Not every light needs to help you read a recipe. A well-placed wall light can bring attention to a stone splashback, a section of open shelving or a dining nook next to the kitchen. You can explore more options in our indoor wall lights collection.

We'd choose one or two features to highlight rather than lighting up every shelf, cabinet and corner. Otherwise the space can start to feel busy, especially if you've already chosen a statement pendant above the island.

If you're after something with more character than a standard metal fitting, the Robert Gordon Curved Wall Light in Terracotta is handmade in Australia from ceramic. It's a lovely option for adding a warm, earthy detail to a kitchen-adjacent dining nook or feature wall. It's made to order, so allow extra time in your renovation schedule.

7. Choose a Colour Temperature That Suits the Space

Two lights can be equally bright and still make a kitchen look completely different. That's colour temperature, measured in Kelvin (K). It describes how warm or cool the light appears, not how bright it is.

Colour temperature	How it looks	Where we'd consider it
2700–3000K (warm white)	Soft and warm	Relaxed kitchens, dining areas and timber finishes
3500–4000K (neutral white)	Balanced white	General kitchen lighting and food preparation
5000–6500K (cool white/daylight)	Cooler and crisper	Where a noticeably cooler appearance is preferred

For most homes, we'd start by comparing warm and neutral white. Warm white often works nicely with timber, cream stone and brass; neutral white can be a good choice when you want a clearer-looking work area. Try not to mix very warm pendants with very cool downlights without seeing them together first.

Some fittings offer selectable colour temperatures, which is handy when you're still deciding. For more detail, read our warm white vs cool white vs daylight guide.

8. Match Your Lighting to Your Kitchen Finishes

Your lighting doesn't have to match every handle and tap exactly. But it should feel like it belongs with the finishes you've already chosen. A black pendant might tie in with black window frames or kitchen tapware; smoked glass can sit nicely alongside darker cabinetry; and warm ceramic wall lights can soften a room with lots of stone and straight lines.

We recommend looking at your lighting choices alongside samples of the benchtop, cabinet doors and hardware, rather than choosing each item in isolation. And remember to look at the fixture switched off. Pendants and wall lights are part of the design all day, not just after dark.

9. Plan Dimmers and Switches Before Installation

It's worth thinking about how the kitchen will be used after dinner. If your island is also where people sit and chat, you probably won't want all the task lights on at full brightness.

We'd consider separate controls for general ceiling lighting, island pendants and under-cabinet lights. Dimmers can help too, but don't assume every LED fixture is compatible. Confirm the fitting, globe or driver and dimmer combination before buying, and have a licensed electrician plan and install the electrical work.

Which Kitchen Lighting Combination Should You Choose?

Kitchen layout	Combination we'd consider
Small kitchen	Flush mount or downlights, plus under-cabinet task lighting
Kitchen with island	Island pendants, general downlights and task lighting at the benches
Galley kitchen	Carefully positioned downlights or spotlights, plus LED strips
Open-plan kitchen	Statement pendant, dimmable general lighting and separate switches
Kitchen beside a dining area	Practical kitchen lighting with a decorative pendant or wall light in the dining zone

You don't need every lighting type in every kitchen. Start with the jobs the room needs to do, then choose one or two decorative pieces that suit the space.

Shop Kitchen Lighting at Buildmat

Whether you're looking for a statement pendant or understated ceiling lighting, browse our indoor lighting collection for options that suit your renovation.

Need a second opinion on what works with your cabinetry, sink and tapware? Book an appointment at the Buildmat Selection Centre in Hughesdale for expert help comparing finishes and choosing products that work together. Visits are by appointment, so contact our team to arrange a time.

Kitchen Lighting FAQs

What type of lighting is best for a kitchen?

A combination of general ceiling lighting and task lighting is a good starting point. Add pendants or wall lights if you'd like a decorative feature.

How many pendant lights should I hang above a kitchen island?

It depends on the island length and the size of the pendants. Two or three are common, but one large or linear pendant can work just as well.

Are downlights or pendant lights better for kitchens?

They do different jobs. Downlights provide discreet general lighting, while pendants can define the island and add character. Many kitchens benefit from both.

Is warm white or cool white better for kitchen lighting?

Warm white creates a softer feel, while neutral white is often useful for food preparation. We'd compare 3000K and 4000K in your space before choosing.

Is under-cabinet lighting worth it?

Yes, particularly where overhead cupboards cast shadows onto your worktop. It can also provide a softer light in the evening.

Can you put wall lights in a kitchen?

Yes. Wall lights can work well beside open shelving, on a feature wall or near a dining nook. Choose a fitting suitable for the location and have your electrician check placement.

Should kitchen lights be dimmable?

Dimming is useful in kitchens that double as entertaining spaces. Just make sure the light fitting and dimmer are compatible.