Hi, we're remodeling our kitchen and I want to use a hidden lighting approach: above-cabinet cove lighting for general area lighting and under-cab lighting for task lighting.
The kitchen is roughly 11x12 with 8 foot ceilings, roughly a foot from the tops of the cabinets. Floors are an off-white ceramic tile, cabinets, walls, and ceilings will be a medium-gloss white, countertops are a green/gray granite tile, and the backsplash will be glossy white ceramic tile from counter top cabinet.
Pic: http://www.curby.net/pub/temp/Cedro-Kitchen-over-cabinet-lights.gif
First I'm trying to tackle the lighting up top. I'm planning on using brodwax T5 fixtures, about 6x 3' and 2x 2' for a total of roughly 15k lumens, 150W, 82-85 CRI, unknown FSI. These would be mounted centered on 12" deep cabinets (6" from the wall, 6" from the edge) to keep them hidden yet evenly light the walls, soffits, and ceiling, which will be painted a medium-gloss white.
So the questions:
1) Does this seem like enough light? It's roughly equivalent to 9x 100W incandescents, but the light is bouncing around a lot so there will be some loss from absorption. We're trying to keep the colors light to account for this.
2) Is the usually indoor lighting color temperature rule of thumb of 3000K applicable to kitchens, or should I use a higher temp? The CRI is 82-85 regardless of color temperature.
3) Should the lights be mounted closer to the edge? I don't want them to be visible and cause glare, yet I don't want them to be so far back that a lot of light is lost before it can get out to light the kitchen itself.
4) Any other gotchas or issues with this plan? Has anyone else used cove lighting above cabinets to light their kitchen? Do you like it? What would you have done differently?
Again, I know that I'll need under-cabinet task lighting. We're also going to have a range hood with its own lights, and there will be a recessed can pointing down over the sink. However, I just want to make sure that the kitchen overall will be sufficiently lit. Thanks!
The kitchen is roughly 11x12 with 8 foot ceilings, roughly a foot from the tops of the cabinets. Floors are an off-white ceramic tile, cabinets, walls, and ceilings will be a medium-gloss white, countertops are a green/gray granite tile, and the backsplash will be glossy white ceramic tile from counter top cabinet.
Pic: http://www.curby.net/pub/temp/Cedro-Kitchen-over-cabinet-lights.gif
First I'm trying to tackle the lighting up top. I'm planning on using brodwax T5 fixtures, about 6x 3' and 2x 2' for a total of roughly 15k lumens, 150W, 82-85 CRI, unknown FSI. These would be mounted centered on 12" deep cabinets (6" from the wall, 6" from the edge) to keep them hidden yet evenly light the walls, soffits, and ceiling, which will be painted a medium-gloss white.
So the questions:
1) Does this seem like enough light? It's roughly equivalent to 9x 100W incandescents, but the light is bouncing around a lot so there will be some loss from absorption. We're trying to keep the colors light to account for this.
2) Is the usually indoor lighting color temperature rule of thumb of 3000K applicable to kitchens, or should I use a higher temp? The CRI is 82-85 regardless of color temperature.
3) Should the lights be mounted closer to the edge? I don't want them to be visible and cause glare, yet I don't want them to be so far back that a lot of light is lost before it can get out to light the kitchen itself.
4) Any other gotchas or issues with this plan? Has anyone else used cove lighting above cabinets to light their kitchen? Do you like it? What would you have done differently?
Again, I know that I'll need under-cabinet task lighting. We're also going to have a range hood with its own lights, and there will be a recessed can pointing down over the sink. However, I just want to make sure that the kitchen overall will be sufficiently lit. Thanks!
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