A modern kitchen, therefore, tends to be minimal and free of additional ornamentation. Emerging out of pure requirement, removing trinkets, gadgets, and clutter led to a revolution in kitchen design. In modern kitchens, across the board all unnecessary extras have been done away with in exchange for a few pieces of cutting-edge technology.
It is common to find frameless cabinets, with clean-cut lines and a lack of carved details, in contemporary kitchen designs. Even the number of colors in a modern kitchen are reduced. Bright whites and pale tones make up the base palette, contrasted with a few stand-out bold color features used throughout the room. Simplicity is key.
For all of these reasons, controlling light and shadow, to create features and depth in the kitchen, has played a large part in modern kitchen design schemes. Modern and contemporary lighting and light fixtures are regularly used to great advantage in living rooms and dining areas, bringing elegance, class, beauty, and fun to every space. However, until very recently, the kitchen remained free of modern lighting experimentation. Now, designers are starting to introduce more and more modern lighting elements to the modern kitchen, with great success.
There are a few lighting design styles which fit seamlessly into a modern kitchen, such as suspended lighting, chandeliers and pendant lights. Be bold, and transform the most ordinary of rooms by making a statement with a feature lighting piece.
Statement Chandeliers
Modern décor has had an overhaul, and chandeliers are making a comeback in a big way. Once considered very traditional in nature, chandeliers have been updated to fit a more modern design scheme. Jewels, glass, wood, and metal, the modern statement chandelier looks nothing like its old-fashioned ancestors that occupy hotel lobbies.
Chandeliers are designed to be a centerpiece, to be put on display and draw focus. Chandeliers, therefore, can help to define the style of the space they are placed in. From small apartment kitchens looking for a special feature piece, to open and spacious industrial kitchens seeking warm elegance, chandeliers can make diverse statements in modern kitchen spaces. A non-descript room can be completely transformed, an ordinary area into a glamorous dining space, with the addition of a statement chandelier.
When it comes to picking a chandelier to make a statement in your kitchen, there are a vast array of designs to choose from. Round chandeliers provide a wide glow above large kitchen surfaces. Linear chandeliers can beautifully illuminate an island counter with long pools of light. Globe and crystal chandeliers will add glistening sparkles to a dining area, and provide glitz to your kitchen.
Rustic or modern, statement chandeliers will provide something for every personal taste, and a design to compliment any type of décor scheme. For energy efficiency, modern chandeliers even come with LED lights, to maintain their glow for decades.
Pendant Lights
Pendant lighting is a beautifully stylish method of illuminating a kitchen or dining room, skillfully casting soft light onto a large surface area. The fundamental difference between pendant lights and chandeliers is that the pendant typically features a single bulb surrounded by a stylized lampshade. The lampshade acts as reflector and diffuser, which softens the glow to create a soft pool of light beneath it. Pendant lights are a flexible, multi-purpose lighting choice, and will breathe new life into an otherwise dull area.
The versatility of pendant lights come, not only in the variety of styles and materials on offer, but also, in their installation. A single globed pendant light can be used to draw focus to one central artistic lighting structure. However, when several pendant lights are hung together, an entire area, such as an island counter or dining table, will come alive with glamour. Designers tend to stick to the “rule of three” when hanging several. However, pendant lights can be arranged in playful combinations to create one larger feature lighting piece. Experimenting with several sizes and shapes of shades can lead to some beautiful looking results.
For this reason, pendant lighting is incredibly popular with interior designers. Regardless of the space they are working with, or whether the kitchen décor is industrial, contemporary or modern in design, the adaptability of these light fixtures make them a reliable choice. Pendent lighting is an ideal way to illuminate the most used areas of the kitchen, as well as providing a warm, glowing ambience as evening sets.
Suspended Lighting
Although most ceiling lights hang from above, the term “suspended lighting” is reserved for a very specific hanging technique for overhead lighting. Using wire to support the fixture, suspended lighting has the appearance of floating above the room.
Many styles of lamps have been incorporated into the suspended lighting set-up. By default, suspended lighting is thus probably the most versatile of all types of household lighting.
Suspended lighting developed an iconic look out of industrial methods of hanging lights. Not only that, it has also taken the old, traditional influences of chandeliers and pendant lighting and evolved them into something completely new and superbly modern. Therefore, it almost goes without saying that suspended lighting comes in an array of designs to suit almost every style of modern kitchen.
The most common types of suspended lights feature a bar, or set of bars, hung from the ceiling. A simple illuminated bar, floating beneath the ceiling, is the ultimate in “industrial chic” décor, casting strong, bold light. Suspended bar lighting can be minimal and sparse, or can be elegantly accented with crystals to become jewelry for the room. With a bit of imagination, suspended bar lighting will turn the kitchen ceiling into a work of art.
For some, the ultra-modern, bold statement that suspended bar lighting provides will not fit with the atmosphere they are trying to create in their modern kitchen. Suspended liner chandeliers are a softer, more gentle option. Toying with the chandelier design, modern light bulbs are mounted in an enclosed chandeliered framework, all suspended from the ceiling with chains.
Whatever you decide to suspend, be it a globe, a caged set of electric candles, or a strip of LED lighting, this method is the most modern way to light up your kitchen.
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