Building a Lighting Plan for a Kitchen With Strong Desert Light

By the time the countertop template is cut, the lighting plan has either been settled or it is about to cost a wall. The spacing is tighter than the fixture box suggests, closer to the way kitchen renovation palm springs pmc smith spaces recessed cans than the manufacturer chart, because desert daylight is so strong that evening fixtures have to work harder by contrast. In a Palm Springs, CA kitchen the plan runs in three layers.

Daylight and glare

The sun over Mount San Jacinto is bright for most of the day, and a polished countertop turns that into a mirror. A honed or matte stone finish cuts glare. Glossy backsplash tile beside a window throws light across the room, and homes in the Coachella Valley get that glare for most of the year, so a textured or satin tile tends to read better.

Task lighting

Under cabinet strips put light on the work surface from the front edge, which removes the shadow a person casts when standing at the counter. They need power, so a switched circuit or a junction is planned at rough-in. A strip with a high color rendering rating shows food and stone as they really look.

Ambient lighting

Recessed cans in the ceiling, set on a dimmer, supply the general light. In a house with a vaulted ceiling, a can needs a sloped ceiling adapter, and the spacing changes. Pendants over an island go on their own switch and hang at a height that keeps sightlines clear.

Accent and evening light

Toe kick lights and lights inside glass doors give a low evening glow without lighting the whole room. Warm color temperature suits evenings, while a cooler one suits a work area. Mixing them in one room looks uneven, so one temperature is chosen for the kitchen.

Testing the plan on site

Before the cans are cut in, a few temporary work lights are clamped where the fixtures will hang and checked at dusk. Shadows from a tall pantry or a range hood show up at once, and moving a mark on the ceiling costs nothing compared with moving a cut hole after the drywall is finished and painted.

Heat from the fixtures

Recessed cans in an insulated ceiling need an insulation contact rating. LED fixtures run cool and are the standard pick in a climate where the air conditioning is already working hard, and the load adds up across a summer in the shadow of Tahquitz Canyon.