🍳 Kitchen Design Tool
Kitchen Lighting Calculator
Design a complete layered kitchen lighting plan — ambient recessed, task under-cabinet, island pendants, and accent. Calculates every zone, flags shadows, and gives a Kitchen Brightness Score.
Layout style preset
Measurement units
Metric
Metres, m2
Imperial
Feet, sq ft
Kitchen layout
Galley
L-shape
U-shape
Open plan
Kitchen dimensions
Total length of all countertop runs
Island / peninsula
Luminaire specification
Primary ambient light source on the ceiling
Override auto count or leave on auto
Typical 6″ recessed: 700-1000lm
Kitchen designer
Drag appliances into the room. Tap a placed item to select it, then drag to move or click the red x to remove. Drag an item outside the room to delete it.
Drag in
Sink
Stove
Fridge
Dishwasher
Microwave
Range hood
Island
Pantry
Base cab
Wall cab
Drag items from the left into your kitchen
0 items placed
Colour temperature (CCT)
Lighting mood
Balanced
CCT mix
3000K / 3500K
Please enter kitchen length and width.
Total lumens (all layers)
0
lm
0
Recessed lights
0
Under-cabinet (lm)
0
Island pendants
0W
Total load
Kitchen floor plan — lighting layout
Kitchen Brightness Score
Calculating…
0
/ 100
Lighting layer breakdown
Zone-by-zone lux targets
Zone
Target lux
Achieved
Status
Kitchen layout / area
Ambient layer
Under-cabinet task layer
Island / pendant layer
Total lumen output
Total installed load
Recommended CCT
Kitchen lighting scenes
Great kitchens change lighting throughout the day. Tap a scene to see the ideal settings.
🍳 Cooking
500 lux · 3500K
🥂 Entertaining
100-150 lux · 2700K
🌙 Night
10-30 lux · 2200K
🧹 Cleaning
500+ lux · 4000K
☀️ Morning
200-300 lux · 3000K
Island pendant spacing guide
Enter your island dimensions above, then calculate to see personalised pendant recommendations.
Pendants
—
recommended
Spacing
—
inches apart
Hang height
30-36″
above counter
Pendant diameter: 12–16 inches for standard islands. Rule of thumb: one pendant per 2ft of island length. Centre pendants at 30–36 inches above the counter surface.
Countertop footcandle targets by zone
IES-recommended illuminance targets for residential kitchens. Under-cabinet task lighting is the single most impactful kitchen upgrade.
| Zone | Target lux | Footcandles | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| General ambient | 200–300 | 19–28 fc | Recessed ceiling |
| Countertop (prep) | 500–750 | 46–70 fc | Under-cabinet strip |
| Sink (task) | 500+ | 46+ fc | Recessed above sink |
| Hob / cooktop | 500+ | 46+ fc | Range hood + recessed |
| Island / bar | 300–400 | 28–37 fc | Pendants |
| Pantry | 200–300 | 19–28 fc | Strip or puck lights |
Common kitchen lighting mistakes
The most expensive to fix after a kitchen remodel — plan around them now
Recessed lights directly above the counter — When you stand at the counter, you block the light. First recessed row must be 18–24 inches OUT from the cabinet face. Under-cabinet strips fix counter shadows completely.
5000K interrogation-room syndrome — Cool white above 4000K makes kitchens feel clinical. 3000K ambient + 3500K task is the professional sweet spot.
Uneven island pendant spacing — Pendants that aren’t centred or evenly spaced are obvious and very expensive to fix. Calculate spacing before any wire is pulled.
No dimmers on any circuit — A kitchen with one lux level can’t transition from cooking to entertaining. Three separate dimmer circuits (ambient / task / island) is the minimum.
No under-cabinet task lighting — Upper cabinets cast shadows on every work surface without it. 200–250 lm/ft of LED strip under the cabinets transforms the counter completely.
Pendants too high or too low — Island pendants should hang 30–36 inches above the counter. Too high loses task value; too low creates glare at seated eye level.
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