The warmer weather attracts people outside, which means more parties, dinners, and gatherings. What’s the best thing about a party? The food, of course!
Outdoor kitchens have become really popular, as they are a great spot to prepare a delicious home cooked meal and spend time with family and friends. Extend the use of the outdoor kitchen well past sunset with the help of outdoor landscape lights.
This week’s blog will detail how to light up an outdoor kitchen, list different options for lighting an outdoor kitchen, and how lighting up the surrounding area with outdoor landscape lights all leads to creating the perfect outdoor kitchen space.
Set up Task Lighting for Outdoor Kitchen
When it comes to an outdoor kitchen, the most important thing is food. That is why it is essential to install task lighting in this area. Task lighting ensures that there is enough illumination to prepare and cook the food. This type of lighting is also brighter, which makes it perfect for cooking up a delicious meal.
Installing task lights make navigating and cooking in an outdoor kitchen much easier. For example, installing grill lights, overhead lights, pendant lights, and wall lights is a great way to provide clear visibility in food prep and cooking areas. Undercounter or undercabinet lights also provide illumination for appliances that are set underneath the counter. Step lights are also helpful to guide people down stairs in the dark. Light up this walkway with path lights, which provide both functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Task lights make the outdoor kitchen a functional part of the home at all times.
Create a Mood for an Outdoor Kitchen
Sometimes, an outdoor kitchen is not all about the cooking. When attached to a bar or a dining area, it becomes part of the community space. Create a cozy, welcoming, and fun environment by adding some ambient lighting.
The kind of ambient lighting used determines the mood of the space. Adding string lights can make the space feel more whimsical and fun. LED candles can set a more intimate or romantic tone. Tiki torches can also create a festive outdoor environment. Deck lights and hardscape lights not only help light the way in and around the space, but can also increase the visual appeal of the space. Using colored LEDs can turn any outdoor kitchen into the life of the party! Installing a dimmer for the lights offers more control over the lighting and how the space is used. Turn up the brightness when cooking and turn it down a bit to create a more intimate atmosphere when it comes time to enjoy the meal and each other’s company.
The right lighting choice can take an ordinary outdoor space and transform it into a functional, yet stylish outdoor kitchen area, perfect for any mood or occasion.
5 Tips for Lighting an Outdoor Kitchen
Outdoor light fixtures come in many designs, styles, and colors. Choosing the right way to illuminate an outdoor kitchen largely depends on personal preference and requirements of the space. Here are five additional tips to keep in mind when choosing the right lighting for an outdoor kitchen:
- Purpose of the Outdoor Kitchen: Knowing the purpose of the outdoor kitchen can help narrow down the choices to light it. If the outdoor kitchen is to remain purely functional and only to cook, maybe ambient lighting isn’t as needed as much as task lighting.
- Outdoor rated: When using lights outdoors and especially in uncovered areas, double check that they are indeed intended for use outdoors and are wet or damp rated.
- Color temperature: The color of the light has different effects. For task lighting, keep the color temperature on the cooler side to ensure clear visibility when food prepping or cooking. For a cozy or inviting environment, opt for lights on the warmer side.
- Create a cohesive lighting design: Because the outdoor kitchen is part of the bigger outdoor space, ensure that the lighting design extends to all of the outdoor area. For example, turn unique features into focal pointsby lighting them with up lights or create a moonlight effect on ground level plants and shrubs by installing down lights into nearby trees.
- Be safe: Comply with all electrical standards in order to safely enjoy the outdoor kitchen.
Light Outdoor Kitchens with LightCh8in
Outdoor kitchens are a practical and essential place in any home to spend time with friends and family and enjoy the outdoors. Installation of outdoor lights will not only help extend their use, but make it a dazzling space at night.
At LightCh8in, our extensive inventory includes a variety of outdoor landscape brass light fixtures, direct burial cable, LED bulbs, and more. Register or log into a LightCh8in account now to shop everything you need for lighting an outdoor kitchen and make it functional, stylish, and the go-to place for any social gathering this spring and summer.