Lighting in the kitchen with a stretch ceiling: the choice and location of lamps

To make your kitchen look as aesthetically pleasing and beautiful as possible, installing a stretch ceiling is not enough. It is also important to mount the lighting in such a way that it performs all the necessary functions, creates an additional pleasant atmosphere and matches the style of the interior. Not everyone knows how to choose luminaires for a stretch ceiling structure, as well as how to arrange them as organically as possible. Therefore, before installing lighting fixtures in a kitchen with a stretch ceiling, familiarize yourself with all the nuances of such lighting.

In order for the lighting system in the kitchen with a stretch ceiling to last a long time and look at the same time as aesthetically pleasing as possible, it is worth taking care of a number of nuances, which must be observed for a successful installation.

• Whichever luminaire you choose, you need to fix it to the base surface before starting the installation of the ceiling covering.
• Before this process, a number of calculations are carried out, which determine further work. The calculations include the number of luminaires per unit of area, which usually ranges from 1.5 to 2 squares. And also the dimensions of the base ceiling, markings and measurements of the tension structure, the distribution of wiring according to the scheme according to which the lamps in the kitchen will be located are taken into account.
• Match the brightness of the lamps in accordance with the texture of your headset. If its surface is glossy, then due to this, the effect of lighting devices is multiplied. Too much light can be tiring over time.For a white glossy kitchen, products with a power rating of less than 40 watts will be enough.
• A prerequisite for safety when installing kitchen lighting is the de-energization of the room in which the work will be carried out.
• The power of the selected luminaires completely affects the distance at which they should be located from the stretch ceilings. If you prefer LED products, then it is permissible to place them even very close to the surface, since they do not heat up to such an extent as to negatively affect it. As for incandescent lamps, the optimal distance for their location is 10 cm, and fluorescent-type candles are placed at least 6 cm from the stretch ceiling.
• If there is more than one stretch fabric on the ceiling, and there are seams, then the installation of built-in lighting devices should be carried out at a distance of at least 15 cm from the junction.
• It is important that the light temperature of all light sources in the kitchen is the same.

There are a number of lighting structures that allow you to make the stretch ceiling in the kitchen truly original. These products include some types of lighting equipment.

• Pendant lights mean that the lamp, together with the shade, is on a cord, which is located at a considerable distance from the ceiling. These structures are best placed only in kitchens with high ceilings, for example, 3-meter ones.
• Spot products, embedded in a stretch ceiling, direct small beams of light to a specific area and, in combination with each other, illuminate the entire space of the room. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are virtually universal as they suit many interior concepts.
• Interesting models are spots - small ceiling bulbs with a spot glow. Their feature is the body, the light from which can be directed in the desired direction, creating accent lighting.
• LED backlighting. It is laid along the border of the ceiling level on a special pre-installed polyurethane frame. This lighting design makes an additional emphasis on the geometry of the tiers of multi-level ceiling structures. This type of lighting can even visually enlarge the space of the kitchen.
• It is quite difficult to install, but very effective is lighting with the help of fiber optic, which is placed in pre-planned places under the stretch fabric at a distance of 50 mm. Thanks to such lighting, you can create on a stretch ceiling the effect of a starry sky, aurora borealis or even flames, which looks truly mesmerizing, especially at night.
• Partial lighting in combination with an unusual pattern can be done using LED strips. They are installed in the space between the concrete and the tensile structure. For such lighting, you can change the brightness using a special remote controller. And also linear LED strip can be combined with spotlights, which are located in zones.

It is important not only to choose the right model of a kitchen lamp for a stretch ceiling, but also to arrange the devices in such a way that they look as organic as possible in the room or even function as zoning elements in the interior. Luminaires are usually placed according to one of the traditional patterns.

• Spot lamps can be located both along the perimeter of the canvas and along the border of a specific ceiling level.
• Uniform placement assumes that the kitchen space is uniformly filled with light.This can be achieved both by combining several types of sources, and by using a single source with sufficient power.
• Sometimes devices are positioned so that they illuminate a specific subject. This option is called accentuated luminaire placement. An example would be ceiling-mounted lamps above a slab.
• Area lighting usually involves delimiting ceiling levels using light. This is due to the fact that the zones are initially emphasized by multilevel ceiling structures, and the light located along their edges creates an additional effect of delimitation. Most often, built-in spotlights are placed in this way.

It should also be borne in mind that for a stretch ceiling of kitchens in different styles, the types and designs of lighting fixtures can vary significantly, which also affects the choice of products.

• For classic directions stretch ceiling is best combined with hanging chandeliers. The shabby chic concept even includes elements such as candelabra.

• For a high-tech kitchen, the best option would be built-in lighting devices or LED strips. Colored lighting is also acceptable.

• Loft style may include a stretch ceiling with spot and contour lighting. These can be built-in lights and tapes. And also small ceiling lamps in a row are sometimes installed to such a ceiling.

• Stretch ceiling in a Scandinavian interior kitchens can combine built-in lamps with pendant lamps, the design of which is quite simple in comparison with models for the classic direction.

To make the installation of kitchen lamps in a stretch ceiling as simple as possible, and their operation - economical and efficient, pay attention to the advice of experts.

• If 20 or more luminaires are built into the stretch ceiling, then it is advisable to connect the wiring of every 4 or 5 devices with a separate power supply. This will help you avoid high energy costs, and also make it easier to replace a broken lamp if necessary.

• If you are in doubt about the choice between fluorescent, LED and halogen light sources, then give preference to LEDs. For a stretch ceiling, they are as safe as possible, since they are the "coldest" of the above types.

• An additional level of protection will be the choice of such LEDs that have protective thermal rings. Thanks to them, warm elements do not come into contact with the film.

• If you want to create an optical effect on a stretch ceiling, then the location of the lamps plays an important role in this. If the light from the devices is directed upward, then the ceiling surface will visually increase in height. To visually raise the ceiling covering, you can also install an LED strip around its perimeter. If the rays are shining down and horizontally, then the height of the ceiling will seem lower. To visually expand a narrow kitchen space, it will be advisable to install devices with transversely directed light in it.

• If you decide to place kitchen lamps in a stretch ceiling above the working area, it is better if they are located at a distance of 40 to 50 cm from the wall. Otherwise, the shadow from your head will block the light that hits the countertop during the cooking process.
• Match the temperature of the lighting to the color of the walls and ceiling in the kitchen. If they are painted in cold colors, then additional artificial sources of cold light can deprive the kitchen of the necessary comfort.

For information on how to position the lamps for lighting in the kitchen, see the next video.