Work Area Lighting

• Another name for work area lighting is task lighting. This is what you would ask for if you were to go to a lighting store or designer for help. Task lighting is important to a kitchen island that is used as a food prep island, or for cooking or cleaning up. Many a cook will tell you about the frustrations of bad lighting, and guests will tell you if your dishes are not clean. For the best task lighting, you will need pendant lighting. This brings the light down from the ceiling closer to your work area and eliminates many shadows. Pendant lighting can come in the form of one large pendant or a few smaller one- or two-bulb lights.
  
  Track lighting also works well for task lighting. The bulbs can be directed to specific areas of your work space in order to provide the best light without shadows. Fluorescent tube lighting is bright and can provide light to a large island. You can purchase fluorescent tube pendant lighting, but it is not as decorative as most other pendant lights.
  
  

Combine Ambient and Task Lighting

• Ambient lighting is important for every kitchen island, as the island is normally the focus point of the kitchen. Having the correct lighting sets the mood for the meal, conversation and work time. If your island is only used as a breakfast bar, then a low-light setup is all that's needed. This can be created with chandeliers or globes. A pendant light with a cover under the bulb causes the light to reflect up and out, creating a beautiful mood-setting light. But these types of lights cannot be used for task lighting. If you need both types of lighting, use the task lighting options and include a dimmer switch. This will give you the nice bright light you need while cooking or cleaning, and mood lighting for the rest of the time. Another option is to have two sets of track lighting: one set using bright clear bulbs and the other with softer or even colored bulbs. You can have the task track lights directed at the island in front of you, and the ambient track lights directed from behind you. Both track lighting and pendant lights come in a variety of styles to match any décor.