Planning Outdoor Kitchen Lighting For Convenient Outdoor Cooking

How much more time would you spend cooking outside if you had outdoor kitchen lighting that gave you the flexability to comfortably cook outdoors?

No more sweating in the kitchen, sub-standard indoor grilling, or wierd smells that stick to your clothes.

If you want to give your food that extra kick, start by cooking outdoors.

You're going to need outdoor lighting that you can work comfortably with to easily prepare your meals the way they were meant to be prepared.

The right outdoor lighting can make this happen for you and we'll show you how.

Task Lighting

Outdoor kitchens require adequate task lighting that gives you an unobstructed view of the task at hand.

The idea behind task lighting is to provide you with a properly positioned light source while chopping, grilling, sauteing, or baking without the annoying shaddows that can get in your way.

At the very least those shaddows can be distracting and even cause you to hurt yourself while chopping or handling hot items.

Task lights should not be used as your only light source but are a great source of targeted, focused lighting for a specific task such as chopping or preparing.

Positioning

Task lighting is of no use unless they're positioned properly. Your task lighting's placement will determine how well it works with your outdoor kitchen.

Task lighting is often positioned low enough so you can easily see whats in front of you. That way you won't get in the way of the light's beam spread which only results in annoying shaddows.

For example, if you were using task lighting for your grill you might decide to position your lights in a way that your work space remains free from shaddows.

Outdoor kitchen lighting shouldn't be overly exposed to the high temperatures of your BBQ grill, so you'll want to position your light fixtures a bit further away from the heat source.

For purposes of task lighting, positioning your lights further away increases the chance that your lighting could cast a shaddow, putting a damper on your task lighting.

Therefore, you might hang overhead mounted outdoor string lighting over your grill. You'll want your string lights to hang down far enough so they'll produce the task lighting for which they were meant.

Your string lights should be positioned far enough away from the heat source so that they're not over exposed to the grill's high temperatures.

If you tend to use a particular countertop for preparation make sure that your lighting is positioned in front of you. If you feel you can't get away with it, under cabinet lighting might work better.

Under Cabinet Lighting

Under cabinet lighting for outdoor kitchens is another form of task lighting that is really effective for outdoor kitchens. This lighting is mounted flush up against your outdoor cabinetry or underneith the lip overhang of a raised countertop.

When lit, this task lighting gives you an abundance of light without any shaddows. It stays out of your way and takes up none of the counter space you'll need when working in your outdoor kitchen.

If you have limited space but need under cabinet lighting, you can still get lots of light from outdoor rope lighting.

Rope lighting is perfect for tight spots where lots of light is needed. They're also flexible and can be molded to fit tight corners or crevices.