Task lighting for a working kitchen

Kitchen light is judged at the counter, not from the doorway. A fixture in the middle of the ceiling leaves the person standing at the counter working in their own shadow, because the light arrives from behind them.

A slim picture light fixed under the upper cabinets solves this with very little hardware. Its beam runs down the wall and lands on the counter, while the rest of the kitchen stays as dark as it was.

Where the cabinets wrap a corner, two short fixtures spread more evenly than one long one. Each can be aimed on its own, so the light follows the counter rather than the wall.

Keep the colour temperature warm so food still looks like food, and put the fixtures on a dimmer for the evenings when the kitchen turns into a place to sit rather than to cook.