Best Lighting for Granite Countertops

Last Updated on April 2, 2020 by The Tutor

Best Lighting for Granite Countertops

Many homeowners who are remodeling a kitchen or building a new home will take a lot of time to select the perfect countertop. However, little time is spent researching the right lighting to feature the beautiful counters whether they are made from granite, marble, quartzite, or any other shiny surface.

What is the best lighting for granite countertops?
The best lighting will likely be LED lights with a color temperature that matches the color scheme of your countertops with minimal glare.

General Advice on Lighting for Countertops

You will be faced with multiple challenges when determining what is the best lighting for granite countertops. Consider all of the points below carefully. You cannot just purchase any kind of lighting for your kitchen. Take the time to make the right choices.

The Best Lighting for Granite Countertops will help you to do the following:

Bring out the Beauty of Your Counters
Choose the Right Color Temperature
Eliminate Dark Spaces
Provide Enough Task Lighting
Reduce Glare on Your Counters

Bring out the Beauty of Your Counters

Lighting will be the element that will bring out the beauty in your cabinets. There are some beautiful pieces of granite out there that have amazing veins running through them. There are other counters that have sparkles and crystals which will create images under the right lighting conditions.

Your goal should be to highlight all of those great features of your counters and make them the feature that draws all of the attention in the room.

Choose the Right Color Temperature

We talk a lot about how important it is to understand the kelvin color temperature scale. When it comes to granite or marble countertops, you will want to choose a color that will complement the colors in your counters.

If you have counters that have whites, greys and blues, you will likely want a color temperature of about 4000k which is light temperature that is more blue. If your counters are earthier with browns and reds then you should consider using 3000k temperatures or even 2700k with your under cabinet lighting.

Eliminate Dark Spaces

There are areas of your counters that will have dark spaces especially beneath your cabinets. This is where under cabinet lighting will help tremendously. Use lighting to provide adequate light across all of your counter surfaces.

Provide Enough Task Lighting

We have been talking a lot about using light to make your counters beautiful, but the lighting also needs to be sufficient to complete kitchen tasks. You will have to balance the need for task lighting with the lighting that may be appropriate for the colors in your granite.

Reduce Glare on Your Counters

Many of the shiny counter surfaces will reflect light like a mirror. How can you provide sufficient lighting on your counters without seeing the lights shining back at you?

If you have shiny surfaces, consider selecting lighting fixtures that have some type of lens to diffuse the light. This may not work well for pendants but do your best to make sure a light bulb is not shining directly on your counter.

This photo is a perfect example of what NOT to do:

Under cabinet lighting Over the Countertops

The under cabinet lighting you select to go over your counters will likely be the most important lighting selection for your kitchen. Here, you have an opportunity to get creative and select a variety of light temperatures that can be slightly different than what you have in the recessed lights in your ceiling.

I would recommend using linear under cabinet lighting fixtures and not puck lights. The fixtures seem to diffuse the light better and will provide more of an even light. The pucks will result in light spots below on your counters. See my recommended under cabinet lighting fixtures if you are thinking about adding this to your kitchen.

Island lighting Over the Countertops

The second most important lights you will select for your counters will be whatever you have above your island. Usually that will be pendant lights although some people have special recessed lights in this area.

This is another task lighting spot where you need to provide enough light to work while also making your granite countertops pop. Consider putting these lights on a dimmer so you can dial in the amount of light you need at any given moment. For more info, read how to light a kitchen island.

Recommendation – Best Lighting for Granite Countertops

Every kitchen is different and so is every granite countertop. The color variations and detail will vary from one piece to the next.

I recommend buying some lights to test how they look over your counters. Do a temporary install and in a way where you can return them if they do not look right.

Best Lighting for Granite Countertops