Kitchen lighting improves every aspect of your kitchen. It gives light to areas where it is needed such as the working areas or tables. It also enhances the ambience by casting a warm and inviting glow. Kitchen lighting fixtures is as important as your kitchen appliances. Without it, everything will be useless, maybe of course, except if you want to cook using a candle.
Ideally, kitchen lighting design should aim to strike a balance: sufficiently bright and suitably positioned to provide good illumination especially around work spaces such as the hob, sink and food preparation areas; yet without appearing unduly harsh. In many, if not most, households, the kitchen is the heart of the home and should therefore be a warm and welcoming place, not stark and sterile.
So, the key to getting kitchen lighting fixtures right is understanding the basic principles of lighting design and understanding how the space itself functions. Underpinning most contemporary kitchen lighting designs is the idea that there are different types of light, usually labelled decorative, accent, task and ambient. Using each of these appropriately and achieving an overall balance to the room results in an effective and pleasing arrangement.
From : http://wonotirto.com/2010/11/perfect-kitchen-lighting-fixtures-to-improves-every-aspect-of-your-kitchen/