With most rooms, it is fairly easy to bring in ample natural light via windows in order to make the occupants comfortable. As long as you have at least 1 wall (or preferably 2 walls) with some decent sized windows, a room will typically feel comfortable and open. Kitchens are a special case. Most often, the upper portion of kitchen walls have cabinets hanging on them. This is done to create adequate storage. Sure, there is traditionally a 3'x3' window over the sink, but that really brings in just a small amount of light. And many kitchens have 3 walls of either doors or cabinets, also limiting the amount of windows.
One alternative to this is to eliminate the upper cabinets on an exterior wall and replace them with a row of windows. If there is plenty of other storage in the kitchen, this can be a good option as it allows you to flood the kitchen with natural light. But with many kitchen layouts, this creates a storage issue.
I employed another option in a recent design. I placed two long, narrow windows above the base cabinets but below the upper cabinets. While the size of the upper cabinets might not be as large as they could be in a design without the lower windows, the upper cabinets can still offer a substantial amount of storage.
Not only does this arrangement offer more square feet of window than the typical 3'x3' window, it also can provide some reflected lighting of the room. Sunlight entering the windows tends to bounce off the smooth counter top and be reflected up towards the ceiling.
Another benefit is how this design is just a little bit different than the norm and thus adds a little interest to the kitchen.
