Having a two-way switch in the kitchen is very common and we have one as well.

Absolutely. Our current house does, our previous house did, and we added the second switch in our first house for exactly the same reason you are considering it.

My kitchen / dining area has a two way switch for dining light. one at kitchen entry the other in dining area by exterior door where switches for exterior patio lights are. I also have dimmer on my under cabinet LED lights.

We also have two switches for overhead lights in the kitchen. Since we rarely use the overhead lights, I wish we would have instead had two switches for our island pendants.

It is quite common to have two switches.

Yes I have 2 switches for overhead lights at opposite ends of my kitchen❣️They come in handy.

So it is common. I need to start living in updated houses! None of the creaky old houses we have owned has ever had more than one switch. Okay, adding that to the list for our electrician.

Also make sure the switch for the undercabinet lights is in the backsplash close to where you will be prepping. You don't want to have to walk somewhere every time you want more light on the counter to chop something.

Yes to putting everything on dimmers.

I have three switches for kitchen lighting. One in the breakfast area with dimmer, one in the kitchen itself with dimmer and one regular switch in the hallway leaving the kitchen.

I have 3.

Hint: if you have multiple switches in each location like I do, be sure the electrician places them all in the same order everywhere. I needed labels. :P

@Shannon_WI I was going to put both the undercabinet and over sink together by the sink area.

I love having lights on all the time and my husband is always mad at me for leaving them on, so we compromised and we have a Lutron occupancy switch on the kitchen/dining room door entrance & a sensor between the back door & basement entrances that will kick on the lights anytime I walk in the kitchen from the dining room, back, basement, or pantry. And they kick back off after 30 mins of vacancy so he's happy too.

Hunzi, I have one in the basement that acts on motion. So if I'm working without much movement or I'm facing on such a way that it doesn't detect me, 8t leaves me in the dark! I wave an arm and it comes back on. That used to happen in office conference rooms, too lol.. We talked a lot but didn't move around enough.

Yes to having multiple two way switches, for all the lighting in the kitchen. And, yes…all dimming capable.

We have 3 types of lighting fixtures in the kitchen,,,semi-flush, recessed, and under cabinet, all on three gang switchplates. At either entrance to the kitchen, we can control the lighting. We’ve never found the need to have switches for the under cab lights at the counters, as we always turn on those lights first, as we enter the room. For quick visits to the kitchen, they’re all we need.

If you use Lutron switches, lighting throughout the house, and all outside lighting too, can be controled via their very nifty app. Often, while in bed (just before going to sleep), I’ll check the app on my phone or iPad. The app will tell me if any lights were left on, and where. I‘ll turn them off while under the covers, roll over and enter dreamland.

Maybe I ought to look at timers. I got my electric bill yesterday and the rate increased 15% over last year.

Are you using LED bulbs for all of your lighting? Our electric bill dropped precipitously, when we made the change to LEDs. Here, on Long Island, where electricity is expensive, our usage is a mere blip now, with a very low monthly cost…2800sq.ft. home, with extensive lighting.

bpath, we had that problem in the basement too - I have my office/studio down there and when I sat on the sofa to work, it would time out and not see me moving. - We added a second sensor closer to the sofa and now I'm not left waving in the dark! ;-) In the kitchen I'm usually walking through to someplace or moving enough around, so it's not a problem. We have those sensors/switches all over - bathroom lights (2 of 3 bathrooms), bathroom fans, the pantry, the kitchen, the laundry, my studio - it's getting to where I expect a light to just come on when I walk into a room, and I get thrown off when they don't LOL.

@darbuka We are slowly switching over to all LED. I think the biggest problem is the two fridges and full size freezer, and my husband's preference for living in a meat locker during the summer. I have pointed this out to no avail.

“… and my husband’s preference for living in a meat locker during the summer.”

Lol. How old is your AC system? The newer systems are much more energy efficient. Same with fridges and freezers. Our new (not quite 6yo) SZ uses much less energy, than the SZ we had in our former home. That fridge was 25yo when we sold the house in 2015.

We have wall units downstairs. The house is a boiler with radiators, no ducting. We added mini-splits upstairs when we gutted a couple of years ago.

I agree with others...definitely put in switches at both entrances to the room---you'll appreciate the convenience. We had 2 installed in our open kitchen during our remodel--and then I realized it would needed 3

Oops.. Posted accidentally... Anyway the Lutron Caseta switches have a remote switch you can program and mount anywhere. I've installed 2 about 2 years ago now and really appreciate the convenience.