OT- Lighting under kitchen cabinets?

[JTLAW]

We just had our kitchen cabinets refinished (white) and new quartz counter tops installed. The only thing left is to put in the backsplash. We have been advised by both the countertop installers and the cabinet refinishers to put in lighting under the cabinets prior to having the backsplash put in. I have been looking at Lowes and Home Depot at lighting and have no idea what kind to get. Anyone do this in their house and what kind of lighting would you recommend (ie LED strip lighting, box lighting, etc)? I don't want it to look cheap since we just spent a decent amount of money on the kitchen but don't feel the need to break the bank on cabinet lightning.

Would you wire to a switch or just use wireless remote?

Any first hand experiences with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We have box lighting, wired to a switch. I'd do the same again, in fact we are adding another in the one area where we didn't before. Mine was originally xenon bulbs, which are like the surface of the sun. But I replaced them myself with LEDs from Home Depot. Easy.

This is harder and more expensive to do later, so do it now. I can take a picture if it would help.

 

[mussels]

You have been given good advice. Had them in my last house after a kitchen remodel and they are great. They were hard wired boxes with 3 or 4 halogen lights in each box, all connected to a wall switch. We had a slight overhang on the bottom of the cabinets so they were pretty much invisible. Can't speak of the other options but in general under cabinet lighting is the bomb.

edit: after reading Hawks post I think ours may have been xenon as well but don't know for sure. They sort of looked like one of the old style camera bulbs.

 

[JTLAW]

We have box lighting, wired to a switch. I'd do the same again, in fact we are adding another in the one area where we didn't before. Mine was originally xenon bulbs, which are like the surface of the sun. But I replaced them myself with LEDs from Home Depot. Easy.

This is harder and more expensive to do later, so do it now. I can take a picture if it would help.

Thanks, If you have a picture that would be great.

 

[8893]

We have box lighting, wired to a switch. I'd do the same again, in fact we are adding another in the one area where we didn't before. Mine was originally xenon bulbs, which are like the surface of the sun. But I replaced them myself with LEDs from Home Depot. Easy.

This is harder and more expensive to do later, so do it now. I can take a picture if it would help.

Same here, except ours are still xenon, which is why we rarely use them because I'm always afraid a plastic bag, etc. is going to come too close and melt. Good to know about the LEDs (and that it's easy to swap them...).

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Tacky IMO

 

[BlueMAB]

We just had our kitchen cabinets refinished (white) and new quartz counter tops installed. The only thing left is to put in the backsplash. We have been advised by both the countertop installers and the cabinet refinishers to put in lighting under the cabinets prior to having the backsplash put in. I have been looking at Lowes and Home Depot at lighting and have no idea what kind to get. Anyone do this in their house and what kind of lighting would you recommend (ie LED strip lighting, box lighting, etc)? I don't want it to look cheap since we just spent a decent amount of money on the kitchen but don't feel the need to break the bank on cabinet lightning.

Would you wire to a switch or just use wireless remote?

Any first hand experiences with this would be greatly appreciated.

Agree, you have been given good advice.

Go with the wired (do you really need another remote in your dwelling? Where would the remote go? Are you turning these lights on from across the room, or when you're standing at the counter in need of light?)

Measure the overhang on your cabinets and get a low enough profile that the lights will be hidden. There's nothing tacky about indirect lighting. I would use a low profile LED light.

 

[8893]

Measure the overhang on your cabinets and get a low enough profile that the lights will be hidden. There's nothing tacky about indirect lighting. I would use a low profile LED light.

Yep, the overhang should cover them completely.

I think they look best when they are the only lights on.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Same here, except ours are still xenon, which is why we rarely use them because I'm always afraid a plastic bag, etc. is going to come too close and melt. Good to know about the LEDs (and that it's easy to swap them...).

Yes, when we got ours the LEDs were not available. I pulled one out, took it to Home Depot and about $30 and 15 minutes later had replaced them all with LEDs. Now we love to use them.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thanks, If you have a picture that would be great.

 

[TerryBoyz]

Going through the nearly the exact same thing.
I went the ikea route.
Here are some pics.
At first I pop-pooed the idea of cabinet lights but they do look nice. Even with walls yet to be tiled
Plumber comes tomorrow and we can use our sink and dishwasher after over 1 month!
Never thought I would look forward to doing dishes.
Good luck

 

[UConn Esq]

I have hard wired puck lights to a switch next to the sink. They are basically hidden though by the cabinet lip. I would go puck lights for sure. They are small, simple and classy. Mine use G8 halogen bulbs, which are easy to replace and cost under a dollar each on amazon.

 

[CL82]

I had the electrician put them in our remodel. I didn't like the look of light rail with our cabinets so I had him put in strip LED. Box in the basement converts from AC to DC low voltage and wires run up from the basement and come out in a small hole drilled through the 1" space under the cabinets. I had him put the strips along the front of the cabinet base. They are out of sight but give good light coverage onto the counter top. Another option is to put the strip along the back of the cabinet. This will highlight your back splash, but can be more easily seen and may not give as good light on the counter.

I did the lighting plan in the kitchen and I didn't think they were needed (and they aren't) but I do like them. They add light to the workspace and they are a nice look when the other lights are off. Put a fader on them to give yourself more lighting options.

 

[Ukonnfan]

Be careful which lights to buy. We just moved into a rental house with newer undercabinet lighting from a big box store. Heats up the base of the cabinet too much. Melts chocolate inside the cabinet. In our other house we used phillips LED strips. They worked great, ran cool, but you’ll have to buy some two-sided tape. The stuff that comes in the kit won’t stick.

 

[JTLAW]

I appreciate all the insight so far. There are so many different products out there to choose from.

 

[thatguyed]

We're hardwired very slim LED units with dimmer switch and love it. It's become out evening lighting. Not at all tacky

 

[jleves]

Agree with most everyone - hard wired LED with a switch is the way to go. We have room between the top of the cabinets and ceiling and put over cabinet lighting in as well. Great soft lighting when you don't need the full overhead lights.

I would also suggest dimmable LED as a great option so you can vary the output.

Beware of odd shadows and light patterns you can get from LED if you don't have some kind of frosted covering or something to disperse the pattern.

 

[HooperScooper]

Be careful which lights to buy. We just moved into a rental house with newer undercabinet lighting from a big box store. Heats up the base of the cabinet too much. Melts chocolate inside the cabinet. In our other house we used phillips LED strips. They worked great, ran cool, but you’ll have to buy some two-sided tape. The stuff that comes in the kit won’t stick.

LED bulbs run cool so you can switch out the bulbs and that will solve the problem.

 

[8893]

I have hard wired puck lights to a switch next to the sink. They are basically hidden though by the cabinet lip. I would go puck lights for sure. They are small, simple and classy. Mine use G8 halogen bulbs, which are easy to replace and cost under a dollar each on amazon.

Yes, our are pucks, not boxes like @HuskyHawk 's. Not sure now whether xenon or something else, but I need to look for cooler temp ones. Otherwise perfect.