In a versatile space like the kitchen, multiple light sources are crucial. It will enable you to move around quickly and utilise the room to its total capacity. Without a proper lighting system, doing tasks will be more challenging, and the room’s overall visual will not be as pleasant. Will you be able to appreciate an area filled with shadows?
Why Do You Need Cabinet Lighting
What is the most common furnishing inside a kitchen? It’s cabinets and shelves! The bigger the space, the more cabinets and shelves are installed. While both are excellent features to increase storage space, with more overhead cabinetry, more shadows are formed.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost in this case. You don’t need to let go of the idea of adding kitchen cabinets because it’s also essential in that space. What you can do is incorporate cabinet lighting! It can reinforce the luminance obstructed by the cabinets and other structural elements and prepare worktops for any endeavours.
There are many categories of cabinet lighting, including under cabinet lights, over-cabinet lights, inside-cabinet lights, and kickboard lights. While all those types are essential, we’ll focus only on under-cabinet lighting since it’s the most popular among the other kinds.
Types of Cabinet Lighting
Under cabinet lighting is a stylish way of incorporating ambient lighting in your kitchen and enhancing its work areas. There are different types of fixtures that are suitable under your cabinets, wherever room you want to add them. This includes bar lights, puck lights, rope lights, and strip lights.
Bar Lights
Among the various types of under cabinet lighting, bar lights are considered one of the most popular. It’s customisable and linkable, allowing you to get the fixture ideal for your requirements. Since connecting several bar lights together is pretty easy, they make an excellent lighting solution for irregular or lengthy cabinets. In addition, LED bar lights produce little to no heat, so it’s pleasant to work under them.
Puck Lights
Easy to install and uninstall, puck lights (looks like a hockey puck) are perfect under cabinet lights for renters. They are available in various styles, colours, colour temperatures and mounting methods. Some puck lights are battery-operated and come with an adhesive backing, so you only need to peel and stick, and you’ll have fully functioning under cabinet lighting.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for something more permanent since you own the property, there are those that are recessed or surface mounted that you can hardwire into your mains circuit.
Rope Lights
Thanks to their flexible nature, rope lights are a versatile lighting solution that you can use as décor or accent lighting anywhere in your home, including your under cabinet area. Just be careful when you turn them. Although rope lights are bendable, don’t bend them beyond their capacity, as it may damage the plastic casing and wiring.
LED Tape Lights
If you’re looking for discreet under cabinet lighting, LED tape lights (aka LED strip lights) are the one for you! They have an incredibly low profile, and similar to rope lights, they are also flexible. Tape lights are available in various colours and cuttable in different sizes – some variations are even dimmable! When it comes to installation, tape lights will not make you break a sweat. It has an adhesive backing, so you can stick it to the surface where you need it.
Benefits of Cabinet Lighting
Under cabinet lighting are not just for decorative purposes. Having it comes with more benefits than you can think of. Here are some!
- Enhances Functionality – With under cabinet lights, all your countertops can be utilised as working areas. Thanks to all the workable surfaces, you’ll be able to do your meal prep comfortably.
- Improves Aesthetics – Under cabinet lights can enhance the ambience of your space aside from making it more functional. The added layer of lighting makes the overall visuals of the room fuller and more beautiful.
- Provides Additional Lighting – If you have under cabinet lighting, you have more spots in your space with a lighting fixture. This means you can utilise that area independently (given that the light is not in series with other lighting fixtures), lessening your power consumption requirement.
- Increases Home Value – Under cabinet lights improve your interior design. With levelled-up aesthetics and increased functionality, you’re home can stand out. If you decide to sell, more people may be drawn to your residence thanks to the added utility and scaled-up visuals!
How to Install Cabinet Lighting
Mounting under cabinet lights is straightforward and quick as long as you have everything you need and the skills to speed up the process. If by any chance you’re not confident with your electrical DIY-ing ability, it’s wiser for you to call for an electrician. Although you’ll have to pay extra, at least you’re confident that your lights are installed correctly, and you’re safe.
Now, for those with tools and experience, here’s a simple guide when installing under cabinet lights!
Planning and Measuring
Before diving into the drilling and attaching, you need to plan and measure where you’re under cabinet lights will be. Remember that you need to consider the technical specifications of the fixture and the arrangement of other accessories (like LED drivers) and electrical placements (power supply and dimmer switch). If you’re using a recessed under cabinet fitting, measure and mark the cut-out hole before actually trimming it.
Wiring and Power Source
You most definitely don’t want any wiring to show under your cabinets. To remedy this, determine the power source where you’ll connect the under cabinet lights. If it’s below, you can run your connection inside your bottom cabinets and use cable concealers to hide the unavoidable visible cable. Alternatively, if it’s above, you can tuck away some of the wirings on top of your cabinet and hide them inside a cable tray.
Ensure that you follow the installation guide by the manufacturer to guarantee that everything will work without a hitch. For low-voltage under cabinet lights, make sure that you connect it to an LED driver before wiring it to the mains circuit.
Mounting and Attaching the Lights
After fixing the wiring system and cutting all the necessary holes, insert the fitting (recessed) or mount it onto the surface (surface-mounted). If you use under cabinet lighting with an adhesive backing, peel off the cover and attach it to where you want. Just guarantee you clean the surface before to ensure it will adhere properly.
Maintenance Tips for Cabinet Lighting
Taking care of your lights is essential as it can help keep their pristine quality. So, to give you an idea of what to do, here are some tips!
Cleaning
When cleaning lighting fixtures, you must first check for any precautions stated by the manufacturer. Some may advise you to steer clear from using harmful chemicals. If you don’t see any cleaning instructions, wiping the fixture with a lint-free cloth is best. This will remove any dirt and dust that may prevent the luminance from reaching the surface.
Replacing Bulbs
Most of the time, under cabinet lighting would have integrated bulbs. Therefore, if the light is starting to dim, you may need to look for a replacement fixture. Getting the exact model or something similar will be easier, so you don’t have to patch and trim holes. If you’re using LED tape or rope lights, it’s more convenient since you only need to peel off the old one and stick the new one.
Checking Wires
If you want to be thorough with lighting maintenance, you can check your wiring system occasionally. Doing this will help you catch early signs of malfunction and remedy them immediately.
Conclusion
Under cabinet lighting is a necessary element in your kitchen lighting system. If you’re debating whether to get it or not, the answer is you should! It will make your flow smoother and your space safer, more functional and visually appealing. So, if you are in the market for top-quality LED under cabinet lighting, visit our website, Simple Lighting! We have an extensive collection that you surely don’t want to miss.
