Under-Cabinet Lighting

Light Where You Actually Cut and Pour

Stand at almost any kitchen counter under recessed ceiling lights and look down. Your head and shoulders are between the light and the cutting board, and the upper cabinets throw a band of shade across the back of the counter. Theweeklytimes installs under-cabinet lighting in Irvine kitchens to fix exactly that, and it is often the single change that makes the biggest difference for the least money.

Strip, Puck or Bar

There are three common fixture types, and they suit different kitchens.

LED tape or strip in a channel. A continuous line of light, set in an aluminum channel with a frosted lens so you do not see individual dots reflected in a polished counter. This gives the most even light and suits long cabinet runs. It needs a driver, usually hidden in a cabinet above.

Puck lights. Small round fixtures spaced along the underside of the cabinet. They are cheaper and easy to add, but they make bright circles of light with dim gaps between them, which shows on a glossy quartz or porcelain surface.

Linear LED bars. Rigid fixtures, often with the driver built in, that link end to end. They are a good middle ground when there is no convenient place to hide a separate driver.

For most remodels we recommend strip in a channel, mounted toward the front of the cabinet rather than against the wall. Mounted at the back, the light glares off the backsplash tile and highlights every uneven grout line. Mounted at the front, it washes the counter itself.

Color and Brightness

Pick a color temperature that matches the ceiling lights, usually around 2700K to 3000K in a home kitchen. Mixing a cool 4000K strip under the cabinets with warm cans overhead makes the counter look like a different room. Choose a high color rendering rating so food, wood and stone look like themselves. And put it on a dimmer, because the brightness you want while chopping is not the brightness you want at eleven at night.

Wiring It Properly

Under-cabinet lighting that is part of a permitted remodel should be hardwired, not plugged into a counter receptacle with a cord running along the backsplash. It should also be switched separately from the ceiling lighting, which is both what California’s energy rules expect and what makes it useful. We run the feed while the walls are open, place the driver where it can be reached later for service, and put the switch where you would reach for it first, usually at the end of the main counter run.

When the cabinets are staying and the walls are closed, we can still do a clean job. The feed can often come up from a receptacle box or down from above the cabinets, and the cable runs inside the cabinet rather than on the wall.

Cabinets Matter

Framed cabinets have a lip at the bottom of the face frame that hides a fixture from view when you are sitting at an island. Frameless cabinets do not, so we add a light rail or recess the channel to keep the diodes out of sight. Tell us which you have, or which you are ordering, before the lighting is chosen.

Toe-Kick and In-Cabinet Lighting

A low strip in the toe-kick makes a useful night light and helps a kitchen read as finished. Glass-front uppers can take a slim strip inside. These are nice to have. If the budget is tight, spend it on the task lighting first.

When Not to Bother

If your upper cabinets are coming out for open shelving, or your counters sit under a large window with good daylight, under-cabinet lighting may not earn its keep. We will say so.

Call (949) 383-3319 to talk through the under-cabinet lighting for your Irvine kitchen.