Options for Kitchen Cabinet LIghting: Both Inside & Under Cabinet Lights

Have you ever opened a kitchen cabinet door and gazed into the dark shadowy recess towards the back, unwilling to blindly reach in for fear of lurking creepy crawlies? Or while cooking at the benchtop, have you struggled to decipher the pages of the recipe book propped in front of you? Or else have you stood sideways to prevent your own shadow darkening the bench top?

When planning your kitchen renovations, don't forget to factor in lighting for both inside cabinets and also under cabinet lighting to illuminate countertops. This task lighting will not only make your kitchen more comfortable and pleasant but under cabinet lighting can add interesting light effects.

You will have the choice of several styles of lighting when devising your lighting plan, providing scope for you to get exactly what you're after.

Puck Lights

Puck lights are small individual oval or round lights, either halogen or LED, which function as mini spotlights. They can be positioned at regular intervals on the underside of cabinets to light up benchtops or can be used as individual spotlights in a glass cabinet to show off a prized item. With under cabinet lighting, puck lights can either be attached to the underside or else fitted into a recessed space for a more streamlined finish.  

These lights provide great flexibility as you can position them as close or far apart as you wish, in a linear fashion or just one or a few to highlight a specific area. Puck lighting along a countertop can create a pleasant scalloped effect, as the light ebbs and flows rather than shining evenly across the top. 

Strip Lights & Linear Tubes or Bars

Strips lights are a type of flexible belt fitted with closely spaced individual lights forming a long strip. The lights being so closely positioned on the strip, form a more continuous band of light than the scalloped effect created by more widely spaced individual puck lights. Commonly these light strips use LED globes.

While linear tubes or bars are also continuing, they are structured differently. These light tubes more closely resemble traditional elongated fluorescent lights. They come in varying tube lengths and can use either LED or fluorescent globes. 

Both strip lighting and linear tubes provide great under cabinet lighting to illuminate benchtops and also excellent lighting within cabinets. When used to light a countertop, the linear tubes, in particular, have a less organic lighting effect than puck lights as the emitted light is so uniform.

When designing for your new kitchen renovations, make sure to plan for cabinet lighting, both inside and underneath. Contact relevant contractors to learn more about your options.