Undercabinet lighting dummy - decision decision decision!

15 years ago

Ok, I did go to HD and Lowes and check out their displays, but most of them don't work. I will have cream cabinets, UbaTuba countertop, white subway tile backsplashes and the existing ceiling mount fluorescent lighting remains. It's a 10X10 gallary kitchen. I'd like something fairly low cost, with a warm yellowish hue. The ceiling light is pretty bright for whatever kitchen task I have, so these undercabinet lights will mostly for ambience purposes. I already purchased several to start with:

GE T5 Fluorescent Lighting

Xenon

LED from Costco

sorry, have to run, will finish this posting later...................

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

gshop
15 years ago
We bought our undercabinet lighting from HD and are VERY happy with both the price and color. As you can see we have medium color cabinets and granite and it gives a wonderful warm glow. I especially love the lights at night. They are the slim line fluorescent and very low priced. DH used special light molding to hide the romex wire from the walls. He was able to put them all on one switch. Here is a pic with all the lights on, sorry I don't have one with just the undercabinet lights.

Here is a pic of the light, with the molding at the bottom of the picture (I know it's a weird angle):

We purchased some from both HD & Lowes and came home & plugged them in to see the difference in color & choose the HD ones. Good Luck!
snowang
Original Author
15 years ago
These are the fixtures I've gotten from HD:

GE Premium Fluorescent Light Fixture - only about $15, Direct Wire, Thinnest (1 1/4"), can NOT be linked, uses T5 bulbs, 18" long. BTW, I can't find any wiring or connector in the kit. Would I have to buy sth else?

Xenon Premium 3 light fixture - about $49, Linkable, Plug-in connector, 2 light levels, 18" long.

Considering the cost factor, the GE one is definitely better. I'm not sure if direct wiring or non-linkable would become problems when the electrician puts them in. I only need three sets so turning them on separately would be ok.

Ngng, thanks very much for the pictures. I like the look and feel. I'm still surprised that fluorescent lighting can produce the warm color though, since my ceiling fluorescent is not that yellow at all. Is yours GE? I see the wiring in your picture goes on the outside of the cabinet. Looks like your rails hide the lights very well. I wonder if other electricians may drill a whole on the bottom of the cabinet and pull wiring inside. I forgot to take a look at the bottom of the new cabinets and see if the rails are tall enough to conceal the lights. Maybe that's the standard these days?

If my cabinets are 33" wide, what length should I use for the undercabinet lights?
Related Discussions
undercabinet range hood decisions
Q
Comments (7)
"Attofarad - what kind of filters do you have in your hood? I've lived with a hood with mesh filters, and they clogged with grease after one meal of hamburgers." Mesh. I rarely cook meat at home (less than once a quarter), and never something that I would fry. I usually eat out at lunch, which is where I eat nearly all of the animal products I consume -- veggie choices just aren't as plentiful "out." "And they are not working either. " That is the point; they do not need to. The fans run less than 2-3 hours per year. It is quite amazing how clean the hood, walls, cooktop, etc. stay, since I gave up the cooking style and items that contain/emit grease.
...See More
Decisions, decisions..Mother of Pearl vs. White Macubas Smackdown
Q
Comments (12)
So hard to decide. I love MP. I have MP. I love LdL too, but for me it seemed too cold and modern. I wanted a modern farmhouse vibe, so I needed more warmth which MP provided. I actually did walnut perimeter cabinets and painted island( a flip flop to your plan) which made it easier I think. The MP looks stellar on the walnut cabinets and on the painted(olive) island cabinetry, but IMO walnut countertop wouldn't look good on walnut cabinets so if I had down a walnut cabinetry island I wouldn't have considered wood there. I think that means I don't like your option 1 with the smaller island with wood cabinets and wood countertop-sorry) My original plan was MP on perimeter and walnut bb on island, but because I also have post and beam structural elements it seemed like too much going on so I simplified and went with a single countertop surface, all MP. I am quite happy with that choice- ecstatic actually. You are trying to make a lot of choices and thinking about alot of scenarios. I can tell you what I would do, but it might be better to figure out which stone you love and then, as Tim Gunn says, "Make it work" even if that means re-jiggering some of your other ideas. If you consider all your elements and potential elements and then figure out what you must have then you will know what to do or at least where to start. Now to add to the confusion, some things that popped into my head: Stainless backsplash behind stove would also look great. Where you have stainless countertop next to oven, you could alternatively do walnut butcherblock with embedded stainless steel heat bars. This would put the walnut on the white cabinetry which I think would look lovely. The island eating area and the eating area behind the sink could be butcherblock and everything else could be stone. Definitely go look at more quartz options to go with the MP. Think about which of the tones in the MP you would want to bring out, there is gray green gold, mine has purple streaks too. Would the Pebble go with the MP?
...See More
Decision, Decisions, Decision, aka, Countertop Advice Needed
Q
Comments (5)
Tropic brown, tan brown are two others. There are very dark golds like Juparana Tobacco or Paradiso which might work. You might also consider something like teak wood. Etching leaves white marks. On a brown marble it will be very visible. For fun, I got a two buck pink marble tile from the box store and had "science" when I was trying to decide about counters. Science consisted of pouring a small qty of lemon-lime soda on a bit of the marble and seeing if I could get it off before it etched. The answer was NO! I would suggest you spend a couple bucks to get a tile similar to what you want to use and have your own science project.
...See More
decisions, decisions... layout help please!
Q
Comments (12)
How shallow is your shallow pantry? 12"? With overlay doors, that makes it 13" deep. If you're using 24" deep cabinets, your island will be 27" wide, not 24" because of the counter overhang (standard 1.5" on all sides). Even a CD fridge will extend beyond the counters 3-4". A standard depth (SD) fridge can extend into the aisle as much as 10" beyond your perimeter counters. You wrote that you don't like to shop. Are you okay with the reduced storage space a CD fridge offers? So for your 12' wide room, you need to factor in a 27" island, a 13" deep pantry cab, a 30" fridge (inc. box, door required air space behind it, not handles) to know how much aisle space you'll really have. 144" (12' width) 30" (CD fridge, with required air space behind it and door, not handles) 27" island 13" pantry cab (12" depth plus 1" for door) ---- 74" left over for aisles or 37" for each aisle That is less than NKBA recs of 42" aisles for a one-cook kitchen. Some GWers do have narrower aisles but generally only one aisle is as little as 36" with other aisles wider, which is actually in line with NKBA specs (at least one aisle should be 42"). Additionally, it could be tricky maneuvering the fridge in and out of its cab. If you end up with a standard depth (SD) fridge, an island plan won't work. To give you enough room in front of the fridge, you'd have to shrink the aisle between island and pantry cabs to about 29". Before you decide on a lay-out, I think you really need to determine how much storage you need (esp. how large a pantry) and what type of fridge you will get.
...See More
breezy_2
15 years ago
We used basically the same units as ngng. Inexpensive, cool burning soft light (but no yellowish hue) and very pleasing. They come in 6,12 and 18 inch lengths.

For 33 inch cabs, you might consider centering an 18 inch unit under them although 12 inch would work well also. We used 12 inch everywhere.

Undercabinet lighting dummy - decision decision decision!

Comments (3)

gshop

snowang
Original Author

Related Discussions

breezy_2

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Undercabinet lighting dummy - decision decision decision!

Comments (3)

gshop

snowangOriginal Author

Related Discussions

breezy_2

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

snowang
Original Author