I have the exact same lights. I was so bummed out when they first went in because I thought they weren't anywhere near bright enough! Especially thinking, "Why did I need a DIMMER on these?"

But now that I am in and working in my kitchen, I will say they do a nice job of lighting up my work area. In combination with the cans, it really is fine task lighting--- light, but not bright. The soapstone under them is uniformly well lit.

I put 3 festoons in 27 and 24 inch cabs and 2 on the corner cab. Adding one more to each cabinet than was first installed.

I think from your pictures they really are bathing the under cabinet area with nice light.

Good luck!

hi Fishies- first, I love your yellow kitchen. Cannot wait to see it done.

Here are my UCL- we may have gone a bit overboard...- but I love the light and would not hesitate to do it again:

Now, one thing we messed up on is not realizing that the sunken part of our kitchen (the breakfast room) which we could not eliminate in the renovation would mean that we would see lights themselves from that lower part. My DD and her friends think it's cool and modern and that I did it on purpose. I think it looks like I could land a plane with the strip lighting, but I decided to let them believe I was THAT hip.

Thanks partyof7-- I think they look great but more of an ambiance light than task lighting. Of course I can't really tell b/c I don't even have counters yet.

So, is adding more lights to the sockets/lights to the track difficult? I'm assuming the electrician would have to do it? Just wondering b/c if I DO end up wanting brighter I'd want to speak up now being they are coming back again next week for final items.

It is not difficult to add more at anytime. They basically snap in. My contractor said I could do it, but electricity scares me.

I was just about to tell you that with the room lights on, I think you will be surprised at how light it is. But to check, I turned off all the lights except the UCL's and I am surprised to find I could do any prep with just the UCL lights, at night, with a dark counter and current dark green wall color, and even easily read a small print recipe. So, not at all just ambiance, but real, practical, useful light.

And I will say, just like you, I was SURE before the kitchen was finished that these would be useless as task lighting. Add one more to each cab, if you think you need it, but mine are currently spaced similar to how yours are, and they are really, really fine. (I would say excellent, but since they aren't squint-inducing bright, I just can't!) I am totally happy with them.

Party- thanks so much for your helpful posts. I'm going to see how they work for me! Having Garden Web is so great for moments like these when ur not sure of something and have no one else to ask!

I have the same lights and you and had the same reaction. I didn't put mine on a dimmer. We'll probably add a few more, but you have to stay within the limit of the wattage for the driver (or whatever they call the transformer/power thing). Don't buy more until you've checked to see how many more yours can accommodate.

Fishies- yours are mounted at the front edge and party has hers back a bit.
Initially, I had ours at the front edge and with the trim board, it blocked light so I only had light on the back half of the counter.
Sparky moved back about 2 inches and now they are perfect. Ours are a different model- you can see them on the plug mold picture (not turned on but the mounting)

Fishies, if you look at your photos 3 and 4 you can see the circle of light is shining on the backsplash area more than the counter. I think because of the way your UCLs are mounted; you have them mounted on the front rail of the cabinet facing the backsplash. Party has hers mounted on the bottom of the cabinet pointing directly at the counter. I would have him move one to assess the difference and then go forward one way or the other.

Hmmm... we will be getting a light rail on Thursday. So, you all mean to try mounting to the bottom of cabinet instead? The wire was all mounted on the front of the cab. I don't know how much work that would be for them to change.

I see the bulbs come in clear and frosted... Those of you with Seagull what do you have?

partyof7- are yours on the bottom of cab or like mine? (Sorry if you already mentioned...)

Aim the lights at the area you want lit, the counter.

Our Seagull UCL is mounted on the bottom of the cabinet and I still don't think they throw off enough light. I think I have the clear bulbs. The frosted would probably be a little brighter.

Mine are on the cabinet bottom facing down. I do think you should make that change.

I have a mixture of frosted and clear because they were out of frosted when I added the extra light to each cab. Seems like the clear should be brighter, but I think the frosted may be a teeny bit brighter. Imperceptible at the counter, though.

Ditto for mine. Otherwise, I had shadows

Fishies - here you can see how we moved the lights back a bit to get rid of the shadows.

Also note the conduit to hide the wires. - It is cream colored tubing.

a2gemini- Thanks! Our light bulbs are very different than those and I don't know if putting them below the cabinet would make THAT much of a difference.
I'm sure it would change a bit, but I think even adding more lights would help enough.

I called Seagull and he tech support guy said many do like them on the bottom of the cab but also that the bulbs should be 4-6" apart. Ours are more like 10-12" apart. There is a LOT of light in my kitchen but I told electrician I'd rather have it be brighter and dim it down than not bright enough at highest setting. When he comes Monday we are going to play with it a bit and he's also bringing more lights so I can see how it changes.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! : ) At this point in the game I'm tired of it all and I can see where it would be easier to just "let this go", but I'm holding on to make sure I get it how I want it. With all the $ spent, and only a a couple of weeks to go (hopefully) I just have to see it all through til the end! lol

Your kitchen is awesome and I am betting you post the final reveal before I get to ours!

Your kitchen is beautiful but your dog is so cute : ))) Cute picture