Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting With LED

Modern Kitchen Lighting

The previous blog post (Lighting Our Kitchens) talked about the overall benefits of LED over other available types of lighting for our kitchen and bath remodeling projects in Washington DC.  One aspect of the LED not covered in that post is versatility.  Particularly for under cabinet lighting, the LED provides flexibility that others don't.

The under counter LEDs typically come in three forms: puck lights, rectangular strips, and tape (rope).

Puck Lights

Puck lights are miniature disks (thus the hockey reference) that come in round or oval and shapes.  In a kitchen remodel these are a great choice for under cabinet and display cabinet lighting.  Puck lights can be adjusted to throw scallops or spots against a backsplash, or to drop pools of light on a counter top  (instead of even illumination from end to end).

Rectangular Strips

These LEDs resemble the shape of your standard under counter fluorescents but with a more petite, space saving profile.  What sets them apart is that they are dimmable--something wished for but impossible until now.

Flexible Strips

This type of LED under counter light is also referred to as rope.  Usually it is a long flat strip of plastic tubing that contains small lighting units at intervals.  It throws and even, consistent, bright light on task surfaces.  It can be cut to custom fit any length of counter top and cabinetry.

Until now, under cabinet lights served only as task lighting.  But, because the LEDs are dimmable, they now take on the additional function of mood or accent lighting in the modern kitchen.

Learn about how to approach a kitchen design and remodeling project by downloading The Definitive Guide to Kitchen Design & Remodeling Success.