Under cabinet lighting color - what do you have?

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Cabinets are going up soon which means we have to decide on under cabinet lights. Our over head lights will be Soft White (2700k) LED bulbs and Edison bulbs. We're debating between using the same under cabinet or using day light bulbs for more light and better visibility. The kitchen gets great morning light year round and some evening light in the summer but next to no natural light in the winter. Would it look weird to use two very different colors? What do you have in your kitchen?

This is in a small bungalow galley kitchen, and the cabinets in questions are opposite any windows. All lights will be dimable. Counters are dark almost black soapstone, cabinets a a very very light, almost white, grey, and backsplash is a matte white subway tile. Thank you for the help!

Featured Answer

rwiegand

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Temperature is important, but pay attention to CRI (color rendition index) for undercabinet lighting, or wherever you prepare food. Lots of cheap LEDs and fluorescents have CRI's in the low 80's or worse and will make your food look like it comes from a zombie. (If the manufacturer doesn't tell you the CRI you can assume it's lousy.) LED's don't put out a full spectrum of light so require special (ie expensive) tricks to get good color rendering. You want a CRI of at least 90, I would argue anywhere, but at the least in food prep areas and illuminating art. Incandescent lamps have a CRI of 100.

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Comments (12)

sjhockeyfan325
10 years ago
We use 3000K and love it. We had daylight bulbs (I think they were 5000K) in our hall and hated them - they made it look like a hospital operating room. FWIW, the Edison bulbs won't give off much light, certainly not task lighting.
banana suit thanked sjhockeyfan325
lmgch
10 years ago
We have 2700K and it's perfect. I considered the 3000k but it was too white/bright for my taste
banana suit thanked lmgch
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Melissa Johnson
10 years ago
Also have 3000k. It is a very bright, white light. I love it for UCL because my overheads are a soft white, probably 2700. It is the best of both worlds for me. Be sure your UCL is dimable- it's a lot of light!
banana suit thanked Melissa Johnson
scoutfinch72
10 years ago
Ours will be 2700K and dimmable.
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Shelley Graham
10 years ago
We have 2700 dimmable 120/m but have never used the dimmer. We also have 2700 in our display cabs but they are 60/m. If I had it to do over I would skip the dimmer, as I find I do all my prepping on the island rather than the perimeter and use the under cab lights for ambient lighting at night.
banana suit thanked Shelley Graham
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
10 years ago
I have 3000k both overhead and in the UCL. I would notice the mismatch -- 2700 was too yellow for me (and not as good for my aging eyes). 3000 is a soft but white white, compared to 5000k (closer to daylight) which comes off as a bit blue and cold indoors to me. The 3000k LEDs do go more toward yellow when dimmed.
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Errant_gw
10 years ago
Mine are 2700 and on a 4-position dimmer.
banana suit thanked Errant_gw
banana suit
Original Author
10 years ago
We're strongly leaning towards using 2700k, its what we have in the rest of the the with the exception of the bathroom. Just wanted to make sure we weren't missing something. Thank you for your input!
cmw829
10 years ago
We have daylight bulbs throughout our house and love them. Yes, they are bright but they suit us. We also have solar tubes in the living room and kitchen so the lighting works well with the natural light.

For under cabinet lighting, we'll use 2700 to 3000 since that's all that's available as far as we can see. It will be fine, though.
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Debbi Branka
10 years ago
I'm on the opposite end of everyone, apparently. We have daylight (5000-6000) in the entire house. Our UCLs are also 5000. We had to look hard to find them, but I can't stand different color lights throughout the house. Yes, the 2700-3000 looks nice and "warm" from the outside, but I like the blue color and brightness of the 5000s on the inside.
MizLizzie
10 years ago
ITA with rwiegand. You many have to try a couple. Even matt white subway tile will throw a color. Our butter colored Rixi backsplash developed a nauseating green goblin glow with cool under cabinet LEDs.