Lighting in upper glass cabinets

10 years ago

I am remodeling my kitchen and adding a few glass front upper cabinet doors with wood shelves. The cabinets will hold my white dishes and serving pieces as well as glasses - nothing fancy. I'm trying to decide if I need lights in the cabinets. They won't be display cabinets just functional cabinets with glass fronts to add more reflection and open up the kitchen. Any advise is appreciated.

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sherri1058

10 years ago

They won't be display cabinets just functional cabinets with glass fronts to add more reflection and open up the kitchen.

My reasoning exactly. I also had upper cabinets with interior lights in my previous kitchen. Rarely used turned them on. This time, I chose to use wood shelves instead of glass and not bother with the lights. I kept the under cabinet lighting though and am really pleased with the result.

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Comments (8)

1929Spanish-GW
10 years ago
We don't have lights. Ours are functional as well.
M Miller
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I had them in a previous home, and rarely turned them on. Perhaps if your kitchen is dark, or you have beautiful display pieces in the cabinets, interior cabinet lighting would be worth it. Otherwise, spend your money on something else in your kitchen reno. Just MHO.

Undercabinet lighting though - that is essential for task lighting on your counters. Could not do without those.
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numbersjunkie
10 years ago
I agree with the others. If you will have wood shelves, they would block the light from the lower shelves anyway. And the glass on lighted cabinets has to kept super clean or it will show cloudy. At least the one I have has that problem.
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The Kitchen Place
10 years ago
Use LED tape light or slim LED strips.
Plain & Fancy Built In Buffet · More Info

Looks great with wood shelves. I don't like glass shelves for everyday use. Here is a hutch I installed in my own home. We placed strip lights behind the front frames....hidden. In this photo, the left side was not on for some reason.
3katz4me
10 years ago
I had lighted cabinets because I had no where else to put things like crystal and some antique fiesta ware. My shelves were wood framed glass. It was lovely when everything was sparkling clean. However that wasn't always the case so I often kept the lights off when I would have liked to turn them on.

I have since moved to a different house with unlighted glass uppers. If I were going to make this decision again I would probably opt for no lights.

Agree thst undercabinet lighting is a must have.
Russ Barnard
10 years ago
We are adding under cabinet lights, but not in the glass cabs.. just seems it would make it easier to see any mess.. lol