Under/Over Cabinet Lighting Gone Wrong - HELP!

9 years ago

I just went home at lunch to check out progress on our almost-complete kitchen remodel, and was excited to see the new over & under cabinet lighting. I was shocked when I saw this...

It looks like disco lighting on the top, and the bottom looks fine except for the awful plugs hanging down in the middle. OMG! I've had cabinet lighting before and did not have these issues. The electrician is very nice but told me the under lights I chose has to have the plug box... but it looks just like the lights I picked at my old house and we do not have the box. As for the over-cab lighting, I was hoping it was just on the "blue" setting, but nope, that is white. I used a rope lighting in my old house as well, but it's a soft nice light, nothing like that! I went back to the store and just got overwhelmed and left. Please help, I don't know what to do.

PS... the wood shelves sitting there are my floating shelves for the left side wall (2 stacked on top of one another). I was shocked when they arrived are significantly thicker than I expected, but I can't decide how I feel about that.

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Rebecca
Original Author

9 years ago

I ended up deferring to my husband to fix it with the contractors, as he knows much more about lighting. I probably should have just let him pick that part from the start! Surprisingly, we ended up staying with the over-cabinet lighting. It turns out they have a "soft white" dimmable setting, and can be adjusted to match the unders pretty well. And then if you really wanted disco lights, well, there you have it. We are also going to run it through the back of those corner cabinets so it doesn't show, and side benefit - will light up glass corner cabinets. As for the unders, the boxes are regrettable, but can't be fixed without ripping everything out, doing damage to our freshly painted cabinets, and then cutting into the wall to re-wire. We chose to order a light rail to hide it and be done with it. We are, however, getting the correct box-free light for the 100" china cabinet wall, not seen here. Sheesh. Remodeling is so stressful!

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Comments (11)

PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years ago
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/lighting

Houzz LIghting Forum link
Rebecca thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
chiflipper
9 years ago
I will leave the lighting comments to the pros.

As for the floating shelves, yes, they are quite thick. They have to be thick to disguise the heavy duty support system. These shelves are designed to carry several hundred pounds (crockery, bronze sculptures). I'm sorry you didn't pay attention to the sizing before ordering.
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Rebecca
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, and yes, I did not even think about thickness. I just saw lots of pictures of open shelves that all looked good, so it didn't cross my mind. I will just hope they look okay hung!
sunnydrew
9 years ago
I am scheduled for a consultation on Friday for our under cabinet lights. I will be sure to read the article or the linked info. I would be aghast to come home and find what you found. I hope you can get it fixed. It looks awful. Sorry for your trouble.
Max L
9 years ago
Sorry to hear about the shelving. I know the open shelving is a great look for kitchens. Are the two balls of white the bulbs for the top lighting? Maybe a fix for the top lighting would be the rope lights.
PRO
Custom Closets and Spaces
9 years ago
Well... I would have them remove the crown molding and lower it 2 inches and run the rope lighting tucked into the crown molding... Now you have separated the lighting from under the cabinets.. I just am not a fan of under cab lighting and above-- needs some distance --My last idea is to grab LED low voltage lighting for around the tow kick of the cabinets. .-have them on a sensor so when you walk into the room they turn on...
champcamp
9 years ago
I put over and under cabinet lighting in my last house. There is no excuse for the visible plugs on the bottom. Mine were put under old builder grade cabinets and had nothing hanging down because the electrician wired everything into the wall. If you wanted under cab lights with a visible plug they sell those at Home Depot for a few bucks and I am guessing you paid more than that. Are the top lights super bright to be that blue? The lighting store I used had all the colors of bulbs on display so you could put a paint search next to them and see the varying degrees of brightness (like some were more candlelight and others were more daylight).
PRO
JAN MOYER
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Heavens!!!!!!! Rip out the over the cabinet lighting completely. I assume the "box In the ceiling is some type of florescent. Go back to the lighting store for a better solution for under the cabinets.

Your kitchen size, and the cabinet quality does not require or merit the drama of over the cabinetry lighting. It's literally "over the top" in this instance. Light your work surfaces.
PRO
jsweaz
9 years ago
Under cabinet lighting can be hidden very easily with some 1" thick molding placed along the bottom edge of the cabinets. It provides a nice finish detail as well to counter the cabinet crown molding. There are many solutions available including low voltage LED strips that can be sized to fit anywhere. I don't understand why there is such a color contrast between the upper and lower lights. The color temperature should absolutely match.
Rebecca
Original Author
9 years ago
I thought I'd share a picture of the completed project, and the lighting all got fixed! We actually ended up staying with the crazy disco lights, but realized that one of the many settings was a "soft white" setting. Our kids love the flashing disco color options. Our electrician also re-wired to better hide the wires, and our contractor added lower cabinet molding. We love it and use the lighting every single day! Thanks for your feedback!