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Kitchen Under Cabinet Lighting Ideas

If you haven’t heard about the latest lighting trend in the world of kitchen design, then listen up! Under cabinet lighting is a trend that’s making some noise, and we’re here to talk about it today. Why? Because proper lighting is essential to a functional kitchen.

Traditional kitchen lighting includes (but isn’t limited to) pendant lighting, ambient overhead fixtures, task and accent lighting, and of course, decorative lighting. You may think that under cabinet kitchen lights fall into the last category – decorative lighting – and to some degree, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, under cabinet lighting serves more than just decorative purposes. We’ll touch on that later. Here are the top 3 kitchen under cabinet lighting ideas you need to know:

Hardwired Lights

Hardwired lighting isn’t so much a type of under cabinet lighting as it is a version of under cabinet lighting that makes it possible to feature many different types of under cabinet lighting, including custom track and strip lighting, recessed lighting, and the other under cabinet lighting options we discuss in the later sections of this blog. Hardwired under cabinet lighting is effectively permanent, meaning you need to hire an electrician to tap into a power source or add a new circuit. Not to mention the need to also hire (preferably) an expert to modify the underside of your cabinets and install the lighting. The benefit is maximum ambiance and access to full control of your under cabinet lights!

Tape Lights & LED Light Bars

Tape lights are (literally) just a strip of light in an almost-tape form that can be installed underneath your cabinets as a lighting option. They’re cheap and very easy to measure and install, but lack the lighting power of more industrial options, meaning they do little more than add to your kitchen’s ambiance. 

LED light bars are, like tape lighting, a longer, narrow under cabinet lighting option. While they’re not much more difficult to install than tape lights, they are likely a bit more expensive, though not dramatically more. LED light bars look more professional and offer an even, uniform source of light. You can use the light bars separately even if you’ve installed light bars on the undersides of your entire kitchen’s cabinets, or you can hardwire them together to operate on the  same switch. 

Puck Lights

Puck lights – probably named so because they resemble the shape of a hockey puck – are circular light fixtures with LED bulbs. They can be more permanently installed on the underside of your cabinets, or can be attached or adhered where you’d like them with temporary models. What puck lights offer for under cabinet lighting that other types of under cabinet lighting don’t is a more focused pool of light. While other types of under cabinet lighting, due to the type and shape of light bulb(s), lean more towards adding to your kitchen’s ambiance, puck lights serve the purpose of also illuminating work surfaces and countertops when directed so.