10 Ways to Use Kitchen LED Strip Lights

LED lights have revolutionized the lighting world and are allowing homeowners to become more creative. LEDs are known for their energy efficiency, durability, and brightness. As such, they can be a great addition to your kitchen.

Whether you need to see better when you’re cooking or your kitchen is just too “blah” at the moment, kitchen LED strip lights can be the perfect solution.

Read on to discover ten ways LED strip lights can make your kitchen shine.

1. Under Upper Cabinets

One of the most popular places to put kitchen LED strip lights is on the underside of upper cabinets. This provides terrific lighting for your counter, making your workspace much easier to see. This can also bring wonderful ambient lighting to your whole kitchen.

You will want to take into consideration where electrical outlets to power your under-cabinet lights are located. Place the lights at the front of the underside of the upper cabinets, and, as far as possible, try to pick a discreetly placed outlet to plug the lights into. Use a staple gun to carefully attach the cord to the bottom of the cabinets such that it drops down to the outlet at the back of the cabinet.

2. Under Islands

If you have an island in your kitchen, placing LED strip lights around the bottom edge of it can make that feature pop. It helps to create some ambient light, but more than anything, this will help make your kitchen look sleek and modern.

Again, you’ll want to consider the location of your outlets before you begin the installation. Attach the lights to the bottom overhang space on your island, being sure to hide any cords.

3. Under Bottom Cabinets

As with an island, placing LED strip lights on the underside of your bottom cabinets can make your kitchen shine (in more ways than one). They can create an almost runway feel, making your kitchen someplace you always look forward to entering. And on a more practical note, they can serve as good nightlights if you have little ones or midnight snackers in the house.

In addition to electrical outlets and cords, you want to make sure that your kitchen LED strip lights don’t block your cabinet doors from closing. Keep them close enough to the edge to create the beautiful glow you’re looking for, but far enough back to be out of the way.

4. Under Counter Edges

If your counters have an overhang, this can be a perfect place to install kitchen LED strip lights. As with the under-cabinet lights, this can be an excellent source of ambient lighting. But whereas the lighting under the bottoms of cabinets creates a more subtle effect, having lighting under the edges of your cabinets will create a bold, modern feel.

Because counter overhangs tend to be narrow, you want to be sure to measure the depth of the overhang and check it against the LED strip lighting you plan to buy. Make sure to leave enough space to keep the strips hidden, and verify that they won’t bump against any drawers when they open.

5. On Top of Cabinets

Perhaps the best way to get soft ambient light in your kitchen is to place kitchen LED strip lights on top of your cabinets. Depending on the color you get (more yellow, natural light or bright white light), LED lights on top of your cabinets can create the subtle effect of daylight streaming into your kitchen. If your d?cor scheme is less modern and more classic, this style may suit your kitchen particularly well.

Although you will still want to watch out for cords and the like, installing LED lights on top of cabinets is one of the simplest locations. If your cabinets have a crown molding at the top, it will be even simpler to hide the lights from view.

6. Inside Cabinets

How many times have you dug around in the back of a cabinet trying to find the one pan you were looking for? Seeing inside cabinets can be a pain, but installing kitchen LED strip lights can make that aspect of cooking much easier.

The best place to install lights inside lower cabinets is at the tops of the back and sides of the cabinets, being sure the lights don’t interfere with drawer function. In upper cabinets, you may want to install the lights on the bottom of each shelf at the back. This way they will illuminate your cabinets without blinding you every time you open the doors.

7. Inside Drawers

Similar to cabinets, kitchen drawers (especially large ones) can be frustratingly dim. Not only will having LED-illuminated drawers make your cooking life easier, but it will also add an automatic air of luxe to your space. Imagine sliding open a drawer to reveal shining cooking utensils illuminated by clean white light.

There are a few drawbacks to installing kitchen LED strip lights inside drawers, namely power supply and placement. You may want to look into battery-powered lights if possible since the mobile nature of drawers will make it hard to manage a cord and plug. You also want to install the lights around the inner sides of the drawer at the bottom. This will mean the light getting covered up some, but other locations are likely to interfere with drawer function or blind you every time you open the drawer.

8. Inside the Pantry

If your pantry needs additional light, but you don’t want to pay an electrician to install a light fixture, LED light strips may be the solution. Stick a few strips around the inside of the pantry door, and voila! Your pantry is now beautifully and simply lit.

The only downside is pantries often do not have electrical outlets nearby. This may be another situation in which battery-powered lights are best when possible.

9. On the Bottom of Open Shelf Units

Do you have open shelves in your kitchen? LED strip lights may be a great way to set them off. Because you frequently use these shelves for display purposes, LED lights can show off your beautiful kitchen pieces.

Much like with the inner cabinet lights, you want to install these kitchen LED strip lights along the back of the bottom of each shelf. You may want to drill a hole in the back corner of each shelf to run the cords down through.

10. Around Windows

If you live in a place that doesn’t get a lot of sunlight or if your kitchen doesn’t have very many windows, LED strip lights can help create the illusion of natural light in your kitchen. You’ll probably want to choose a bright white light to help create this effect.

Curtains will be your friend in this operation. You want to install the lights around the backs of the top and sides of each window. Make sure you have curtains (light, sheer curtains are better) that will cover the LED strips but still let the light through.

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