Cabinet Lighting Ideas To Elevate Your Home Storage

This week, we’re talking more cabinetry–specifically, we’re going over some of our favorite cabinet lighting ideas that we regularly suggest to homeowners. Cabinets are one of those big ticket items where paying a little extra for quality and accessories can really make your kitchen (and other cabinetted spaces) stand out from the rest. While it’s easy to overlook at first, once you see these thoughtful and integrated cabinet lighting ideas, you’ll never consider adding the after-market lights again. Check it out, then, when you’ve finished, mosey on over to our cabinet accessories blog we recently posted, and after that, you can get to know Natalie, Red House Cabinetry Design Specialist, too, with this employee profile. In the meantime, let’s light it up.

Under-Cabinet Lighting

The first (and maybe even most important) of the cabinet lighting ideas we’ll go over is under-cabinet lighting. If you’ve got upper cabinets lofted over your kitchen countertop, you’ve probably noticed that it can get a little dim when prepping your dinner. These lights solve that problem by mounting an LED strip on the outside bottom face of your cabinet, adding just enough light to make prep work a breeze. This type of lighting is a hugely popular choice among homeowners because it adds ambiance and functionality without breaking the bank. Plus, there’s always the added benefit of being a night light when you need to sneak a midnight snack.

Cove Lighting

Now that you’ve learned a little about under-cabinet lighting, you’re ready to move on to the next lesson: cabinet cove lighting. This is a fun one and really adds a sense of luxury to your space. Unlike under-cabinet lights, these lights sit on top of your upper cabinetry, throwing a gentle wash of beautiful beams up to your ceiling (just be sure you’re dusting up there regularly). This type of lighting isn’t always available, though, especially in 2024, when full-height cabinets are definitely in fashion. We’re here for it, though, as we’ve been seeing full heights a lot recently, including in our own studio.

Shelf Lighting

Shelf lighting is another among the most popular cabinet lighting ideas, becoming more and more popular, especially for cases with glass fronts and meant for displaying glassware, art, and other pieces homeowners want to show off. When including shelf lighting in our designs, Red House prefers to use LED strips embedded in a shallow channel that runs vertically up the inside of the cabinet front. These strips do a great job of staying hidden, giving the interior of your cabinets a soft and gentle glow.

Puck Lighting

Puck lighting has come a long way in the last few years, and homeowners have several options now instead of being resigned to the after-market doodads that get haphazardly adhered to cabinet shelves. Now, there are fully integrated puck lighting options that have low profiles and can be remotely operated along with the rest of your cabinetry lights. Puck lights are a nice touch when illuminating the inside of your cabinets. When paired with glass shelves and glass cabinet fronts, puck lights will highlight special pieces, effectively turning your cabinets into a luxe display case. Puck lights are versatile too, and are no longer reserved for traditional cabinet shelving. As they’ve grown in popularity, floating shelves can now be fabricated with integrated puck lights, too, leaving a clean and modern look for your gravity-defying shelving.

If you’ve made it to the end of this blog post, we hope we’ve illuminated some cabinet lighting ideas for all your cupboarding needs. If you still have questions about your cabinetry project, our team of designers, specialists, and cabinetry aficionados are here to help. Schedule a half-hour discovery call today, or fill out our contact form, and let’s get started on your home renovation project!