It is worth incorporating kitchen cabinet lighting ideas into the design of the kitchen. They can be part of the layers of lighting that make the kitchen a functional room for preparing food, but also allow to change the atmosphere for dining and welcoming guests.
Kitchen cabinet lighting can be a practical solution, so it’s easy to locate items when preparing and cooking food, but they can also display items like stem pots or glass-fronted cabinets, so they’re always worth considering. kitchen ideas.
We’ve put together lighting ideas for kitchen cabinets for inspiration along with expert tips that will help realize their practical and aesthetic benefits.
kitchen cabinet lighting ideas
Successful kitchen lighting ideas—and layout in general—include ambient or backlighting, task lighting, and accent or accent lighting, so when you’re planning your kitchen lighting, keep in mind that kitchen cabinet lighting ideas can function as task or accent lighting.
1. Backlighting for cabinets
(Image credit: Martin Moore)
To create an eye-catching feature for the kitchen, consider backlighting the kitchen cabinets, which will create a soft glow behind what is being displayed.
“Because kitchens are the centerpiece of our homes, we design our furniture to be highly functional as well as to look beautiful day and night,” says Richard Moore, Design Director, Martin Moore.
“Not only does this cabinet provide ample storage space for wine glasses, wine, china and cutlery, but we backed the piece with a gorgeous faux onyx backlit, so it adds a sparkling focal point when guests gather for drinks and dinner.”
2. Change the mood with adjustable cabinet lighting
(Image credit: SieMatic at The Myers Touch)
Like, kitchen wall lighting ideas, lights can be used in kitchen cabinets to create a subtle mood. So, consider choosing kitchen cabinet lighting ideas that allow for a good adjustment. This SieMatic SLX PURE series kitchen has a sophisticated LED cabinet lighting system.
“The user can create a 3D effect by changing the tone and brightness of the LED lighting system, which in turn changes the atmosphere and mood of the kitchen space,” explains Helena Myers, Director of The Myers Touch.
3. Speed up your morning routine
(Image credit: Briar Design)
Lighting in the pantry can make the family’s early-morning routine smoother with cereal boxes and other easy-to-get-and-prepare breakfast favorites.
“I would suggest adding a sensor to the doors so that the lights come on when they are opened and when not in use and the doors are closed, the lights turn off automatically,” says Alison Lynch, senior design consultant at Roundhouse.
4. View Steamware
(Image credit: Life Kitchens)
Exploit kitchen cabinet lighting ideas to store cutlery. Lighted glass-front cabinets turn these basics into a feature in the room as well as keep them accessible, but dust-free. Glass shelves inside the cabinet allow light to be transmitted from the top of the cabinet to the lower levels.
Follow the example shown here by selecting enough wall cabinets for the purpose to arrange the glass so that they don’t get crammed together.
5. Provide beautiful background
(Image credit: Tom Hawley)
Consider the cabinet wallpaper that will light up your kitchen. Lighting can bring out the best in the wood used inside open-front cabinets, showing off color, grain, and a subtle sheen—in fact, these are great lighting ideas for small kitchens, subtly enhancing the space by creating depth.
Equally, the lighting will highlight favorite things in the room. Adding integrated mood lighting ensures you never forget your best pieces, says Tom Hawley, design director for the eponymous company. It also provides an alternative source of ambient light when you’re enjoying a romantic dinner or a cocktail with friends.
6. Put the cabinet light on a separate switch
(Image credit: Roundhouse)
When you work on answering the question, “How much lighting does my kitchen need?” It’s really worth considering that you don’t have to light all the lights at the same time – and that your needs will change, depending on how you want to use your kitchen. Therefore, ensuring that kitchen cabinet lighting can operate independently of other lighting in the room to enable atmospheric changes when the space is used for different purposes is vital.
“By placing the cabinet lights on their own switch, you can turn off the ceiling lights and maintain a beautiful warm glow from inside the cabinet,” says Alison Lynch. “There may be items on the shelves that you’d like to display, so lighting from above washing out the dresser is worth considering.”
7. Input luminous ports
(Image credit: Ledbury Studio)
Modern kitchen lighting ideas allow for the element of surprise. Consider cabinets with lighted niches as part of your kitchen design. They can take the place of shelves as a place for decorative display in the room.
“If you like opening shelves but don’t want to sacrifice wall cabinets, another option is the open island booths,” says Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio. It’s the best of both worlds, with an open space to display pretty things along with closed cabinets to stash less-than-attractive essentials.
In this kitchen, I wanted the small island niches to make a big impact. To achieve this, LED lighting has been incorporated into the furniture to cast an even glow across what is being displayed. In my opinion, this really nice lighting effect comes when you turn off the other lights in the room. “
8. Expand the dimensions of the kitchen with cabinet lighting
(Image credit: Life Kitchens)
If the kitchen is relatively small, or if storage requirements are great with a spacious wall cabinet required as part of the design, kitchen cabinet lighting ideas can be used to make it appear larger. Interior lighted wall cabinets will add visual depth to the room by providing a direct view of the wall on which they are hung.
Golden rules in this scenario? Dedicate these cabinets to the most attractive pieces in the kitchen, which might include cups, plates, and even cookbooks. Don’t fill it up either to maintain an uncluttered view.
9. Kitchen Cabinet Lighting
(Image credit: Mowlem & Co)
A cabinet can house a full kitchen in a small home, or a contemporary open property where the kitchen is completely hidden when not in use, and here proper cabinet lighting is essential.
For this “secret” kitchen, cabinet lighting is important lighting, allowing for safe preparation and cooking. The light source is reflected by the red glass back slab, enhancing the illumination levels of the counters below.
10. Let the shelves shine
(Image credit: Humphrey Monson)
Illumination of individual shelves can play a practical role. “Kitchen cabinet lighting is very important nowadays and is essential when designing a kitchen,” advises Alison Lynch. “Lighting is ‘important’ because it helps you more easily find what you’re looking for in the cupboard when working in the kitchen or pantry.”
In this pantry, in addition to making what is displayed easily retrieveable, the lighting creates a warm glow, drawing attention to this feature in the room.
How do you light up inside the closet?
LED light strips or puck lights are excellent options for use inside a cabinet. Puck lamps are small spotlights that can be mounted on a roof or cover. They can be a good choice for creating accent lighting, glasses display, or your favorite china porcelain, for example. Strip lighting can do the same job, but it’s also an excellent way to illuminate the interior of a cabinet to allow you to easily locate items.
Kitchen cabinet lighting should preferably be wired to create a seamless finish. An alternative is to consider battery-powered designs, which can be installed without the need to contact a professional electrician.
Are LED lights good for kitchen cabinets?
How do you choose kitchen lighting? LED lights are a good choice for kitchen cabinets. It is energy-saving, long life, and does not heat up. Another advantage of LED lights is that they can be dimmed, which makes them ideal if lighting your kitchen cabinet is part of the room’s lighting feature. They also come in different colors in addition to white, which makes room lighting design more interesting when used for glass-fronted cabinets.