{DIY} Under Cabinet Lighting

Under cabinet lighting is one of those features that feels really luxurious. I mean it definitely did not come with my standard builder grade house – that’s for sure. It’s always been a project that’s been on the back burner. I finally bit the bullet and decided to investigate my options.

I looked at battery powered, hard wired, and plug in options. They all have their pros and cons, but ultimately I decided on plug-in because (1) The idea of constant battery replacement did not appeal to me and (2) drilling holes into the cabinets and walls to have it hard wired seemed a bit excessive.

At the same time, I wanted to be able to control the lights with a master light switch or remote because having to turn them on at each puck light or via some lame cord switch really zaps the cool factor. I did a lot of research and decided to buy two packs of these on Amazon. They got really good reviews, and since Amazon has a great return policy I figured I’d give them a go!

The install was pretty straight forward. Before we installed them, I wanted to make sure I could control both strands with one remote. And….you can!

Each puck light comes with teeny tiny screws to attach the casing to the bottom of the cabinet. I do think you could use Command Strips to mount them (in fact, one of mine is still attached this way, then my husband decided he was just going to use the screws). I only had some super lightweight strips on hand which only worked for that one light for some reason. So, we moved on to the hardware. I still believe it could be done though!

When you’re mounting the puck lights, make sure you take into consideration the cord connections (i.e. make sure the place where the cord comes out leads nicely to the next puck). You’ll also want to test the placement of the remote sensors to make sure they both read the on/off of the remote.

Did I fail to mention these puck lights also come ready to party with different color options and flashing?!

Once you get all the pucks installed, leave the cords dangling and ignore them for about 2 weeks. That’s what I did. Then I finally resolved to corral them. I picked up one of these kits at Home Depot. Honestly I had no idea what I was doing.

It came with (3) long channels and some connectors (which I didn’t use). I just cut up different lengths with a hacksaw – one piece went up at a time as I snaked the cables through in order. These channels are lightweight and are sticker-backed. No drilling needed!

Looks awesome, yes? Good thing no one looks under there. But I did have this thought to add thin panels to hide the cords with cutouts for the lights. Too bad I just don’t care that much. Seriously, no one will look. Can you tell?

Here’s how they look at night with the overhead track light on as well.

They add so much more light! It makes cooking/recipe reading so much easier at night. I also love the warm glow it offers in the daylight. Check out the before and after:

Overall I love the ambiance these lights add, and for less than $80 (including the cord channels), it was totally worth it!