Totally with you on dimmers—game changer for sure. But honestly, under-cabinet lighting doesn't have to feel clinical if you pick warmer LEDs and hide them well. Did mine DIY-style on a tight budget, and it made prep work way easier without breaking the bank.
Interesting point about warmer LEDs—I get that they can soften things up. But have you found any decent solutions for lighting inside cabinets or drawers? I've flipped a few kitchens, and that's always been tricky for me. Tried battery-powered ones once, but changing batteries got old real fast... Wondering if anyone's cracked a simple wired setup that doesn't turn into a huge project.
I've run into the same issue with batteries—total pain after a while. Have you looked into low-voltage LED strip lights with a transformer tucked away somewhere discreet? I've seen setups where they snake thin wiring through cabinet backs or corners, pretty neat job overall. But I'm curious, how tricky is it to hide the wiring cleanly without tearing everything apart? Seems straightforward enough, but I wonder if it's actually as easy as it looks...
I've done LED strips in my historic kitchen, and honestly, hiding wires neatly without major surgery can get dicey...walls aren't always straight, cabinets shift over time. Have you thought about surface-mounted conduit painted to match? Might sound iffy, but blends surprisingly well in older homes.
I feel your pain on the LED strip wiring. When I first moved into my old place, I was dead set on under-cabinet lighting—thought it would be straightforward. Ha! Famous last words. Turns out, nothing in a 1920s kitchen is straightforward. Walls were uneven, cabinets had settled at weird angles, and every attempt to neatly tuck wires away ended up looking like a DIY disaster.
I hadn't considered surface-mounted conduit at first either—honestly, it sounded too industrial for my taste. But after weeks of frustration (and a few choice words muttered under my breath), I gave in and tried it out. Painted it to match the cabinets, and surprisingly...it blended right in. Guests don't even notice unless I point it out, and even then they're usually impressed rather than critical.
That said, if I had to redo everything again from scratch, I'd probably lean toward something simpler—maybe recessed puck lights or even those battery-powered LED strips that don't require wiring at all. Sure, batteries aren't ideal long-term, but swapping them occasionally seems less stressful than wrestling with crooked walls and shifting cabinetry.
But yeah, surface conduit isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. It saved me from tearing my hair out (and possibly tearing down half the kitchen). Just make sure you pick a paint color that's spot-on; otherwise it'll stick out like a sore thumb. Learned that one the hard way too...
