Do I need more light?

[FS7]

This isn't exactly a woodworking question, but it does involve a lot of wood, and there was a thread on here not long ago about concealing wiring for lighting.


I'm finishing up the top cabinet / wall unit for my bar. The plan was to use five mini recessed lights, which as you can see provide ample light to the top shelf. I tested this at least a little in the shop, and it looked OK. But now it seems like very little light gets to the bottom shelf. It isn't nothing, and there will be other lighting where the bar is. However, I can add some under-cabinet lighting. In the past I've used these:

https://www.amazon.com/AIBOO-Dimmable-Li...C70&sr=8-5

...and in fact I am using them here on this for over-cabinet lighting. It would not be very hard to use double-sided tape to mount a few strips under the middle shelf to light the bottom shelf and then run the wiring with just a tiny hole in the cabinet carcass. From there it's behind a door, and only another hole away to an unfinished storage area. I guess what I am wondering is if it's really necessary.

This was rigged up with a lamp cord, but in the install location I have a hardwired LED dimmer available. This might make the contrast between the top and bottom shelves a lot less stark.

I guess I hate the feeling of thinking I should be doing more before I've even had a chance to install the thing.

[Philip1231]

This isn't exactly a woodworking question, but it does involve a lot of wood, and there was a thread on here not long ago about concealing wiring for lighting.


I'm finishing up the top cabinet / wall unit for my bar. The plan was to use five mini recessed lights, which as you can see provide ample light to the top shelf. I tested this at least a little in the shop, and it looked OK. But now it seems like very little light gets to the bottom shelf. It isn't nothing, and there will be other lighting where the bar is. However, I can add some under-cabinet lighting. In the past I've used these:

https://www.amazon.com/AIBOO-Dimmable-Li...C70&sr=8-5

...and in fact I am using them here on this for over-cabinet lighting. It would not be very hard to use double-sided tape to mount a few strips under the middle shelf to light the bottom shelf and then run the wiring with just a tiny hole in the cabinet carcass. From there it's behind a door, and only another hole away to an unfinished storage area. I guess what I am wondering is if it's really necessary.

This was rigged up with a lamp cord, but in the install location I have a hardwired LED dimmer available. This might make the contrast between the top and bottom shelves a lot less stark.

I guess I hate the feeling of thinking I should be doing more before I've even had a chance to install the thing.

First of all: nice job on the cabinet! As far a light, it does look unbalanced to me. I would add illumination to the lower half of the cabinet, no question.

[AHill]

First of all, great job on the cabinet. It's beautiful.

What do you plan on putting in the cabinet? Given it's your bar, can I assume it'll contain various bottles of magical elixirs? I agree with Philip that the lighting looks unbalanced. The spots also seem to be focused near the bottom of the upper shelves vs. the top. The dimmer might help to make the light more subtle. The side niches and the lower portion seem very dark when the lights are on, so adding lighting there may also help to balance things out.

[brianwelch]

The cabinet looks great. Have you considered LED tape lighting? We are using it under our kitchen wall cabinets to illuminate the counter work surface with very even light and it works great. Dimmable, extremely low profile and color temp is adjustable, (if the proper product is procured...)

[FS7]

I had actually updated in the other thread. The sides are actually just regular cabinets for glasses and such. I just haven't made the doors or shelving yet. If they were niches (interesting idea) there would definitely need to be light at the top. But they'll be raised panel doors covering those.

The dimmer I have is old and it does work (supposed to be good for LEDs) but it doesn't work very well with these. I don't know if that's an artifact of cheap lights, an outdated dimmer, or what. I have ordered a new dimmer (supposedly just for LEDs and universal) so I will be happy to try that out. In any event, at full brightness it actually isn't that bad. For the bottom, I used the aforementioned LED strips simply set behind the bottles. I ran the wiring today with one small (3/16") hole through the carcass and another on the top. Very concealed. There is actually a remote dimmer, so it can get much brighter and much dimmer than this in the picture. I think it's an interesting contrast.

My friend stopped by last night (he was supposed to help me hang it, but I ended up doing it with a car jack, a stack of books, some engineering, some blankets, some extra boards, and a lot of swearing). He helped me position the light strips every which way and the way that seemed the most subtle was this. Placing them underneath the shelf would require more installation, and it looked cheap for lack of a better description. Top lighting is really only an option on the top, and lighting from behind really only works well if a) the bottles are clear glass, so no boxes and b) it's well stocked. I can manage that on the bottom, as top shelf is, well, top shelf and I shouldn't be drinking that stuff on a regular basis.

I have yet to decide on undercabinet lighting, though there is room and I could probably run the wires without much trouble. I am considering this.

[iclark]

What does it look like if you take that same picture with the room lights on?

[FS7]

What does it look like if you take that same picture with the room lights on?

That was a few days ago (prior to the light install) but that's the top lights, nothing on the bottom, with the room's recessed lights on. That of course provides ample light for the bottom shelf, but I also don't particularly care for overhead light and I don't think it fits the bar theme anyway.

[iclark]

I failed to notice that there were fluorescent lights on the top of each of the 3 cabinet sections.

I don't know how you can get rid of the deep shadow from the cabinets on the rear of the bar unless you add some light to the bottom of the cabinet or something like can lights over the bar island.

[FS7]

I failed to notice that there were fluorescent lights on the top of each of the 3 cabinet sections.

I don't know how you can get rid of the deep shadow from the cabinets on the rear of the bar unless you add some light to the bottom of the cabinet or something like can lights over the bar island.

The home was built with two rows of recessed lights in this section. The first is visible in one of the pictures, while the other is just behind. It is essentially just "behind" where the bar top will be, and trust me, the recessed lights provide more than enough light for the bar. It's way more than I want for the bar atmosphere.

The shadow on the back 6-8" of countertop space will always be there as long as a) the overhead lights aren't on and b) there is no undercounter lighting. I don't plan to use the overhead lighting much if at all, but undercounter lighting is definitely an option. That said, I don't necessarily have anything to put there, so I am not overly concerned about it.

[iclark]

The home was built with two rows of recessed lights in this section. The first is visible in one of the pictures, while the other is just behind. It is essentially just "behind" where the bar top will be, and trust me, the recessed lights provide more than enough light for the bar. It's way more than I want for the bar atmosphere.

The shadow on the back 6-8" of countertop space will always be there as long as a) the overhead lights aren't on and b) there is no undercounter lighting. I don't plan to use the overhead lighting much if at all, but undercounter lighting is definitely an option. That said, I don't necessarily have anything to put there, so I am not overly concerned about it.

That makes sense. You might want to consider adding a dimmer for those overhead lights (sorry if you already said you were going to do that). I'd spend a little extra to get one that was both incandescent and LED compatible (or get one that is LED compatible and replace the incandescents with LED bulbs while you are at it).

As for not having anything on the back of that countertop, I think that I would be jealous of your shop. Mine does not seem to have any vacant flat surfaces.