Taking your kitchen from dim and dull to bright and beautiful is no small task. While experts agree lighting is one of the most important design features in any room, it might not be so easy to create your perfect kitchen lighting scheme flying solo. A stylish, functional kitchen needs to have overhead/ambient lighting, accent lighting, and of course task or under cabinet lights. If you’re still in the dark about what lighting scheme will work best in your kitchen, check out these 11 amazing photos for a little inspiration: 1. Microfluorescent Under Cabinet Lights The microfluorescent fixtures under the cabinets in this kitchen provide bright white light, adding to the space’s ultramodern feel. These bright LED puck lights add pops of much needed illumination in the main work areas of this contemporary white kitchen. To find out how many puck lights you need in your kitchen, check out this helpful article. 3. LED Motion Sensor Lights If you prefer your task lighting quick, easy, and automatic, battery operated LED motion sensing lights will turn on only when you need them.

4. Linear LED Under Cabinet Lights These classic LED under cabinet lights provide an even sheet of bright light over the expansive counter tops in this traditional kitchen. Freestanding Bathtub PackagesTo determine how many linear under cabinet lights you’ll need in your kitchen, check out this article.Hot Tub Cover Heat Loss 5. Linear Xenon Under Cabinet LightsLarge Mix Breed Puppies For Sale In Michigan The xenon task lights under these cabinets make this kitchen feel warm and inviting. They’re fully dimmable and have a perfect color rendering index, so your kitchen will always look exactly the way you want it to. Here’s an example of how to install this kind of fixture. 6. Xenon Triangle Puck Lights

For something a little more artistic, you should try these triangle-shaped xenon puck lights. In this kitchen, they perfectly complement the angular tile on the backsplash. This low profile light strip provides flattering white light to any kitchen counter top. These lights are dimmable, and you can customize the length of the strip to fit whatever project you’re working on. The white light from these super thin LED light bars will complement both modern and traditional kitchens. 9. Round Xenon Puck Lights Another option for your under cabinet lights are these round xenon puck lights. They add valuable task light where you need it most, and as you can see in the photo, they also work well as accent lights within kitchen cabinets. 10. Steel Xenon Recessed Puck Lights It’s easier than you might think to install these xenon puck lights. You can learn how to get the slick look pictured above in this blog post. LED tape lights give you so much freedom when designing your kitchen’s lighting scheme.

They’re one of the thinnest fixtures we have, they’re dimmable, trimmable, and come in a variety of color temperatures and colors! For more design ideas, visit our under cabinet lighting page. Which kitchen is your favorite?Colorful lights, if done right, can look cool and futuristic. LED light strips have come a long way, which means you can ditch the year-round Christmas lights for something cleaner-looking. What’s nice about LED strips, though, is that they’re thin and flexible, so you can put them places traditional bulbs can’t go, like under cabinets and in drawers. This means they’re also functional — they can shed a little light on what’s going on in the back of the fridge or under the bed.Your options for where you want to put LED strips are limited mostly by your imagination, where you have an outlet, and what you don’t mind adhering something sticky to.We’ve rounded up some Instructables and how-to videos to help you get started. If you plan to tackle any of these projects, just make sure to use caution.

Open-riser stairs look especially cool with LED lights, and they’re also functional, because those gaps can be especially treacherous at night, but you might be too blurry-eyed to want a full-fledged assault on your retinas. As you can see in this Instructables tutorial, there are ways to make the lights turn on automatically as you head down for a midnight snack. You know those vanity mirrors surrounded by light bulbs starlets are always looking into in old movies? You can get a more subtle effect and not not take away any of the reflected surface by covering it in bulbs. Under beds and couches Sometimes hip, hip lounges have cool glowing lights under their couches. Sure, it looks swank, but who needs the prices? Create the effect by putting LED lights under your couch and enjoy the ambience with far-less-expensive bottle service. And you’ll never lose a sneaker again if you add some LEDs under your bed. Shelves are great for organization, but if you also want them to double as displays for what they hold, adding some LED lights is a great addition.

Just plain white ones might do the trick, or you could follow along with this Instructables and turn box shelves into color-coded showcases. If you fear your peaches turning moldy and you have leftovers from three Thanksgivings ago somewhere in the recesses of your fridge, it might be time to add some more lighting to your ice box. Higher-end models may already have extra bulbs, but for older and less-expensive varieties, you can DIY it quickly and fairly cheaply. Add a motion sensor and timer, so the lights aren’t always on. Under cabinets and bars While adding a strip of lights under cabinets might be purely functional and help you see your crockpot a little better, getting a color-changing strip for your bar is just going to might it look really cool. It will fit right in with your glowing couch. As dusk turns to dark, the patio becomes a little less hospitable. Sure, it’s lovely to gaze at the stars (or city lights, depending on your locale), but it’s also nice to be able to see your drink or the person you’re talking to.

Outfitting the deck with tons of LED strips is definitely more time-consuming and expensive, but the effect is pretty spectacular. There are lots of LED bulbs that can sync with your music, but this Instructables guide shows you how to make your lights match up with what you play on your piano. If your junk drawer looks anything like ours, then it could definitely benefit from a little extra glow. Ikea has some LED light strips, which it made specifically for places such as cabinets and bookshelves, because they’re low-heat. As with the fridge, a motion sensor and timer would be great additions. For some people, the advantage of putting up LED light strips instead of Christmas lights is that they blend in easier, so you can leave them up all year. Check out this Instructables, which demonstrates how, since they’re up there anyway, they can become Halloween and Thanksgiving lights, too. There are waterproof LED lights that are suitable for outdoors and even pools.