How decorative do kitchen cabinet lighting need to be?

Kitchens today are much more than food storage and preparation areas. They are now central gathering places for home entertainment events and are much larger than ever before. Kitchen cabinet lighting has had to evolve over the years to meet and increasing demand for more than base-level requirements to produce optimal visibility and comfort. Custom cabinet lighting must address certain aesthetic concerns as well such as lighting color and brightness, color rendering of illuminated surface and interior design, and glare free light that will not hurt the eyes of homeowners and guests.

Do you recommend puck lights and fluorescent under cabinet lights?

In some situations they are still useful, but their dominance in kitchen cabinet lighting is beginning to significantly wane. Custom home owners are replacing generic countertop materials with ornate granite and marble—two surfaces that are highly reflective. Although most fluorescent undercabinet lights are housed in frosted fixtures that minimize glare, they lack the color rendering capabilities necessary to do justice to an ornate countertop. Puck lights are too intense for most kitchens and throw a great deal of reflected light outward in all directions.

12 volt undercabinet lights, such as those manufactured by Phantom Lighting, are designed to overcome reflected glare with proprietary shielding on the linear light strips themselves and with directional lighting control that aims the light back and away from the eyes of the viewer.

What types of bulbs can you install in kitchen cabinet lights?

Phantom strips can be fitted festoon lamps housing incandescent, xenon, or LED bulb. Xenon will render color at a level nearly equivalent to sunlight. As a low voltage, dimmable cabinet light fixture, it will bring out the subtlest red of granite and the multi-dimensional hues of marble, and until very recently was the most commonly used festoon in custom kitchen cabinet lighting. However, the new 2800K LED festoon lamps has just entered the market with a color rendering capability that is equivalent to xenon—at only a fraction of the cost.

What types of festoons are best for interior shelf lighting?

Incandescent festoons typically make for the best kitchen cabinet lighting installations. This is because they produce a very white light everything within the interior clearly visible. Unlike puck lights, they occupy no cubic space, leaving more room for storage and a more balanced presentation when the cabinet is opened in front of guests. It is also easier to clean the shelves periodically because Phantom low voltage in cabinet lighting require little external wiring and even allow for shelf removal without risk of shock or equipment damage.

Where can I learn more about Phantom cabinet lighting strips?

Call a Phantom Agent for more information on all of these options. We invite you to call toll free 800-863-1184 to request literature online or visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom custom low voltage lighting products.

Are your cabinet lights manufactured in the United States of America?

Yes, our lighting manufacturing facility is located in Houston, Texas with professional lighting sales agents located throughout the United States that enable us to service all of Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America and the United States including Washington DC, Nashville Tennessee, Las Vegas Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Tucson Arizona, Los Angeles California, Atlanta Georgia, Dallas Texas and Sacramento California.