Under-cabinet lighting - hit or miss?
7 years ago
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- 7 years ago
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Kitchen Splash back and lighting help
Comments (13)Hi Rach163 So the splashback is along the wall behind the stove? And is full height to the ceiling? No overhead cabinets there? Certainly for an all-white kitchen, and a very small wood-element on the table, I'd suggest a feature colour splashback. There's a few ways you could make it pop - a colour such as a rich red, or a striking (but not bright) green, or even a blue would work well. We used colour-backed glass for our splashback in our all-white (but dark benchtop) kitchen, which is low maintenance and looks very "rich". It's a red (burgundy?) feature "wall" below overhead cabinets on two sides of our mostly L-shaped kitchen, and we also put it under the island bench/table, to tie the two together. The other idea that struck me is that you have a view to the outside (albeit a covered courtyard dining area now?). That made me think of a mirror to reflect the view, or at least the light - so something like a polished stainless steel. Perhaps in sections or strips with brushed steel, to reduce maintenance :-) For the lighting, we used an led strip under our overhead cabinets, either side of the range-hood, and around the corner to where our sink is. You could do something similar with a narrow aluminium channel either at the ceiling (probably too high) or at range-hood level with an led strip (a waterproof one!) inside it. It's nearly invisible when not on, just a crisp brushed/polished metal line, but gives a really bright uniform light across the whole bench area, and no shading issues with the main room lights behind you. If you wanted real wow, get a multi-colour led strip that can be colour changed (and be dimmed) to suit your needs and moods. And if you wanted to freak people out, you can get a multi-colour programmable led strip that can also do things like active lightwaves, pulsing and respond to music and a bunch of other things :-) All of the strips are dirt cheap, unless you buy them through most Australian lighting stores :-/ We also put a dimmer led strip underneath our island benchtop, to pick up the splashback/underbench colour, and as a nice 'night-light' of an evening. Works really nicely. I've seen some people do it at the kickboard level (i.e. 140mm above the floor), to make it look like everything is floating, but I've found that only works for some kitchens. One of the benefits of controllable coloured led lighting can be that the splashback can also be white or silver, and it's the lighting that determines the perceived colour. Leds are quite directional though, great for benches but less for wider room lighting, unless you have them in a diffuser. We use led lightbulbs in four high ceiling fixtures, and one long-drop over-dining-bench light, since they are lovely and bright and warm (if chosen that way), and as the ambient light source. You can also get colour/controllable led lightbulbs but $$$. You want to think about where you want feature lighting (up or down), work lighting and ambient lighting. Think about where you will stand to work, and which lights you will be shading, which will be shining in your face, and which will actually help. We pushed around our lighting points on the design, and even over-catered on the number of fixtures, just in case we missed something. You can always disconnect a light and cover it trivially, but putting one in later or shifting one is a bit messy. Anyway, my two bits. :-) Cheers, Markus...See MoreWhat is my sitting room missing?
Comments (35)You have made some good improvements thus far. I agree - you need to add some colour. Firstly a rusty orange or mustard cushion onto your green chair. Definitely not white. Choose a throw the same colour for the couch. I would look at patterned cushions for the couch - There are some cool bringing in all the new colours. I am wondering how a muted cobalt blue would look as an accent with the rust and olive and mustard. I would consider a rug change if you need to once you have finished. I would look for a recycled piece you can up cycle in a bold colour to go on the wall with the word art. [ not sure it really works go for print of some type or a mirror ] This could provide some storage with drawers etc. If you want to keep the cane - paint it in a colour possibly the same colour as a new piece for the end wall. You could use this wall as a painted or papered feature wall. I would look at reframing your pictures in white - different sizes and textures. I agree about the tv cabinet- take your time to find what you like to upgrade.. It looks like there might be a lot of dead space between the living and dining - it may not be possible but if you could move it all a meter or so towards the dining room may balance things a bit. All the best it's amazing how each little change adds up to a completely new look....See MoreFlat mirror versus mirror cabinet?
Comments (48)Thanks Margot. I think I've more or less got it sorted. The only challenge remaining, I think, is finding a way to give it a visual lift. It currently has floor to ceiling tiles in a standard size, square, and a very uninteresting colour with no texture - but in very good order. Very dull! I hate grout in showers so I'm thinking maybe some Mr Wetwall panelling or something similar over the tiles in the shower and on the new wall formed by moving the linen cpd, plus on a part wall along the long side of the shower to replace the glass screens that I insist must go (I'm a lazy cleaner and I hate cleaning glass!) Hopefully that would be enough to relieve the dullness of the existing tiles. Then some feature shelving over the new bath tub perhaps. Not yet decided whether to install a freestanding back-to-wall bath or a drop-in, but the latter might provide scope for some more feature tiling or panelling around it. I want to open the room directly to the outdoors but the current window opening is only 1200mm wide and the wall is 8 inches of solid concrete - not easy to cut to enlarge the opening - so I'm looking at either a hinged door with window inset into it or a standard size glass swing door with a narrow window beside for ventilation. My other challenge is doors for the relocated linen cpd, as the existing mirror doors have got to go! I loathe them. As the cpd will be visible from the living area, it needs stylish doors....See MoreCan't decide on bathroom vanity lighting
Comments (20)Hi Paul, I hear your collective frustration! my comment about light bouncing into your eyes was in response to your question about bouncing light onto your faces from a light placed behind the vanity (from memory). Have you seen Dr Renos comment here - still the most logical response to me. https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/5148857/where-to-place-power-points-and-lights#n=5 So I'm going to go for side lights next to the vanity cabinet. Trouble is, my vanity is off-centre to the cabinet mirror, so I still have to sort that one out. Time spent really considering this is well worth it. I think LED downlights may very well cast shadows, sorry to say :-) and the next consideration is what colour temperature - warm white or daylight? For relaxing ambience (75% bathroom function) it will def be 3000 warm white for me, however for the vanity functions it will be 4000K (daylight) so I will probably get the vanity lights switched separately to the main room light, maybe put that on a dimmer... I know there are some LED bulbs available that enable the colour temp to be changed within the same bulb......See More- 7 years ago
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