Painting kitchen cabinets

[Fat Guy]

You don't need to get involved in a big electrical project. You just need an outlet. The basic GE T5 Profile Performance lights can start at an outlet, and then you chain the rest together -- one plugging into the other. As long as you have enough of a lip on your cabinets to hide all the crap, and enough juice in the circuit, it doesn't really matter if you use plug-in lights plus duct tape and wire-tacks. You can also go with some of the cool three- or five-light halogen setups; those also come in plugin. If you have a very small lip, like less than an inch, you should get Hera lights. All you need there is to hardwire one light to the circuitry -- the rest get wired to each other. Unless you have two walls of cabinets, in which case you need two points of origin for the current. It's all extremely easy -- one of the easiest kitchen jobs you can do.

[Fat Guy]

Actually the very good news for you is that Hera seems to have broadened its product line and now makes a plugin version of the awesome SlimLites that I have in my kitchen. http://www.heralighting.com/ -- click products then SlimLite XL.

[tommy]

welp, i took your advice FG and bought a 3 halogen light set (GE) that plugs into the wall. what the hell, outlets i got.

it's hard to show in pictures (or at least i haven't figured out the best way) how much light i have now, but these images, taken with night vision and no flash, certainly make some sort of exaggerated point:

before:

after:

somehow, i don't think painting will be quite as easy.

all of this tells me that we could all use a thread on quick, cheap, and easy way to make your kitchen way better. i'm guessing quite a few of us have some ideas.

[KatieLoeb]

all of this tells me that we could all use a thread on quick, cheap, and easy way to make your kitchen way better. i'm guessing quite a few of us have some ideas

Just today I found a new and (supposedly) easy means of decorating for those of us that are "art-impaired", as I am. They're called "Wallies" and they're pre-cut stencils and murals made of wallpaper that you just moisten with a sponge and put up. Voila! Instant decor, wall border, decoupage, etc. This was one of my personal favorites - the Tuscan Countryside Window mural:

and close up:

I'm thinking of putting it on my dining room wall that is under the stairs to this floor (house is multi-level and has a two story cathedral ceiling in dining area) so when I finally get rich and install the wine cellar under those stairs (all that wasted space!) this could be the door to that. Could be kinda cool. Also considering putting a grape vine around the dining area with clusters of grapes and leaves (see HERE), however that would require painting in the vines I think, and that's way out of my league.

These thingies are pretty cool and could definitely make decorating say, a nursery, very inexpensive and simple. You can check out the whole product line at Wallies.com

[Fat Guy]

all of this tells me that we could all use a thread on quick, cheap, and easy way to make your kitchen way better.  i'm guessing quite a few of us have some ideas.

Here:

http://forums.egullet.org/show.php/act/ST/f/1/t/27117

Those task lights are going to be a big improvement, but you should consider getting twice as many. You want even lighting over the entire counter surface, not just a centered pool of light.

[tommy]

Those task lights are going to be a big improvement, but you should consider getting twice as many. You want even lighting over the entire counter surface, not just a centered pool of light.

actually, it does light up just about the whole area, which is pretty much the extent of my work station. the photo is exaggerating the concentration. but the first thing i thought afterwards was, when am i going to put up more.

[Schielke]

This is creepy, I just installed an under counter light fixture this weekend...

[Mottmott]

If your cabinets don't have a sufficiently deep lip to mask the undercounter lights, you can get molding that will give you a lip to mask the lights. The cabinets I just put in don't come with a lip on the bottom (a design thing), but I was able to get a matching molding deep enough to mask the lights I have (yet) to install.

[Fat Guy]

A light rail/valance is an option, but I found in doing my kitchen that it was a lot easier to buy Hera lights (which can fit pretty much invisibly under almost any cabinet in the world) than to install a rail.

[Dana]

Is it me, or does it seem like substantial lighting is more of an issue when you pass, say, your 35th birthday???

[tommy]

Is it me, or does it seem like substantial lighting is more of an issue when you pass, say, your 35th birthday???

that could be. however, it's also an issue when your head is as fat as mine, as it eclipses just about all of the light from overheads.

[Mottmott]

A light rail/valance is an option, but I found in doing my kitchen that it was a lot easier to buy Hera lights (which can fit pretty much invisibly under almost any cabinet in the world) than to install a rail.

Alas, FG, my Woodmode cabinets have no lip, the bottoms are completely flat, with flush doors (I think that's what they were called). I always seem to do it the hard way.

This does, however, turn into an advantage if you want to use a continuous strip of lights along the front as the bottom of the cabinets are smooth.

[tommy]

i think those icicle lights might be an inexpensive fix, all hung around the kitchen everywhere. people in NJ seem to think that they're year-round decorations, so i can't imagine that they don't have them in their kitchens as well.

was that a little too off-topic?

[Fat Guy]

Alas, FG, my Woodmode cabinets have no lip, the bottoms are completely flat, with flush doors (I think that's what they were called).

Yeah but how high are the cabinets? Are the bottoms of the cabinets below the level of your eyes? If so -- and I'm sure it's the case -- then your cabinets are a valance. You can take a low-profile light and recess it and it will be totally invisible to a normal-height person. It won't cast 100% of the light it would cast if properly positioned at the front edge of the cabinets, but it will still provide really good illumination. It's all a question of how much work you want to do, but the Hera lights are amazingly versatile and mount well even under flat-bottomed cabinets.

[fifi]

i think those icicle lights might be an inexpensive fix, all hung around the kitchen everywhere.  people in NJ seem to think that they're year-round decorations, so i can't imagine that they don't have them in their kitchens as well.

was that a little too off-topic? 

LOL... The kitchen ceiling fluorescent fixture went out at my nephew's house. For the three or more months it took for him to get around to fixing it, he strung around some of those tube lights and a string of "jalapeno pepper" lights to provide ambient lighting.

[tommy]

your nephew smokes a lot of dope. trust me.

Edited September 4, 2003 by tommy (log)

[fifi]

your nephew smokes a lot of dope.  trust me.

Oh... Surely not. He is a lawyer, after all.

[KNorthrup]

Has anyone found an easy way to mount under-counter lights to metal cupboards? I have the original-to-the-house 1950s type. They're much handier than wood for painting, but I dread drilling into them.

[Blondie]

Has anyone found an easy way to mount under-counter lights to metal cupboards?  I have the original-to-the-house 1950s type.  They're much handier than wood for painting, but I dread drilling into them.

Off the top of my head, what about magnets or velcro?

[Fat Guy]

Has anyone found an easy way to mount under-counter lights to metal cupboards?  I have the original-to-the-house 1950s type.  They're much handier than wood for painting, but I dread drilling into them.

Why don't you want to drill/screw into them?

[tommy]

It may be time to put a price tag on your irritation level. Get a few quotes from the pros and you'll soon know how much the cabinets really bother you.

3 months later, and i've taken fresco's advice.

my painter tells me that it will be 700 to do the cabinets with oil-based paint. it's a go. there's no way in hell 700 isn't worth the aggravation of tackling it myself.

of course, once the cabinets are painted, the floor will look even *more* like shit. i just hope this doesn't snowball.

speaking of snowballing, i got a ridiculous estimate for removing the overhead fluorescent and replacing with 6 high hats. somewhere around 3k if i recall correctly. 950 for the lights, and 2k to remove the (plaster) ceiling and replace with sheetrock. a friend assures me that he could do it for a few dinners and some wine.

[lamb]

speaking of snowballing, i got a ridiculous estimate for removing the overhead fluorescent and replacing with 6 high hats.  somewhere around 3k if i recall correctly.    950 for the lights, and 2k to remove the (plaster) ceiling and replace with sheetrock.  a friend assures me that he could do it for a few dinners and some wine.

There's a fair to good chance that you won't be calling that person "friend" after the job is done.

My husband stopped doing favors for friends after they would call and hound him once the job was completed. A job done minus payment is not the same as hiring someone out.

My husband now recommends one of his competitors when a friend asks him to do some work.

Get some more estimates. If you lived more central NJ, I would even have a few recommendations for you.

[JPW]

2k to remove the (plaster) ceiling and replace with sheetrock.

WHAT? How big is your kitchen? 50x50ft.?

[tommy]

2k to remove the (plaster) ceiling and replace with sheetrock.

WHAT? How big is your kitchen? 50x50ft.?

hardly.

yeah, i thought it was absurd.

[fresco]

Is there even a good reason to remove the plaster ceiling? Usually an electrician can cut a few holes and run wires. The drywall can then go on top. Cheaper, and one hell of a lot less mess. And yes, 2K sounds high, at least by 1K. And finally, I agree with lamb: pay the money and keep the friend.