We did not install under cabinet lighting. I have never had it so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. But at this point I have no regrets with that choice. Our pot lights and chandelier provide sufficient task and ambient lighting.

I lived without under cabinet lighting for 30 plus years. It was fine and I could see what I was doing well enough, but the ucl provides a more ambient, atmospheric kind of look. Personally I don't mind the reflection and I would never go back, but it's really a personal choice.

I used under cabinet lighting in my old kitchen because the only other lighting was a dismal light in the middle. We installed undercab lighting in our new kitchen and I very rarely use it--maybe 3 or 4 times in almost 3 years. The rest of our lighting (recessed lights above the counter edges and pendants where there are no uppers) is more than enough. We put the recessed lights on 2 different switches--3 lights that we use most of the time (1 in the center of our kitchen and 2 along the main path through) and 5 more that we use when we want great light (probably used less than 10 times over the past 3 years.) Then there are the pendants in 3 different zones, turned on when needed--2 over the main sink, a 3-light fixture over the peninsula (used a lot) and the 3 pendants over the prep sink/baking area. The lights we use the most have dimmer switches--it's nice to be able to control the intensity of light. Also, there are lights in the hood. After my experiences with our old kitchen, I couldn't imagine a functional kitchen without uc lights but now I realize it was an area we could have cut back on. We have medium dark stained cabinets and dark counters.

Personally?

I loathe it.

You ABSOLUTELY DON'T have to have it if you don't want it. If you want it, or think you might want the choice, go for it.

If not, why pad everyone's bill and use the environmental resources, for something you don't value?

You could always plug a small lamp in on your counter if you felt the need for a little extra light in a certain spot.

My mom had undercabinet installed in one spot, because she got talked into it. She hates it too. We both cry out in horror if I flick it on by accident for a second. It just sits there, and gets filthy as well.

So it's definitely a personal choice.

It always felt like everyone here thought it was a 'must have,' but seemed like overkill to me. I've never missed it, even in kitchens that only had 1 central fixture, so I didn't put it in our new kitchen either. I have eyes too quickly nearing 50, that are preferring better lighting than they used to, but I still feel the overhead in the kitchen is plenty, and will continue to be. If you want it, have it, if you don't, don't worry about it. There are ways to add it later if you find an area you wish you had it.

Does uc lighting make more sense with darker countertops? My mom insists I should get it because I am getting a dark countertop, but I have never had it and have never even thought about it!

Undercabinet lighting is probably one of the BEST things I like about my kitchen. I have them on most of the time and always at night. Don't notice a glare and does help with task. I love my UC lights.

Good...I didn't think I wanted it but wanted to see if I was missing out on anything big!!

I think our GC is going to do up the electrical work so we can potentially have them in the future. For now, we decided to go without.

Love Love Love my undercabinet lighting. Sometimes that's the only lighting I'll use, especially in an open floor plan on movie nights.

Our condo kitchen doesn't have a single window and the ceilings are vaulted to 12'. There is no way pot lights in the ceiling would be enough (we have #4) for our dark narrow space. We rely on our undercabinet lights to give our counters some light especially as we are working in the kitchen. Ours are adjustable - off, low, high halogen variety. We are glad we had them installed when the condo was built.

I use mine all the time, and I love it. In my old kitchen (pre-remodel) I had corded UC lights plugged into the wall, even though it was ugly, it was super functional and it wasn't like it stole from the charm of the rest of the room. Since I bothered to do that before the remodel, I knew that UC lights were a must for me. I use them every time I cook, and would not be without them.

I would never want to live without under cabinet lighting again! We put it in the kitchen we remodeled in our last house and it was one of my favorite things about that kitchen (along with the rope lighting on the upper cabinets and my central vacuum toe sweep!)

Now, when I cook in someone else's kitchen with no UC light, it feels dark, dismal and dreary to me and I can't wait to get out of that space!! Good, cheery lighting is SOOO important to me and makes a huge difference to me in how I feel while I cook!

It's a MUST have for me, personally!

I'm a firm second to mo sgal's post. We got our new granite, (Tropical Brown) and backsplash with new appliances and flooring in March 2006. Didn't have time to think about UC lighting, although we briefly talked about it. Before we knew it, the guys had ripped out the backsplash and done the install. (our kitchen took 5 days!) So........I worked on as usual. Then, about 4 months ago, I fussed at DH to retrofit the undercabinet just in one spot next to the sink, with the light working off the stove hood. OMG. I wish, wish, wish, we had wired it in in all 3 places we could have in the first place. It makes so much difference in my workspace, my cleaning, and my happiness. I'm a firm two thumbs up for mine.

Red

I'm tall. I hate cabinets hanging over the counters, getting in the way.

I would have no cabinets over the work counters, and light the work counters with MR-16 recessed lights.

No UC lights at our house. Our cabinet installer did try to sell us on it (mostly, he wanted to be sure we didn't miss our opportunity to wire them if we thought we might want them). But we went from one center light fixture to a center light fixture, over sink pendant and 5 potlights. I'm happy! One additional reason we stayed away from UC lights is that we wanted a painted backsplash and the plaster walls are not perfect. The UC lights would have just showcased every imperfection...

I didn't have them in my old kitchen, and I was always working in a shadow. My new kitchen has much better lighting, but I still use my undercounter lights every time I do food prep or clean-up after dark. I wouldn't even consider omitting them in the house we're just starting. I love them!

I really love it but I notice that lots of people I know have it and they never use it. For me it really comes down to the fact I don't like overhead lighting - anywhere. I prefer the more cozy feeling that I get with things like table lamps and undercabinet lighting. It's not that you need undercabinet lighting - it's more whether you prefer that kind of lighting - in my humble opinion. But functionally it's great in my opinion too.

Hmm...a lot of interesting responses. Particularly from Gibby - I never thought about that cozy aspect.

Food for thought, for sure!

I'm going to jump on the gibby bandwagon..again. There are so many nice things about the gibby bandwagon...:)

I like the ambiance and coziness of the uc lights. They make me smile, whereas the overheads are a little more intense, definitely a good thing for my vision but not so much for my attitude.

Opposite here- I didn't have them before remodel, put them in....and LOVE THEM. They're on most mornings and most evenings, as they give me light without a huge amount of it glaring in my face. They're on right now, at 7:45 in the morning. We also have a double 60-watt regular fixture over the sink, a main fluorescent fixture, and a 6 60-watt chandelier type fixture over the dining table. The UC's put us within code. (Without them, we would have needed another fluorescent fixture over the sink, or to put those CFL bulbs in that fixture.)

So do look at your codes and how the UC would play a part with codes. Even if you do a kitchen for which you do not need a permit now, you may need to sell later and don't want to have to spend money on fixtures you'll never use!

DonnaR/CA

For those that don't like their UC lighting, what kind do you have (fluorescent, xenon, halogen, regular incandescent; puck, linear, etc.)?