When we remodeled our kitchen we asked our electrician to install outlets on the underside of our upper cabinets. It seemed such an easy solution, so I'm confused why so few people do it?

Also, when the outlets are high, appliances that stay plugged in on the counter may have cords going up a wall that would normally be hidden by the appliance itself. I don't like the look of cords more than I don't like the look of outlet covers.

Just one perspective, I guess.

Also, when the outlets are high, appliances that stay plugged in on the counter may have cords going up a wall that would normally be hidden by the appliance itself. I don't like the look of cords more than I don't like the look of outlet covers.

Just one perspective, I guess.

Now I hope this posts once.... :)

Outlets don't bother me either. I think they should be easy to access. Some appear so hidden you would have to search for them. I would not want to have to bend down to see under the cabinet.

Its a personal decision. There is no right or wrong.

1. visible outlet in backsplash

2. cords hanging down like snakes for the countertop appliances

Me, while I thought something like plugmold was a really nifty idea, in real life the cord snakes would bug me much more than visible outlets. It's a totally personal decision.

With proper planning, their overall visual impact can be minimized.

My kitchen is a work area. I have small appliances sitting on the counter that need juice. The outlets are necessary and utilitarian and I find them less unsightly than cords snaking down the backsplash.

Not that I know what the bs will be as of yet...but I don't want to have hideous outlets in the middle of my design.

Kitchen - We are planning on swapping out these outlets for brown ones, but I don't mind them white to be honest. Busy tile, so they fade in, covers are decouppaged. Most things stay plugged in and we keep lots on the counters.

This was definitely the wrong way (you were talking about me, weren't you?!)

But this is something I can and will address. Step 1 will be to decouppage, see how they look, then probably on to step 2 - convert to plugmold under upper cabinets and then replace cut tiles. (Nothing stays plugged in, so no dangling cords). OT - we matched the grout color with the caulk but I don't like the caulk this dark (bottom and corner), think a white would be better. (Thoughts?). Oh the joys of DIY and re-doing it yourself and ....

One of my pet peeves. And one of the very few things my great GC screwed up on. I had told him I wanted the one required by local code mounted as low as possible and horizontal. All other outlet requirements were to be met with a strip mounted under the back of the wall cabs. The ONE that ''had'' to be in the backsplash ended half way up the backsplash and mounted vertically squarely in the middle of the longest run of backsplash!! EXACTLY what I DID NOT WANT.
I told my electrician (who said it was impossible to change it because I didn't see it until the cabs were in) thatI would think of him everytime I looked at my backsplash--and NOT in a kind way.
I will either faux paint or decoupage it when I get that far.

Outlets like this catch my eye in photos of beautiful backsplashes. Like the OP, I just don't understand it. Items permanently plugged in can go in outlets mounted at counter level. Other, transitive uses can be met with in the long strips mounted under the cabs.

ARGHHH.

Outlets on a backsplash disappear for me - since they're so ubiquitous, my brain factors them out and I don't see them. Even OldBat's photo of the white backsplash above.....as pictured, yuck. With any kitchen counter items out - bowl of fruit, toaster, coffee machine - wouldn't even notice 'em.

I also don't like cords hanging down permanently from upper cab plugmolds either.

Btw, low, horizontal outlets like mine meet code in my municipality.

P.S. I'm starting to be embarrassed that we are now at the one year mark exactly of the day we moved back into the house and my outlets STILL look like this. Please don't snicker at me! The lack of tile still hasn't reached the level of shame for me yet. Yet. Soon, I think.

I did not want any outlets in my backsplash. There was no extra charge for the Plugmold to be installed other than the additional cost of the materials. The other advantage of PM is that you always have an outlet exactly where you need it. And the added fun of people seeing it for the first time who have never seen PM before. : )

stupid. no one would have noticed the outlets although they will certainly find the telephone wire most unattractive. so yeah, ...no. i don't wonder at all.

No snake wires. Phone landline wire behind wall. I wouldn't have it any other way.

We used Lutron matte black outlets and switches and had screwless wallplates made from our quartzite by Columbia Gorge Stoneworks (stonewallplates.com) and we are quite happy with the looks - especially since we have a bank of 6 light switches at one end of our backsplash near a door.

I guess I hadn't realized that it's unusual that I don't leave appliances out on my counter. I have an appliance bay to tuck them into so my counters are usually clear and you don't see cords snaking up to the cabinets most of the time.

I always wanted to ask but was afraid...wondered how you plug things in. Do you have to bend over and tilt your head?

debra - "I always wanted to ask but was afraid...wondered how you plug things in. Do you have to bend over and tilt your head?"

Well, yes. I have angled plug molds where the cabinets meet the backsplash. I have to bend over a bit to make sure I'm finding the outlet. It's not something I ever thought to be annoying, though. Maybe now I will. ;) I can't imagine having outlets on the underside of the cabinetry. That would require a lot more bending!

The plugmoulds are a pain. I feel like a contortionist when plugging things in. I don't leave anything plugged in, because I don't want hanging cords.

Plugmold I get but if your outlets are on the underside of your cabinets where are the boxes? You can't install outlets not boxed in our area. My Mom managed to get an outlet in the cabinet where her phone is but her electrician said it is getting harder to get those passed around here.

Here are our boxes under our cabinets:

In areas where there were no upper cabinets, I also hid outlets inside of side panels of adjacent cabinets. The cover is held on w/ a magnet and from a distance, you really cannot see that the outlets are there:

We did run plugmold strips under our island because people may plug in laptops and stuff when sitting at the island:

Electrical outlets under the cabinets would require stooping and awkwardly looking up to line up the electric plug correctly with the slots in the receptacle. Not a problem if only done once in a while, but an inconvenience if hand mixers, hand blenders, food processors, whatever, are used often. I find bending down to view the bottom of my upper cabinets a pain in the neck when I need to find the individual toggle switches on our uc lights to turn an individual one off or to brighten/dim it. Yes, I could use the exercise of stooping and holding the position while trying to orient the plug correctly but that's not what I'm thinking about when I'm in the middle of getting a meal on the table.

Installing outlets low on a backsplash would be problematic in my kitchen. The outlets look nice and accessible in the pictures with pristine counters. But the times I need my outlets are when the counters are crowded with large mixing bowls and ingredients. I don't want to have to clear a path to the outlets to plug in a hand mixer or hand blender.

I had double outlets everywhere I was scheduled to have an outlet. In this day and age, a single outlet is just stupid and electrically inefficient.

What I did INSIST upon, to the point of standing over my electrician's shoulder, (I brushed my teeth and used breath mints) was that 1) they be level, 2) they be equal distances from whatever they were around, and 3) they were all on one switch plate. None of this forty, individual switchplates all over the place.

On the right side of my sink I have 2 outlets and a rocker switch for my someday pendants. On the other side, I have 2 outlets, the GD, and over the sink light. They're all in one switch plate.

The switches by my front door have four. Porch lights, pendant over the door, foyer light and hallway. Not four switch plates, just one. Less messy.

I had my outlets wired at the usual height and they are currently in white. I had thought I'd be doing a light backsplash although right now that's in doubt. (I'll try to post pictures of my new faves on a separate thread in the next few days.)

The idea of hiding my outlets was intriguing, but it also sounded like an extra step while cooking. And to be honest, I have my kids unplug the mixer when they're scraping it down and then re-plug it in to mix some more. Just an extra safety step. I have been kidded about this rule, but we have cooked together since they were quite young and everybody still has ten fingers per person.

Oh, and I love all the kitchen pix....