Spotlights for furniture: types, features, recommendations for selection and installation

Recessed or surface-mounted furniture lamps help create a special atmosphere in a room or illuminate dark areas. This type of lighting fixture has a universal purpose. Such furniture lamps are installed in cabinets, chests of drawers, shelves, kitchen units, and are used instead of bedside lamps and decorative lighting for mirrors. The presence of a large assortment of products in different colors and styles allows you to choose the optimal models for specific interiors.

fashion trend

Modern technologies that have been successfully used in lighting devices today allow the use of a wide variety of functional and design techniques. One of the most popular trends in the modern world is lamps designed for furniture. Their variety is so great that each person will be able to choose for themselves exactly the option that will ideally fit not only into the room itself, but also into the interior they created with their own hands. The most common furniture lighting models are found in the following places:

• hanging shelves in rooms;
• closet;
• wall-mounted kitchen set.

Note! Furniture lamps have found the greatest popularity in the kitchen. This is where they are most needed.

Furniture lamps in the kitchen

By choosing the right lighting fixture, you can best fit it into the interior of not only the kitchen, but also any other home room. The main thing here is that furniture lamps fulfill their functional purpose.

Use Cases

It is recommended to use LED lamps on any surfaces of furniture sets where embedding is possible. If you choose the invoice option, you can use it anywhere. Often overhead products are portable, which improves the mobility of devices and makes life easier for household members.

Options for using devices can be divided into several groups:

• lighting of kitchen furniture sets;
• interior furniture lighting;
• bathroom furniture lighting;
• cabinet lighting;
• decorative and practical use in the bedroom;
• lighting for wardrobe furniture.

Built-in lamps can be installed in almost any area of ​​the kitchen work surface. It is appropriate to install them under wall cabinets, under countertops, or on the top bar of a wall cabinet. All that is necessary is to accurately calculate the required number of lamps and distribute them evenly over the work surface. Ease of use lies in providing the necessary lighting when cooking.

To illuminate the interior of any furniture, spotlights are built into it. They work with contact and non-contact connection methods, and can also be activated by movement. For example, if you need to open a drawer to remove an item, the backlight will turn on automatically; the rest of the time it will be inactive, which will help save energy.

The bathroom also often requires additional lighting: LED lamps come to the rescue. They are usually placed on the surface of a wall cabinet, not far from the mirror. This illumination will provide convenience when brushing your teeth, washing your face and applying makeup. Business people can take advantage of built-in lighting for added convenience in their offices. Using spotlights, you can illuminate cabinets where documents are located, as well as mount devices into the desk top.

In the bedroom, lighting serves more as a decorative element, but sometimes it is used for practical purposes. Sofas and luxurious beds look beautiful, where floor lamps are located at the head, allowing you to read a book in bed. The lighting is also installed in dressing tables and armchairs.

Another, most common option for lighting with LED devices is lighting for sliding wardrobes and wardrobe systems. Comfort is provided by several light bulbs located on the lid of the cabinet, which turn on when it is opened.

To make the lamp work, I use several connection methods: contactless, battery-powered, and with a switch. Each apartment owner independently chooses the required type that will be convenient to use.

Why highlight the headset?

The most common use of furniture lamps in the kitchen is to illuminate the work area, covering the sink, stove and countertop. It is in this area that housewives most often feel the need for good lighting, since all the main manipulations associated with cooking, serving and serving take place here.

Note! Food should always be cooked under sufficient light levels and the light should be distributed evenly across the illuminated area.

The kitchen is characterized by the placement of furniture in two tiers:

• floor cabinets in which large electrical appliances are stored, as well as various technical devices (dishwasher, stove, sink, trash can);
• hanging shelves or cabinets. Various small-sized and light-weight kitchen utensils, spices are stored here, and there is also a built-in dish drainer.

Kitchen furniture

In addition, if dimensions allow, you can place a dining table and a small sofa with chairs in the kitchen. As you can see, there is enough space here to roam around with various lighting options. When choosing lamps for furniture in the kitchen, you need to take into account the fact that a person, while preparing food, will create a natural barrier to light. Many processes, such as washing dishes, cutting meat or slicing ingredients, require even, high-quality lighting without shadows. Very often the housewife takes a position where the light source (ceiling chandelier or spotlights) is behind her. The result is almost complete shading of the kitchen work area. The solution to this problem will be the installation of furniture lighting fixtures. In addition, creating additional kitchen lighting using furniture models is not only functional (the main aspect), but also decorative. To organize it, LED strip is often used.

Decorative lighting for furniture in the kitchen

Such lamps (for example, wall-mounted or overhead) will give the room something unusual, more original, or simply a more homely and camphor-like atmosphere. Using furniture lamps (for example, surface-mounted or wall-mounted), you can achieve complete lighting of the kitchen with your own hands, where it will not only be pleasant to drink tea and communicate with family and friends, but also to prepare culinary masterpieces.

Pros and cons of wardrobe lighting

There are many advantages of wardrobe lighting. This is a necessary item in the dressing room. If you install lamps along the outer edge, you will not be able to achieve high functionality of the equipment. Such lighting performs only a decorative function. If the cabinet is not deep, then additional light sources are not required.

Lighting fixtures for wardrobes

Advantages of wardrobe lighting:

• Compactness;
• Interesting design;
• Speeds up the search for necessary things;
• Saves time;
• There is no need to use other light sources.

You can install the backlight yourself. Installation does not require special skills. Lights in the closet make it easier to keep things organized. You can immediately see where you need to wipe off dust, remove cobwebs, and any defects are immediately noticeable. The main disadvantage is the complexity of management. An ordinary lamp is not suitable for illumination. Choose LED strips or halogen spotlights.

How not to get confused in diversity

Today, probably, kitchen furniture lamps have the widest range on the lighting market. In order to correctly choose the most suitable model for yourself, you need to have at least a minimal understanding of the range of this lighting product. Furniture lighting fixtures can be divided into different types according to a wide variety of parameters. For example, the most important choice for many people who will make their own lighting is what their installation will be. According to this parameter, furniture kitchen models are divided into two categories:

• built-in They can be mortise or point. The installation of such lamps is planned at the stage of assembling the kitchen unit. But the installation itself is carried out after its assembly. This type of lighting fixture is used to illuminate the contents of drawers, cabinets, and the work area;

Recessed furniture lamps

• invoices. This is the most popular type of lamps, as their installation is simple and easy to do with your own hands. The main advantage here is that overhead lighting fixtures can be installed on absolutely any surface. At the same time, overhead furniture lamps can be replaced or removed at any time.

Note! Overhead models today are used as the main lighting on the ceiling or as working lighting on the lower part of the kitchen unit.

Overhead furniture lamps

It is worth noting that overhead models, which are most often used for kitchen lighting, can be equipped with a rotating mechanism. It allows you to direct light to the desired area, which greatly increases the functionality of this type of lighting fixture. Therefore, if you don’t want to bother with embedding lamps into furniture, the simplest solution for kitchen lighting would be overhead lighting products.

Light source - a difficult choice

Probably the most difficult choice for many people will be the choice of a light source for furniture lamps. The following types of light bulbs can be screwed into such lighting installations:

• incandescent Not the best option for the kitchen, since the only advantage of such light sources is their low cost, as well as being as close to natural light as possible. In all other respects they are inferior to more modern light bulbs;

Note! Recessed models with incandescent lamps must be recessed into the furniture by at least 7 cm.

Incandescent lamp

• luminescent. Both warm and cold light are suitable for the kitchen. Such products require caution during operation, as they contain mercury vapor. For this reason, they must be disposed of in a certain way. The light of fluorescent lamps depends on their length: the longer the bulb, the brighter it will shine. Therefore, it would be more rational here, instead of two small light sources, to purchase one, but long one;

Fluorescent light bulb

• halogen The advantage of their use is a long service life, bright light and low energy consumption. But among the disadvantages here we should note the high heating. Moreover, their housing, unlike incandescent lamps, is heat-resistant;

Halogen lamps

• xenon These light sources practically do not heat up during their operation, but they provide light that is too intense for the kitchen;

Xenon bulb

• LED They are considered the best solution for use in lamps intended for furniture. LED light bulbs do not contain harmful substances, do not emit ultraviolet radiation, do not flicker, and also consume a minimum of electricity.

Light

As you can see, for the kitchen it is best to use LED light bulbs, which are perfectly screwed into both surface-mounted and recessed lamp models.

Features of choice

Above we looked at the main models of furniture lighting fixtures, as well as which sources are best to choose in this situation. But it was not said that furniture lamps that you can install in the kitchen with your own hands come in two more types:

• contact. Such models have a switch;
• contactless. They are activated when the furniture set is used (for example, when pulling out drawers or opening cabinet doors). For such automatic operation, lamps of this type are equipped with motion sensors.

In this regard, when choosing furniture kitchen lighting fixtures, you need to rely on the following criteria:

• placement location. Lamps in the kitchen can be placed on the ceiling, on top or bottom of wall cabinets, in drawers, under base cabinets;

Backlight placement option

• backlight type. With the help of such lighting devices you can create primary, additional, accent, decorative and other lighting;
• installation method;
• Light source;
• technical characteristics of the lamp itself;
• its cost and manufacturer.

It is worth noting that you need to choose products from trusted manufacturers who have already proven themselves to be professionals and high-quality performers.

Surface-mounted and recessed halogen lamps in wardrobes

Halogen options are considered the most popular in cabinet lighting. The functionality and design of the devices is different, the choice is wide. Lamps installed in the canopy of the cabinet look impressive.

Halogen lamps placed inside the wardrobe allow you to see all the contents. It is convenient, practical, aesthetically pleasing. It is better to install devices with motion sensors. Then the light is activated independently when the doors are opened. And when the doors close, the lights turn off. This saves energy when lighting in the closet.

You can mount the lighting yourself if you wish. Understanding the intricacies of installation is not difficult. Spot halogen lamps look stylish and organic on the visor. If desired, several devices are mounted in the cabinet itself.

Self-installation of devices

After the furniture lamp has been selected and purchased, the most interesting time comes - its installation. This situation arises when furniture was previously purchased without built-in lighting, but the installed ceiling lights do not provide a sufficient level of lighting. The most difficult thing will be to install furniture recessed lamps yourself. To work you will need the following tools:

• pencil;
• screwdriver;
• roulette;
• jigsaw or drill;
• metal drill bits;
• sharp knife;
• the lamps themselves.

You should install mortise lamps in furniture yourself, following the following step-by-step instructions:

• determine the location of lighting fixtures, as well as calculate their number using special formulas;
• then de-energize the room to avoid electrical injury;
• using a drill or jigsaw, cut holes for the lamp in the surface of the furniture;

Cutting a hole

• Through the hole we bring out the wiring wires, which will be hidden inside the cabinet;
• connects the lamp to the wires;
• we place the lighting fixture in the previously prepared hole and fix it with springs that straighten automatically;
• screw a light bulb into the lamp;

Connecting the lamp

• Place a decorative ring on the top of the device.

Overhead lighting fixtures intended for furniture can be installed by hand simply using fasteners. They can be placed on any surface.

The final result of installation

Strict adherence to the above instructions will allow you to make your own lighting from recessed or surface-mounted lamps. The main thing here is to accurately determine the location of the lighting installation, in which the luminous flux will cover the maximum space of the kitchen.

Installed overhead lamp

Safety precautions

Installation of lamps requires strict implementation of instructions and adherence to safety rules. Before connecting lighting devices, it is necessary to turn off the power supply. Then, using a tester, you need to make sure that the electrical network is not working. Before installation begins, it is necessary to decide on the location where the devices will be placed.

To ensure eye safety, the installation of lamps is carried out using special glasses that protect the eyes from the penetration of construction dust and other fragments.

Self-installation of spotlights, contrary to popular belief, is not a difficult electrical installation process. It will take a small amount of time and will not require any special skills.