LED Shelf Alcove Lighting

[Spinny]

I have an alcove 250mm deep we will be putting in a cupboard 90cm high then shelves above. At the top of the alcove we want to box the ceiling down a little in plasterboard to give that 'built into the wall look'.

 

Question is if we put LED strip under each shelf (probably oak look shelves) - should we put led strip into the underside of the plasterboard downstand ? (i.e. to light the top shelf)

 

Thinking LED strips should go near front of shelves.

[Kelvin]

I lit our alcove at the back to wash the light down the large format tile that formed the back of the alcove so I’d say it depends on what you want to highlight. It’s also on a dimmer circuit this it it fully bright. I used very narrow LED strips, the narrowest they did and it’s mounted inside a track. The other thing to consider is make sure you have easy access to the driver. In my case there’s a walk in cupboard to the left behind that wall so all the wiring is inside a wall box. 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 18:59 by Kelvin

[Spinny]

I am not sure about the back lighting, I guess ideally you might have both, but we are not planning anything other than a white wall behind at present. I have also seen them put facing upwards at the back of the shelf.

 

It is good to see pictures of actual install like yours, thank you.

 

Now thinking of putting a couple of baffled mini downlights into the downstand as has been done in this photo.

 

(PS I have got some trunking put in running up the wall behind the plasterboard at the side of the recess so I can just drill into it and fish the wires through. Then as we are having a cupboard at the bottom I have had a cut out left in the plasterboard with a plywood board behind to fix the transformer and WLED controller onto. Thinking of putting addressable cob led strips in everywhere just for the hell of it.)

[Kelvin]

We went to see a lighting designer when we were planning everything. She had a holiday rental that she also used to show what could be achieved with lighting. She was a big advocate of up lighting shelves/alcoves  and the like. She used a lot of small directional led lights that they use in museums and display cabinets. It was really effective. One of the most effective and cheap to do was a tiny LED built into a shelf (it was routed in) with a large glass paperweight sat on top of it to diffuse and scatter the light through it. She had these on the floor as well. 

Edited Sunday at 11:05 by Kelvin

[Spinny]

Interesting, would like to see a photo of that.

 

Lighting is a tricky thing. Architects don't seem to address it - ours just asked us to come up with a lighting plan. Then you are thrust into the world of lumens per square metre, CRI, CCT, LED tape, beam angles, baffles, smart control etc. Once you see the space you change your mind. Think I have over 20 switcheable lighting groups now.

[Kelvin]

https://catlighting.co.uk/lighting-inspiration/

 

 

Edited Sunday at 13:33 by Kelvin

[Temp]

If you want led strips on all shelves I would put a strip of matching timber on the underside of each shelf and hide them behind that. Something just thick enough to hide the LED light strip/fitting and stop it shining in your eyes. It also gives the shelves a more solid look.

 

You can also get recessed extrusions to put led strips in..

https://www.downlightsdirect.co.uk/advice/led-strip-lights/illuminate-your-shelves-with-led-shelving-lights/