How to make a backlight in the closet with your own hands

In the overwhelming majority of sliding wardrobes on the market, additional lighting is not provided. This flaw is easy to fix on your own. Making the lighting inside the cabinet is easier than it might seem at first glance. You don't need to be a professional electrician to do this.

illumination of the wardrobe
Often, cabinets are not installed in the lightest part of the room, so their owners have to constantly shift the contents and look for the necessary items by touch.

What is the purpose of lighting in the closet

Sliding wardrobes do not have swing doors that block narrow aisles and steal precious space. Unsurprisingly, they are often placed in places with limited space and low light. Additional lighting is also needed with a large cabinet depth, where the light from the ceiling lamp simply does not reach.

illumination of the wardrobe photo
A convenient and modern solution is the use of lighting in the closet itself.

Or maybe you don't want to turn on the lamp again so as not to wake up sleeping family members. Or you need additional lighting in the mirror area, where there is always a lack of lumens. Or the main reason is not functional, but aesthetic. LED strips and built-in lamps visually transform furniture and change the perception of the interior of the entire room.

illumination of the wardrobe of the photo ideas
In developed countries, furniture without lamps is no longer produced.

To understand whether a backlight is needed or not, it is worth deciding on the functions that it can perform:

  • Additional illumination of certain areas with insufficient illumination.
  • Decorative.
  • The ability to illuminate the storage system without turning on the main light sources.

Choosing the lighting of the wardrobe

Classic incandescent lamps with a bi-coil are practically not used in furniture lighting. The main types of lighting: halogen, fluorescent, LED. The latter are in the form of spotlights or LED strips.

lighting cabinet compartment photo design
More and more furniture factories and private workshops are supplying complete lighting cabinets.

Lighting types

Cabinet lighting, main types of lighting:

  • Luminescent.
  • Halogen.
  • LED, including LED strips.
lighting wardrobe photo design
Cabinet lighting performs two functions at once: practical and decorative.

How to choose the right one

As with any other product, health safety is the first thing to consider. A real, and more often a potential threat to the body can be carried by fluorescent and energy-saving lamps. The former contain a small amount of mercury, which theoretically can lead to poisoning, including small doses of vapors in the event of a breach of the tightness of the product. However, the concentration of the harmful substance is so low that the threat should not be taken seriously.

wardrobe lighting design ideas
Backlit products have significant advantages.

Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light from fluorescent sources is also unsafe. However, for a cabinet where the need for illumination arises for a short time, this threat is also not relevant. German endocrinologist Wunsch, in an interview with Noah Osnabrücker Zeitung, argued that the stroboscopic effect of fluorescent lighting at 50 Hz can lead to epilepsy. However, over the next ten years, the scientist's assumption was not confirmed by anything.

the illumination of the wardrobe is unusual
Lighting elements allow you to diversify the design of furniture and make the interior of the room interesting and unique.

When choosing, it is worth considering the style of the interior, the features of the room, the already existing lighting and the characteristics of the lamps:

  • brightness;
  • power;
  • energy saving opportunities;
  • color and design features of the lamp.

Power supplies. Accumulators and batteries need periodic charging and replacement. USB powered LED luminaires are generally not practical to illuminate a cabinet or other furniture. Household light sources may require an additional outlet.

luminescent wardrobe lighting
Lighting of the filling and contents of the cabinet allows you to quickly find the necessary things in it.

Please note that ready-made lighting kits are available on the market. Including automatic, with motion sensors, and triggered by opening the cabinet door.

illumination of the sliding wardrobe automatic
The backlight can be installed in any type of cabinet.

Important! The use of a carrier is highly undesirable. If the power is not supplied directly from the mains, but through a 12 or 24 V transformer, the converter should not be located near heaters and open flames.

And the last aspect is the integrity of the walls and cabinet doors. If you have to saw and cut furniture to install the backlight, problems will surely arise during the subsequent replacement of the lamps. With a high degree of probability, you will have to mask the holes ... or buy a new wardrobe.

DIY closet lighting
On the modern furniture market, there are a variety of types of cabinet lighting.

DIY installation

How to make additional lighting in the closet with your own hands? The easiest way is to mount LED strips. It is not surprising that more than 90% of apartment and private house owners prefer to use this type of lighting in the illumination of cabinets and other furniture.

led cabinet light
LED backlighting combines several advantages at once: efficiency, durability, safety and high quality lighting.

There are other benefits too:

  • energy saving parameters (consume energy 10 times less than classic incandescent lamps and 2 times less than luminescent sources);
  • safety ("classics" are easily broken, leaving sharp fragments, fluorescent ones contain mercury vapor, albeit in insignificant quantities);
  • "Lifetime" (MTBF reaches 50 thousand hours, fluorescent - up to 7 thousand, incandescent lamps - up to 2 thousand).
  • as close to natural light as possible.
lighting for sliding wardrobe installation
Unlike halogen and fluorescent lamps, LEDs do not get very hot.

Connection method

Most often, lighting devices are connected either directly to a household power supply, or through a 12 or 24 volt power supply. The converter may need to be purchased separately. When planning lighting, it is worth considering the proximity of the outlets so that you do not have to do the wiring at the last moment.

wardrobe lighting options
LED strip is sold in rolls of 5 meters or per meter. It is recommended to make accurate measurements before purchasing the backlight.

Installation sequence

Consider the stages of installing LED strip, the most popular option for cabinet lighting.

  1. Determine the location of the tape. When mounting on shelves, it is recommended to mount the tapes from the bottom side. Reduces the likelihood of mechanical damage. Better lighting of the bottom shelf.
  2. Determine the location of the switch (the bottom of the shelf, the side panel of the compartment, the wall near or behind the cabinet).
  3. Take measurements. Cut the tape (only in the specially provided places!).
  4. The tape is installed either by laying it in a plastic box or in a cable channel attached with liquid nails. Self-adhesive tape is also sold. In this case, it is easiest to fix.
  5. Install switches in predetermined places, connect the tape to the power source, check the operation of the newly mounted backlight.
backlight circuit
The installation process for cabinet lighting requires care.It is advisable to think over its scheme in advance.

Light in the closet when opening the door

The lighting system, which is triggered by the opening of the cabinet door, can be made independently. However, it is easier to buy a ready-made kit with motion sensors. The backlight in the closet when the door is opened is a fairly convenient lighting option. You don't have to look for a switch in the semi-darkness again.

Sensor switch
If bright lighting is required, it is advisable to use surface-mounted luminaires - they are more powerful than recessed ones.

Frequent mistakes

  • Connecting the LED to a power source without observing polarity. Decide where "+" and where "-", and only then make the connection.
  • Using a wire that is too long. Recommended no more than three meters. If it is longer, loss of power is possible.
  • Installing the transformer near sources of fire (for example, a fireplace) and heating appliances.
boom illumination
Mortise structures are good for decorative purposes, but they are much more difficult to mount.

The easiest way is to buy a ready-made cabinet lighting kit. It remains only to determine the location of all elements of the additional lighting system and mount it, based on your preferences.

cut-in light in the closet
To control the characteristics of the backlight - its brightness, intensity and color, a special controller or remote control is used.

Video: DIY LED lighting in the closet

50 design options for sliding wardrobes with lighting

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