How to make LED lighting for furniture with your own hands

LED lighting is not only a spectacular decorative element. With its help, functional lighting of furniture is organized. Since this type of lighting is economical, it becomes indispensable for safety and convenience. Easy to install and does not require special maintenance. There are other features that become an interesting option for improving comfort in your home. Is it possible to make functional LED furniture lighting with your own hands?

Different types of lighting for furniture

Depending on preferences and plans, various types of lighting are used for furniture:

• directional beam illumination. For it, spotlights are used, which are built into the furniture body. For example, for lighting wardrobes;
• artistic arrangement of lighting elements allows you to emphasize the attractive appearance of unique or rare furniture;
• spot light is applicable for local lighting of small pieces of furniture: bedside tables, coffee tables;
• contour lighting is indispensable for organizing comfortable cooking in the kitchen. Illumination of the bottom of cabinets and cabinets helps you quickly find the necessary thing or item;
• special furniture or linear options correspond to a specific purpose.

Let's look at the last option in more detail. Below are detailed instructions that allow you to make your own LED backlight. This does not require higher education and many years of experience in electrical installation work.

Requirements for lighting devices

If you need lighting for shelves in your closet, as well as drawers, you need to choose the right consumables. They've most likely decided on the look.

In terms of technical requirements, the main standards are as follows:

• For lighting in the hallway, choose an illumination level of at least 50 Lux, for a dressing room or closet from 75 Lux, and for the kitchen from 150 Lux and above;
• Reduced voltage must be used to operate devices;
• Connect the wires by crimping, soldering, or terminal connection;
• Choose the backlight so that it effectively illuminates the contents and does not create discomfort for the eyes.

Pay attention to the reliability, safety and efficiency of lighting.
You can make lighting in the closet yourself. But only with the appropriate knowledge and experience, as well as with strict adherence to safety precautions.

Where is LED lighting used?

LED lighting is used for advertising, lighting of supermarkets, facades, car tuning, and landscape design. But the lighting of the house and furniture is more important to us.

• Security lamps are a great opportunity to illuminate floors and walls in hallways, kitchens, and living rooms. In this case, you can safely enter the hallway, kitchen, bedroom, or children's room without turning on the central lighting.
• illumination of work areas is an ideal option to organize a work area for the hostess in the kitchen. This includes lighting the insides of cabinets, interior shelves, nightstands, and island structures. A good opportunity to illuminate your home workbench, sewing machine, and creative areas.
• lighting in hard-to-reach places is an ideal option for economical local lighting in places where it is difficult to install stationary electrical wiring, and even more so to mount massive lamps. Therefore, LED strip lighting is indispensable for pantries; it helps to find the necessary items on the mezzanine, and organize more functional dressing rooms, since all things and shoes will be in sight. A little more about sliding wardrobes: it is possible to highlight each individual wardrobe and shelf. At the same time, expenses for paying for electricity will be minimal.

Designer's advice. LED lighting is a great option for organizing separate functional areas of a room: fast, affordable, economical. With its help, they emphasize a corner for relaxation; it is used to illuminate tables, bar counters, etc.

Let's start with choosing the backlight

It is logical that homemade lighting in a closet begins with the choice of the lamps themselves.

Never use incandescent lamps. They have low efficiency, high energy consumption and high temperatures.

It’s commonplace that clothes can not only fade, but even burn. So an incandescent lamp is a potential source of fire.

Lighting in a dressing room or lighting in a closet can be done using these types of spotlights.

• Halogen light bulbs
  . Performance is low and service life is short. But they are cheap. Powered by a reduced voltage network;
• Luminescent
  . Economics. But it takes a long time to flare up. In terms of performance characteristics, halogen is better. But there is a serious drawback. This is the release of mercury vapor. Not the best option for a closet with clothes;
• LED light bulbs
  . Halogens are 10 times more powerful. They work for about 30 thousand hours. The price is quite high;
• LED strips
  . Consist of many mini diodes. Available in different colors. Used as decorative and lighting lighting at the same time.

The most practical, versatile, and also profitable option for organizing lighting is the use of LED strip.

Another good solution is LED lighting for kitchen cabinets.

Advantages

Let's consider what makes such lighting indispensable. LED devices have unique technical characteristics and operational advantages:

• provide high-quality light;
• allow you to save energy;
• simply installed in the required location and dismantled if necessary;
• a high-quality option can last about 60 thousand hours.

They help make cost-effective furniture decor. Contour lighting, which was described above, is organized by installing ready-made strips with light-emitting diodes. The difference from spotlights is striking.

The first ones provide a directed stream of light, the tape version provides a diffused, soft glow that does not irritate the eyes, provides sufficient luminous flux and guarantees good illumination of the working surface of the table, the inside of furniture cabinets, which makes life more comfortable.

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.

Selecting LED strip

The LED strip (its color and power) is selected depending on the intended use. Therefore, for main lighting we need options that can provide a strong luminous flux and organize additional light, which is intended to help the central chandeliers. Local illumination can be soft, have a different color or a color change function.

If the tape is located above the working surface of the kitchen table, then it is advisable to use a microswitch; in this case, just move your hand next to the lamp and it lights up.

It is important to pay attention to how many LEDs are located on 1 linear meter. The intensity of light depends on the quantity. These figures range from 30 to 240 units. The most functional indicator is considered to be in the range of about 60-100 diodes.

The tape power should be 14.4 W per meter. The type of emitters corresponds to the international marking: SMD 3528, SMD 5050.

Expert advice. When choosing, pay attention to the quality of the housing; ideally, it is an aluminum LED profile with reliable protection from dust and moisture.

Parameters and characteristics

A furniture LED lamp is a necessary device if it has been decided to arrange the space of the room as comfortably as possible. To avoid difficulties when choosing, it is important to familiarize yourself in advance with the existing parameters and characteristics of the devices.

Having selected options for lighting furniture, you will no longer have to use a floor lamp or table lamp to illuminate the work surface or find linen in the closet. High-quality devices will last a long time, delighting with practicality and functionality.

Installation work

Not everyone knows how to make LED lighting with their own hands, so they believe that this is labor-intensive and expensive work. In fact, the installation is not complicated, but it is necessary to take into account some points that will prevent problems from arising during further operation. It is enough to have basic knowledge of electrical installation work. The whole process is carried out in a certain sequence and consists of several stages:

1. You need to purchase a tape of the required length with diodes, special connectors for fastening, a conductive cable, a reliable power supply (if it is not included), double-sided tape for construction work, and connecting clips.
2. Tools: sharp utility knife (sold in hardware stores).

1. The preparatory work includes inspecting the tape, which should not be flawed or damaged. Examine the markings of the power supply and tape (they should be similar to each other).
2. Then the contact elements are found. As a rule, they are located through 3 diodes. This corresponds to Russian and Chinese manufacturers. It is important to proceed from the structural features of the material that you purchased, since the cut is made in this exact place. This is significant, since an incorrect cut entails waste of material.
3. The LED strip is cut into the required pieces. Insulating material 1-1.5 cm long is removed from the electrical cable (this is necessary for connection). Usually the wires are color-coded: white, brown, or optionally red or yellow. The first one is for “minus”, and the second one is for “plus”. In any case, it is necessary to avoid contact between the wires. For this purpose, special insulating tape is used. Clarification: first of all, individual contacts are isolated, and only after that the entire blocks.

1. Then the prepared wires are connected to the connector. In this case, the brown (yellow or red) wire is inserted inside, and the white wire is inserted on top.
2. Final stage: checking how the lighting works. Everything is quite simple: the power supply is connected to the network. If everything is done correctly, the tape will light up.
3. This completes the electrical work, and all that remains is to secure the tape in the chosen location. To do this, the table surface, ceiling or wall are degreased and dust is removed from them. You must use any neutral detergent to avoid damage to the surface or finishing material.
4. Remove the protective film from the adhesive side of the tape, or use double-sided adhesive tape, which is attached to the selected location. The organization of LED strip illumination is completed.

Electrician's recommendation. Specialists who know how to solder various parts, have the tools and skills, can do without connecting clips, while the connection will comply with the LED backlight installation technology.

A detailed description of how to make furniture lighting helps you do it yourself, while increasing the functionality and safety of the premises. The interior acquires a unique decoration; it is possible to change the color scheme of the rooms depending on your own preferences.

Varieties

Furniture lighting products can be roughly divided according to several criteria: according to the type of fastening and the material of manufacture. The first classification is considered more common; thanks to it, LED products are divided into mortise and surface-mounted options. To understand which lamp is most suitable for existing furniture, you should consider each type:

• recessed LED lamps for furniture. This type is considered the most popular; it involves installation in a pre-prepared hole on furniture. Even a person with no experience in furniture production and assembly can install a mortise lamp. The installation is as follows: a hole is made in the surface of a shelf or cabinet, as well as any other selected item. It should be identical to the dimensions of the lamp mounting ring. Once the hole is ready, the decorative part of the lamp is inserted into it, after which the filling with electrical wiring is installed. Next, the power is connected and the operation of the product is checked. Lamps of this type allow you to create a single plane of furniture with ready-made lighting. The operating switch can be placed on a nearby furniture panel for ease of use;
• surface-mounted type of lamps for furniture. This type is easily mounted on the surface of furniture using self-tapping screws or double-sided tape. For installation, you do not need to drill a hole or engage in lengthy checks and wire connections. In terms of external characteristics and efficiency, the product is not inferior to its mortise counterparts, and it is also much easier to attach. A big advantage of overhead options is the ability to rotate them: at any time you can approach the lamp and direct the light rays in the desired direction.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the LED strip, often used on narrow furniture panels. This analogue of lamps is often used for interior lighting of furniture elements: drawers, shelves, hard-to-reach places where it would not be easy to install a standard product. When choosing the type of lamp, decide in advance on the color of its glow. White light is considered the most common; furniture owners also use warm light. There is a huge selection of shades for LED strips: from yellow to red. Linear lamps equipped with LEDs will provide an outlet for illuminating long wall-mounted kitchen cabinets. They are placed on the bottom panel of the product to illuminate the work surface when cooking.

Mortise

Invoices

LED Strip Light