Beadboard Backsplash and Under Cabinet Lighting

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One of the things I knew I needed to change right away about this kitchen as soon as we moved in was the lighting. It was just way too dark. So I knew I wanted to not only change out the lighting that was already in the kitchen, but also add more lighting.

Check out our previous update progress here.

I knew that under-mount lighting would give me what I needed as far as more light, but I also wanted ambient lighting when I didn’t want to have all the lights on. I partnered with Eshine who has some amazing under-mount cabinet lighting options that are not only easy to install but quite innovative.

More on that in just a second… Plus there is an exclusive discount you don’t want to miss!

Before I could do any of that I wanted to be sure that I had a nice clean backsplash that not only would add character to my kitchen but also help bounce off the light and make the area feel brighter.

The most inexpensive option for us was beadboard. We used 2 boards and it only cost us $40!

The most important thing for us in this process was to get the measurements right and start on one end of the kitchen and work our way to the other end. Once we put the first board up to dry fit it, I knew I had made the right decision.

Cutting the boards was easy with our circular saw and rip cut tool.

Things got a little more complicated when we were reaching the stove area. There was a lot of things to consider where seems met so we came up with a plan below…

Yes, I know, it’s hairy…

I could not imagine following this on a blog post, so I made a video explaining what all these arrows meant. I promise there is a method to the madness.

Everything I explain in the video takes into consideration the area above the stove where more of the beadboard is exposed. I also go over why you also want to work towards your corners even though you are still generally working from one end of the kitchen to another.

In addition you will see how this little template works to get around any window trim you may have in your kitchen.

The video is below.

Beadboard Backsplash and Under Cabinet Lighting

The next thing after measuring where you want your seams and cutting them accordingly, is you need to cut your outlet holes. You will need a jigsaw for this.

This is something you want to take your time on, and in the end everything will fit in place smoothly.

I did paint them with one coat of white paint first before we even cut them. The type of paint I used was the same white color that I used on my kitchen cabinets in my last kitchen. I prefer the Urethane Enamel paint for the durability and wipe-ability especially since the kitchen gets used so much.

Installing is also easy… liquid nails in the back and a brad nailer to nail it in place as it dried.

Once installed, I added caulk to hide the seems.

I taped the countertops before applying the caulk on the seem between the backsplash and the countertop.

Then I gave everything a final coat of paint.

It doesn’t show here, but I did come back and paint the underneath part of the cabinets with the same white.

After that was done it was time to install these amazing lights!

This is an LED lighting kit with hand wave activation! Say what!?!?

Yes, you heard right!

These lights plug in unlike a lot of the ones you see that have only batteries and die way too soon (that happened at our last house).

And they are super discreet!

They install easily with either screws or double-sided tape which are both provided in their kit. We chose to screw them in.

You can choose how many you want underneath and by simply clicking them together you can make an entire line of light under your cabinets.

The system is so easy to work with.

Their cords are easily hidden and they also provide the hooks you need to tuck away the cords. And in order to turn them on, you place your hand under the light strip with the sensory dot.

In order to dim or brighten them, you simply hold your hand in place until your desired setting.

My kids love them, I love them, and even the Latino Engineer loves them. Everything is so much brighter in our kitchen and I don’t have to worry about plugging them in or out. I just wave my hand and I get the lighting I need.

You can see them in action in this video.

I love how the lighting highlights the backsplash and all of our hard work.

You don’t even see the cords!

I turned off the kitchen light so you can see how bright they can be on their own.

Amazing! I am so happy with these!

If you have been thinking about adding under-mount lighting for your cabinet definitely check out here and their line of lighting for your kitchen.

USE COUPON CODE: TheLatinaNextDoor for 10% off your purchase.

The sets of lights we used for our kitchen were as follows:

We wanted to have a nice consistent line of light so we needed several kits to link together. But that’s the beauty of this system; you can use as little or as many as you need.

I hope you enjoyed this update and I will see you in the next one!

Until then… adios!