Over-Cabinet Lighting

From Fusselman.org

Overview

A few months back, I built over-cabinet lighting for our kitchen. I'd intended to document building it, but when I work by myself, I tend to get so into building that I forget to take pictures. Thankfully, Richard was so impressed when he saw it that he wanted to build a similar system for his place too (his lights sit on a "valence" of sorts, above his living room). Both our systems use the same basic parts; His is controlled by a wall switch, while I implemented a remote-control system (due to my lack of a switched outlet above the cabinets).

Parts list

Extension Cords of appropriate length ($1 each)
Standard "60w" Compact Fluorescent light bulbs
Clamp-on "temporary lighting" style sockets
PVC Pipe sized appropriately to hold the sockets upright
- OPTIONAL! Richard's system has the bulbs standing up, while mine lay flat, to conceal them behind the crown molding.

Assembly

Assembly is simple and straight forward.

Figure out where you want your bulbs along the extension cord.
Split the cord's lamp-wire in half, making sure not to expose the wire itself.
Clamp the sockets to the wire.
Optional: Notch appropriate-length pieces of pipe to allow the cord to pass through. We used a jig in a miter saw and a pliers or Dremel tool to make the cutouts.
Deploy lights according to your initial measurements.