Indirect Lighting – Rope Lighting

This photo is the other end of the room. I can't begin to describe how magnificent these bookcases are. I hope you enjoy these photos. (C) Copyright 2017 Jay Helms

Indirect Lighting

I have installed indirect lighting in many of my jobs in the past. It is always a breathtaking sight when the lights are turned on in the early evening or at night to softly illuminate the room. If you have not seen this effect, you don't know what you are missing. The soft glow of the lights casts a mood in the room that you just won't believe.

Indirect lighting works best if you can make it continuous around the entire room. Some people cut corners by just putting it on top of cabinets. The trouble with this is that unless the cabinets circle the room - and most don't - you end up with dark spots in the room. It really looks cheap. Don't cut corners with lighting. You will regret it, trust me on this one.

The soffit system that works best for indirect lighting is an open-faced soffit that looks like the letter J in cross section. The small diameter rope light is well hidden in the 3-inch high by 4.5-inch-wide channel created using the drawing I show later in this bulletin. The hardest part of the entire job is finishing the drywall in this tight spot. It can be done.

Indirect Rope Lighting

Perhaps you have seen rope lighting used at a restaurant or some other commercial building. It is often used on staircases to illuminate treads, risers and stringers. It is also used for outlining objects with a soft border of light. It happens to be the perfect source of light if you want a soft glow of indirect light in any room.

In kitchens, it works well on top of cabinets, under tall wall cabinets and inside open-faced soffits. This wonderful product is fairly inexpensive, and it is modular. You buy it in 18-inch-long segments that interconnect with one another. The maximum length of one run is 150 feet.

I was only able to locate one manufacturer. There may be more out there. Simply visit a specialty lighting fixture store to find them.

• W.A.C. Lighting Co.

Open Soffit Cross Section

So you want to build an open soffit above your cabinets to hide the rope light? If your job is a new construction one, it is not hard. If it is an existing home, it is actually easier to a large degree with respect to fire stopping requirements.

The following cross section will give you an idea of how simple it is to build. I use 2x4's for all framing members. I also build the ladder sections on the ground and then just secure them in the air with the blocking.

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