[eudmin]

I would really like the extra 2-1/2 inches of counter height (my espresso maker just barely fit beneath my previous Kraftmaid cabinets), so I am considering leaving off the decor. I will have three cabinets on one wall, a 30x30 above the sink and two 24x39's, one on each side of the sink. I will put decor above the sink in any case, but am considering leaving it off the taller side cabinets.

I am using Adel MB doors with birch boxes. I have to decide pretty early on because I will have to cut down the cover panels to get them to fit flush with the bottom of the cabinets if I am going with no decor. I have two concerns about leaving the decor off.

The first is that the birch boxes will show more on the bottom in cracks under the bottoms of the doors without the decor there to sort of shadow things a bit. Does anyone have experience with that?

The other concern is that my undercabinet lighting will show. They are attractive stainless finish puck lights which stick down 1-1/2 inches on their own. It doesn't seem like a big deal if they are visible because I will also have a stainless Imperativ backsplash.

What do folks think? Will I end up wishing I had gone with the decor?

[DesignDiva]

Could you use a cover panel to cover the bottom? You could drill holes to embed the undercab lights and the cover panel would hide the cord and holes and cams that would show.

[eudmin]

Ooh, that's a freaking good idea. Thanks. I will give that some thought.

[dentedvw]

Yeah, great idea! Just a bit of work with a router, and it is almost like in cabinet lighting!

[jenplocher]

Or could you use the decor strip applied the thinner dimension? Similar concept, less of a protrusion towards the counter.

Or you could hang the cabinets 2 1/2" higher, if they are not already up.

[eudmin]

The cabinets aren't up, but the rail is up, and my ceiling would object to hanging them 2-1/2 inches higher.

With the decor I will have 16-3/4" of space between my counter and the bottom of the cabinets. That's probably enough room for most people, but my commercial espresso maker just barely fit beneath my 17" gap that the previous cabinets had, and I would sure like to keep some cups on top of it on the cup warmer instead of just using it to make the cabinet hot.

The thinner dimension of the decor is an interesting idea. That would be easier if not for the fact that they seem to skimp on the stain on the decor. The veneer doesn't seem to be medium-brown all the way around to the back, so I think it would look a lot different from the doors. Maybe some of the candelite stain that I ordered along with my birch edge banding (to attempt to match Adel MB per the instructions on this site) can help that though.

I have been thinking about the recessed idea that eva suggested. The only problem I might forsee would be the heat. They are 120V 20W Xenon lights so that I could wire them into a normal wall dimmer. I don't know how hot they get, but maybe I could sandwich a sheet of metal between the cabinet bottom and the cover panel as a heat sink. Or maybe they don't get hot enough to damage it. I will try to look that up. Has anyone here burned up their cabinets with 120V Xenon lights before?