Kitchen Cabinet & Lighting Fix

What’s wrong with this picture?

If you said the gap between the cabinets over the kitchen sink, you’d be 100% correct! The other thing that’s been driving me crazy is the lack of lighting above the sink and over the counter top work areas on either side of it.

I’ve decided to bridge that gap and add some lighting to the kitchen while I’m at it. The kitchen cabinets aren’t necessarily to my liking, but one step at a time folks! This is a quick fix intended to improve the appearance and efficiency of my kitchen until such time as I can afford to do a more major renovation (or I move).

The Whole Process Including Pictures

Because the kitchen cabinets are melamine, I chose to use that same material for my mini renovation. Before buying any material, I carefully measured the gap and planned not only the design of the bridge, but also how I would support it between the two wall mount cabinets. With my plans formulated I headed to the closest Home Depot.

List of Materials

1 pc melamine shelving 5/8″ x 12″ x 97″
4 steel mending plates
package of 4 steel corner braces
small package of 5/8″ #10 flat head wood screws

In order to fit the shelving in my vehicle, I had it cut in half at the store. The length I required for my bridge was just under 48″ so this worked out perfectly. After returning home, I used the table saw to cut one piece of the melamine shelving to the exact length required. Using the table saw again, I cut the other piece of shelving length wise so that I had a piece 4-1/4″ x 48″, which I also cut to the exact length.

Building the Bridge

With materials ready, construction began. The plan was to slip the bridge into place. Steel mending plates would overlap the existing upper cabinets and hold the bridge at the same height as those cabinets. Using the wood scews, the steel mending plates were attached to the 12″ wide melamine shelf - 2 on each end.

I’ve had a set of Ikea NON lights hanging around for quite some time just waiting for the right application and this was it. The placement of the lights was marked on the underside of the bridge and holes were drilled to accommodate the power cords.

The narrower piece of melamine would serve as a type of apron for the bridge. This is where I used the corner braces.

With down lights installed and the apron in place, the bridge was ready to be suspended.

And here it is in place. What a difference! The upper kitchen cabinets now look complete and I have light to work by.

All of the hardware is either concealed or invisible. Here’s a closer look.

Now all I have to do is make a new Roman Shade for the kitchen window. I think I’ll make it as wide as the outer edge of the window frame and mount it right up under the bridge. It will hide that small section of wall that is currently exposed and give the illusion of a larger window.