Light Up Your Countertops with Fiber Optics
Written by Beth Flanagan
When you’re hosting your next party, wouldn’t it be cool if you could light up your countertop? Not only will it create a nifty conversation piece, it will also add ambience and your countertop becomes a thing of art instead of just a place to set down your drink.
Your indoor or outdoor kitchen or bar countertop can light up at night with the use of fiber optic lighting cables. The thin flexible strands of optically pure glass or plastics are cast into the concrete and carry the light. You can create any design your heart desires, thereby creating a one-of-a-kind artistic countertop. And, don’t worry about your outdoor countertop – there’s no electricity in the counter itself so it’s safe from the elements.
How it works
One bright halogen light and a bunch of cables held in place in front of the bulb illuminates light through the cables. Hundreds of little points of light illuminate from just one bulb. Depending on how thick the fiber strands are, you can get anywhere from 250 to 350 fibers per illuminator.
Making magic
Not only can you create your own design, you can also play with color and glass pieces. You can add a color wheel or sparkler wheel to the illuminator for a psychedelic effect. The color wheel slowly spins in front of the light bulb giving you blue, green, magenta and white color. You can also special order your own custom color blends. Sparkler wheels create a twinkling effect causing the fibers to fade and glow – great for parties where you want to hypnotize your guests. Adding glass pieces allows for more artistic elbow room.
The possibilities include:
- Restaurant & home bar tops
- Conference tables
- Bathroom countertops
- Kitchen countertops
Resources and related articles
- More on fiber-optics for the countertop: http://www.concretenetwork.com/countertops-fiber-optics/
- The concrete countertop institute: http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/countertops/design-ideas/illuminating.htm
- 8 step guide to lighting counters with fiber-optics: http://www.concretenetwork.com/countertops-fiber-optics/guide.html
- This site shows you how the fiber-optic countertops are made: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Fiber_optic_countertops.htm
- Contractor’s resource – one day class to learn this technique and give you an instant unique selling proposition: http://cci.homestead.com/fiberoptic.html
What others have said
I like the look but do not believe we could live with bottles on the bench top. A more strategically placed light that was not center stage would be more fitting in most kitchens.
I must agree with John's comment. I could live with a bench with some lighting, but not one with bottles or mass lighting all over it. It would be difficult to work around.
Cute, but not something I would like to look at each day in my family kitchen.
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I like the idea for a special occasion, but for everyday use I think you might tire of the flashy bench top.