Refitting the Galley: 12 Experiences

From the standard galley on our new 1997 Hallberg-Rassy 46 I have done only 3 minor modifications/upgrades in 13 years and 135,000 nautical miles. As we’re an offshore expedition vessel with 8 people to prepare meals for the galley sure gets put through its paces!

White Formica sliding cupboard doors		1.	I asked the boat builder to replace the three mahogany sliding cupboard doors behind the stove with white Formica ones that matched the counter top. When having Mahina Tiare III built, there were only 2 countertop options: imitation wood or white. Our previous boat was a 1983 Hallberg-Rassy with the wood-patterned Formica, so I was ready for a change. Although I would never have wished for a pure white counter, it’s been very serviceable and adequate. It’s interesting to note that now all new Hallberg-Rassy’s come standard with Corian counters and sinks.
Stove lock off		2.	I made the Force 10 stove lock off in three positions making it functional on port and starboard tacks as well as flat. When heeled over on either tack, the stove can be locked off on a tilt, allowing the placement of a large heavy pot, such as the pressure cooker or spaghetti, on the stove’s large back burner. It’s easier to monitor a steady stove than one that is continually gimballing on an errant angle. Our boat rides fairly smoothly, but if I’m having trouble coping in the galley, we’re quick to tuck in a reef.
White Formica installation		3.	I had a boatyard woodworker cover the dark mahogany wood behind the sinks with white Formica. Note that in the tropics it gets dark at 6pm, so the white has brightened the galley enormously.

(This is an old picture and shows former microwave and toaster.)

Countertops and sink

Our biggest refit consisted of changing the old white formica surface that had begun to stain badly with Turkish Corian, and putting in a new European sink.

Wonderful improvement.

We moved the island part down to the existing counter

What you see to the left was originally an island. We moved the island part down to the existing counter and added the cabinet facing the viewer, what we call our ready locker, where we keep an assortment of most frequently used items. It was a great addition.

Appliances replaced

When we first bought the boat (it was ten years old), we changed the dishwasher, compactor, garbage disposal, and microwave. Ten years later we have had to replace the microwave again, this time with one that is a combo oven/ microwave, plus the toaster (which was twenty years old), and garbage disposal.

With plenty of power, we have most of the appliances you would have in a kitchen ashore, even though we have spent most of our time at anchor. Most of the major appliances came from Sears, including the stove and oven that is now twenty years old.

The super-size refrigerator is by Sun Frost, designed for people living off the electric grid. It is heavily insulated, not as pretty inside as our modern marvels, but the power drain is very low, and as I said, a couple of hours on the generator takes care of all our power needs. This includes a second freezer, located in the salon near the 'bar", making ice handy when we have parties.

Our boat Wind-Borne III is a 1985 Bayfield 36. At one time the galley was lovely, compact and very efficient, but after 25 years it was definitely in need of a make-over.

Before

Work in progress

After

The brass taps and saltwater pump - although standard Bayfield fittings and lovely in their time - were becoming a pain to polish and maintain.

The sink was beginning to rust, the laminate counter top was showing its age with little chips, and the raised wooden refrigerator lid was something I had never liked.

We have been to Trinidad in the past, and although we had a great time there I didn’t want to go back just to have work done on the boat. Our home away from home is Carriacou, sister island to Grenada. We love the island of Grenada but haven’t spent much time there during the last few years. So both my husband and I agreed that it was time we spent a few months in the south of Grenada, and while there we would see if we could find a company to install a Corian countertop in the galley.

Since I wasn’t aware of any other boats having new counters installed in Grenada that we could contact for recommendations, we just opened the Grenada Yellow Pages to “Kitchens”. There was a full-page ad for a company that specialized in solid surface counter tops “First Class Enterprises”. I called and asked if they had ever done any work on a boat. No, they hadn’t, but they would be willing to have a look and provide an estimate.

I called them again when we arrived in Grenada, and they came to the marina the following day. The estimate sounded reasonable, they promised the work would be started and completed within a one-week time frame, and they would ensure we were satisfied with the job.

Well, this sounded a little too good to be true, but with nothing to lose (other than money) we gave the ok to start the following week.

Meanwhile our cabinets in the galley needed to be removed before the work could begin, and this part of the job we wanted to do ourselves. While the cabinets were disassembled and out, we thought it would also be a good time to refinish them.

First Class Enterprises continued to amaze us throughout the process with their care and concern that everything be to our liking.

Since then another boat that came to look at our new galley has had work done using the same company, and they are just as pleased - if not more - with their new counters as we were.

First Class Enterprises in Grenada can be reached at 473 440-8848.

I did my galley over, and this is what I had replaced:

1. Double sink, purchased from a bar/supply store, because it was narrow and deep.

2. I only used foot pumps for water, installed one for fresh water, one for salt water. I wash my dishes, pot and pans in salt water whenever possible and then use a spray rinse bottle of fresh water to complete the washing process.

3. I also installed a soap dispenser in the sink holes as well.

4. My new stove was a 3-burner with oven and broiler . Be careful when purchasing a stove. My flame burner runs vertically across, with a metal plate on top with holes to disburse heat evenly which allows one to use full-size cooking utensils.

We switched to propane

With kerosene more difficult to find and propane available almost everywhere, we switched to propane back in 2000. In doing so we sacrificed long-term fuel supply (we used to carry 6-9 months kerosene), for a shorter-term clean and efficient fuel. We now carry two 10lb aluminum tanks, approx three months supply, plus a 7lb tank in reserve.

As the LPG tanks are stowed in the cockpit, another plus to the change was that the now empty kerosene fuel tank locker under the stove created some much needed extra storage space.

Storage

I recently began using the narrow space between the stove and galley counter to store chopping boards and the dish draining board. Ideal for cookie trays and pizza pans too. These are secured with a bungi cord when under way.

When provisioning, to retain freshness, I no longer buy dry goods in bulk. Instead, for example, I buy flour in 2.2lb bags and store them in zip locks. This quantity also fits into my ‘day use' container perfectly, making replenishing easy. When storage space is short, this also allows you to enjoy a greater variety of goods: which equals more interesting meals, which equals a happy captain/crew.

We cooked for charter for eight years aboard my first boat Whisper, a CSY 44 walk-over, without making any significant changes to her galley. WHISPER's galley faced aft to the cockpit across the back end of the salon, sink, counter and stove to port, huge three box fridge and freezer to starboard. Since almost all of our cooking was done at anchor, it didn't matter that the galley was so open. For underway, I had a galley strap that kept my butt in the corner between sink and stove. It's not that I loved it the way it was, but because the boats were designed for the charter trade, it was very functional.

The biggest change I did make to WHISPER was a greatly enlarged cockpit table without fiddles where I could seat up to 4 people. Charter dining was a situation that doesn't really call for fiddles, although truthfully, I'm not a big fan of fiddles on cockpit tables even while out cruising. My experience has been the fiddles are more likely to LAUNCH a sliding glass or bowl into a flip. Rubber non-skid placemats really did the trick for us when needed.

Refrigeration

We added a separate self-contained freezer under the table in the salon, concealed under the lift-up "door".

We added more solar panels to power the new refrigeration system

A CSY 44 walk-thru, Tackless had a Pullman style galley in the starboard pass thru. She had a pair of over-under front-loading boxes for refrigerator and freezer. This is a great arrangement at anchor, but had some negatives when underway, particularly the freezer unit which collected condensate from the fridge and from which it was hard to excavate what you wanted without everything (not to mention the cold) falling out.

Also the boxes were originally fitted with engine-drive refrigeration and holding plates. We were concerned about the hours on our middle-aged engine and the flexibility we would have to leave the boat unattended for inland travel.

So, we added air-cooled Adler Barbour units to each box -- a horizontal evaporator in the upper box (which could serve as a freezer at the dock or on the hard and which allowed us to make ice in standard trays) and an Adler Barbour cold plate in the top of the freezer section. Our thinking was that this would allow us to alternate between engine-drive and 12-volt as the situation warranted.

THEN we added a 60-liter Minus 40 chest freezer into the center of the salon and rebuilt the salon table around it. This turned out to be a fabulous piece of equipment (once we got the right gauge cable to serve it). Very efficient.

We ended up primarily using the upper fridge box with the Minus 40 freezer and only ran the lower freezer when planning a long time away from civilization (the Pacific crossing) or when it was time to defrost one of the other boxes.

We added more solar panels to the hard top, arch and the two quarter rails of the aft deck (for a total of 7 panels producing 570 watts) to power all this (not to mention our computers!)

As it turned out, we found the 12-volt air-cooled system so satisfactory we didn't run the engine-drive system often enough to keep its compressor seals in good shape. Eventually, we took the whole engine-drive system out to free up more space on the engine.

Appliances

Galley aft inboard shelf

Cutting board fitting over half of the sink

We also mounted a microwave under the cockpit deck and had custom nesting box-shelves made to hold onions, potatoes and tomatoes. On the narrow ledge under the cockpit we set up all the electrical appliances that had been so crucial during charter, blender, small food processor, coffee grinder. I continued to use these items when cruising, although less often.

Double sink & Corian-type countertops

To top things off we put in a new, deeper stainless steel Skandik double sink, a standard household pull-out sprayer faucet (wonderful) and new countertops of a molded Corian-type product called Decoran which allowed us to build up backsplashes on all edges including the front fiddle to protect the white oak wood work from water stains.

We had a full-sized insert from the Decoran made to fit over the sink thinking it would be useful for more counter space for kneading bread. At the same time, we made a cutting board out of starboard to fit over half of the sink opening enabling us to slide it from side to side, even underway. This was very useful. To my surprise, I hardly ever used the full insert.

Macerator for the Galley Sink

Lighting

The locker we converted to a pantry and the double door fridge

We increased the light available in the galley area by installing a four- way (two power, red/white) Alpenglow light over the stove and sink area. This is a great fixture, and the red light option was useful on passages.

Storage

Lastly, we converted a hanging locker on the starboard side to hold canned goods nearer to the galley, but also to help with weight distribution on the boat.

Cockpit Dining Area

The cockpit was our most important space on Tackless II. The hardtop with built-in reading lights and Isinglass enclosure (an addition we made at the same time as the galley refit) turned the cockpit into a completely new room. Not only did we do our sailing there, we did all our lounging and dining there, especially as Tackless II’s remodeled salon table was very hard to squeeze in around when the table leaves were raised.

So, the other important addition to the cockpit was a handsome teak table that folded away against the binnacle. When raised and opened out it again allowed us to seat four people for a meal. We never once missed the original small table with its uncomfortable fiddles.

• Current Boat – Downeast 38 – Hale Kai

S/V Hale Kai - Downeast 38

On our current boat, Bill had made most of the galley changes before we met. Here is what he/we changed:

1. Refrigeration

When he bought the Downeast 38, it did not have refrigeration. He converted one ice box into a refrigerator with a 12-volt Frigoboat system with a keel cooler and an electronic controller. He also installed a Frigoboat 12-volt system in a second ice box creating a freezer. The two systems have been wonderful.

2. Stove

He also replaced the stove with a propane three burner stove with oven and broiler.

3. Plumbing

We also replaced the old faucet with a mixing faucet, and added a salt water tap with a foot pump. We plumbed the hot water heater into the engine cooling system so that we could have hot water when we were running the engine. It’s not really a galley refit but it affects the galley.

We placed a charcoal filter below the sink. We also added a finer filter to the galley tap. By turning the filter, you can easily run drinking water through the filter and bypass it for normal water use. In this way, the more expensive filter element lasts several months since we don’t run all our water through it.

4. Lighting/Ventilation

We added several lights in the galley, including one right over the sink, so I can see well to wash dishes. We don’t have a permanent fan in the galley but we do move in a portable clip-on fan when needed. Plus our port scoops increase air flow.

5. Storage

We added additional galley storage under the nav floor. We replaced one varnished wall in the galley with a white synthetic board which brightened up the galley and made it easier to clean up.

Bill also added lockers (with doors) above and behind the settee in the salon. About half of this was used for galley storage, but included a shelf for a microwave. The counter tops could use replacing but we haven’t tackled that.

• Previous boat – Whitby 42

S/V Romance - Whitby 42

My previous boat was a Whitby 42. I owned it for 12 years and made a number of changes over that time:

1. Refrigeration

We kept the same Grunnert holding plate refrigeration system though we did add a second motor so that we could run the system under either 12 volt or 110 volt. It provided some redundancy for us too in case one of the motors went out.

These days I would certainly replace the Grunnert with the more efficient 12-volt systems like Frigoboat. And the keel coolers on our current systems are SUPER ... and they even work well in warm tropical waters. I might also consider adding a door on the front of these deep refrigeration compartments – like many boat ice boxes, ours were deep and it was difficult to reach items low in the box.

2. Countertops

We replaced the countertops in my Whitby with Formica.

3. Plumbing

We added a mixing faucet (one handle for hot and cold, easy to operate). We added a charcoal filter below the sink plus another finer filter on the countertop so that we could filter drinking water twice if we wanted. We also added a salt water foot pump – we didn’t use it for washing dishes, but it was great for rinsing out dirty pots before washing dishes.

By turning the filter, you can easily run drinking water through the filter and bypass it for normal water use. In this way, the more expensive filter element lasts several months since we don’t run all our water through it.

4. Storage

We built a rack for storing a set of dishes on the galley wall. It fit our everyday plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery and was a great space saver.

We also added a narrow shelf (with fiddles) on top of the partial bulkhead that separated the sink area from the salon. This shelf seemed to double our workable counter space because it was so handy to the sink!

We also redid an area behind our settee. Behind the settee back cushions, the Whitby originally had only two openings into a large open storage area. It was hard to use that space efficiently. So we opened the area up, added shelves inside, and then used clear Plexiglas sliding doors to access the area. All I had to do was pull the settee cushion away to get access to my “pantry”. The shelves were large enough for the large plastic jars that I used to store my staples (flower, sugar, etc.).

5. Ventilation

We mounted a galley fan. We already had a hatch over the galley which aided ventilation.

Yes, we did a refit on our galley in 2000 before we left.

Large refrigeration unit

We had an icebox, and Dennis tore it all out, and built a large refrigeration unit, with two-way opening. We used R-Parts (online) for components, and put in Glacier Bay panels. Very expensive, but worth every penny in energy savings!

He then put new countertops in.

Electrical and Appliances

As Lady Galadriel is a 30 year old boat, a generator was not part of the original equipment.  We had 110 ac electrical when we were plugged in, but did not away from the dock.  The cap installed an inverter, and one of the results of our new power alternative was a small microwave that we mounted under a cabinet.  To be honest, we use it more for storing electronics (as a kind of Faraday box) than for cooking, but it has come in handy occasionally, even underway for a quick meal.

Cosmetic and plumbing

We already had a four-burner Force 10 stove and oven/broiler, so no change there, but we did some other cosmetic changes - such as plexiglass sliders to replace wood ones.

The captain of Lady Galadriel is an extremely talented woodworker, a nice skill to have when you have lots of wood on your boat.  Dennis has made some beautiful and functional teak additions to my galley. 

We have made some plumbing changes over time; the most recent was to plumb the watermaker bypass line to the saltwater side of the sink.

12-volt fridge

The fridge has two sides, one which was a freezer with engine-driven cold plates which seems a ridiculous arrangement! Who would want to run the engine even at a marina?!

So we removed the cold plates, added lots of insulation on the sides and bottom of both compartments, then put an Adler-Barber Supercold Machine in the "refrigerator" side with holes for ventilation to the other side. The Adler-Barber has a small freezer that is adequate for frozen boneless meats -- enough to last two months when supplemented by occasional fresh fish, dinners out, etc. We keep drinks cold in this side and thus get by without giving up freezer space for ice. On what used to be the freezer side, we keep vegetables, breads, unopened cheese, nuts, etc -- things that don't have to be super cold.

The only complaint I have about the fridge -- and the galley itself -- is that the best food prep area is right on top of the fridge lid. This necessitates a bit of shuffling about, especially when the captain wants a cold beer in the middle of dinner prep.

Why don't all boats come with one-handled faucets?!

The water heater on CAMRYKA is engine-driven, and when the water's hot, it is very HOT. A two-handled galley faucet was mighty inconvenient when my left hand held a soapy plate or glass and I didn't dare turn on just the hot. But turning on first the cold then reaching right over left to the hot was not only clumsy but wasted precious water, too.

I was most pleased when we needed to replace the old faucet and was eager to try out a one-handled model. Replacing the faucet was straight-forward with simple diagrams showing what went where. But of course on a boat, nothing is straight-forward. The faucet was up and back and around and under. Sprawled on my back in the floor, my head wedged between the water filter and sink drains, I could just barely get the wrench in position to loosen the fittings. But I did it, was proud of it, and loved the one-handled results.

Now I can even hold a pot in both hands and use my elbow to flip up the handle and get water just the right temperature. Now, why don't all boats come with one-handled faucets?!

Microwave on shelf aboard the stove

Microwave oven

There is a shelf over the stove which is just perfect for a microwave oven. It took a lot of searching to find one that fit the required dimensions and still allowed access to the porthole located behind the shelf. But we did find one eventually.

New stove

We discovered our old two-burner Hillerrange stove was held together by a few pieces of rust. A three-burner Force 10 has replaced it quite nicely. The new stove also has a slightly bigger oven plus a broiler.

Tweaking the galley

Wishes

The countertops do need to have their Formica replaced, and we need new fiddles as the existing ones are a bit banged on the edges. But that's a project for another day!!

We built the entire boat. Here are some REASONS why we made the galley the way we did! We did not do anything different after it was built as it works great and I LOVE it.

Kandarik's midship sink drains on any tack

Built-in cutting board

Big 12V freezer and 3-burner stove

All my counters were made low for a midget!

Midship double sink

We wanted a household-size stainless steel double sink because we found all boats had one sink (way too small for nice big pots) and very rarely with a second sink to drain cleaned dishes.

We wanted the sink amidships, so it would ALWAYS drain no matter what tack we were on and no matter how rough the conditions, so it would not have water EVER slopping around in it.

Built-in cutting board

We wanted a built-in cutting board, so I would not have to have a mobile one; it was always there and NOT moving.

Three-burner kerosene stove

We wanted a three-burner stove. Even though we rarely have three burners fired up, the third burner was very valuable to place a hot pot, or coffee pot, or something hot that was not cooking but waiting to be served!

We wanted a kerosene stove, because there would no need to fill propane tanks, worry about international fittings, no lugging cans to filling stations, no worry about explosions. Plus kerosene is easy to find and VERY INEXPENSIVE everywhere in the world, much better than alcohol for a cooking fuel and less trouble than propane.

I LOVE IT. It is very hot. Three gallons of kerosene stored in a pressure tank will last a family of four, living aboard full time, over six months even with a lot of baking fresh bread at sea. AND we never have to worry about fumes, where we can get it, and it just made much more sense to have that kind of fuel for a lot of cooking.

Once you use a kerosene stove there is NO PROBLEM with it at all. It is an extremely hot flame, and I would not change it for anything! You do have to also carry a small amount of alcohol for preheating the burner on a kerosene stove, but that is a small price to pay for safety, convenience, and quick cooking.

Big 12-volt freezer

We wanted a freezer not a fridge. This mostly because we wanted to be able take a lot of frozen food for four people crossing big oceans. This was most important to us. We have a top-loading freezer only, 12 volts, very convenient and INEXPENSIVE. It only draws 40 amps a day to make ice and keep frozen any food we put into it.

We used to have a compressor engine-driven freezer which was great but a terrible drawback because you have to be aboard to run the engine to keep it cold. THIS WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE as we often would leave the boat to go inland exploring. So, we needed something that did not draw a lot of electricity, would work when we were not aboard, and was efficient and easy to install. We now have had a 12-volt Waeco FREEZER with no extra outside cooling water, which is terrific, has given us NO TROUBLE whatsoever, keeps everything frozen solid, and makes ice cubes quickly!, Plus, we can have chocolate ice cream anytime we want it!!! It cost very little, was easy to install, and I would not leave home without it!

Galley separate from the companionway

U shape galley safe on any tack

We wanted the galley separate from the companionway, so I could be cooking and not getting in anyone’s way. So, with the sink amidships, our engine underneath it, the cutting board athwartships, and the stove and freezer outboard, I have my little safe cuddy for cooking on the go!

The galley is close to the main hatch for easy access to and from the cockpit and ease in passing out hot cups of coffee and soup.

Ventilation

I also have a dorade right above the stove to extract hot air and smell, or if turned forward into the wind, bringing in fresh air to cool me down in the tropics while baking bread.

There is also a large fore and aft opening hatch right over the sink. This hatch has its own dodger over it, facing aft, when at sea it is left open under most conditions and gives great ventilation to anyone working in the galley.

Fluorescent light with RED bulb

There is an Alpenglow fluorescent light with RED bulb for non-blinding night-time work in the galley: one over the stove and one right over the galley.

We had Procyon built in 2001. Gozzards are semi-custom boats, so we made the changes to the galley when it was built.

We made it a closed U shaped galley instead of having it as an island.

We made it a closed U-shaped galley instead of having it as an island.

It gave me just that little bit more of counter top which I really use!!! Also it's more secure underway.

I have a huge, big, deep sink, and I absolutely love it. It keeps things secure underway and I can wash anything in it dish-wise. Plus it doubles as a laundry sink. As Randy will tell you, it doesn't drain as well as he would like, as it is too close to the waterline.

We took the space where a second head was and made it into a workshop/freezer space.

So I have a very large freezer that is separate from my fridge. My fridge is also very big and in the space above the fridge (where a small freezer would have gone in the original design) I have great storage space that I had them build to hold my tupperware containers. (I made sure the shelf was big enough to stack two high.)

I also had them build in a cutting board that doubles as a drain board.

Very handy. Made from Starboard, it is so easy to keep clean.

Thermos rack

The rack I had them build to hold two large thermos bottles is great. So nice on passages to just heat water once for the whole night.

Vegetable area

Under that counter I had them build in a vegetable area. It has two slide-out bins with a louvered door so it gets good air flow.

Paper towel holder

Just recently I had them build me a paper towel holder that goes under the upper cupboards. It has a dowel going all the way through, so no matter what the size paper towel roll or how bad the cardboard is, it will stay in place.

We have not done a galley refit, but our current boat, Key of D, was custom designed for us, a process that has some aspects in common with a major refit.

Since we had owned several boats before this one and since I am an interior designer by profession, I drew up a great deal of the interior as well as re-drawing the profile of the boat.

The galley design process

By doing this we designed for people our size not some theoretical average person.

The process also allowed both of us to contribute and to debate the options until we knew we would both be satisfied with the result. I think it worked out pretty well, and we both find the result easy to work with.

5 Simple, Little Galley Refit Ideas

We have not had to do any major renovations to the galley on Key of D because we were very careful to design it to suit us at the outset. However, we have owned 5 other boats and have a few ideas for some simple things that can be done in almost any galley to make it easier to use. These are not really "renovations" just the little things that anyone can do quickly and inexpensively.

Counter with drying rack in sink		1.	Drying Rack A drying rack is a nice addition to a galley as it cuts down on wet towels, makes dishwashing easier and prevents plates from sling around in rough weather but a drying rack is bulky to store. Shop around and find one that fits your sink or, if you are replacing the sink, buy one in which you can store a drying rack. That way the rack is out of the way unless you are washing dishes in which case you will have it out anyway. We have a double sink so the drying rack can be used in the large sink and when the small sink is used for small wash-up jobs.
Sink cover in place		2.	Work Surfaces Most galleys are limited in the space available for preparing food and laying it out ready to serve, especially when it is your turn to entertain a few other boats. We have had a cutting board made that fits over the sink with tabs to prevent it sliding off. This works especially well if you have a double sink as you can still use the small sink while the top of the big sink becomes a sizeable work surface. In a similar vein, many stove manufacturers provide a wooden top that fits over the burners on the stove so that you can use the stove-stop as a work surface when preparing cold food. If your stove did not come with one it is very easy to make. The sink top and stove cover can be stored under the stove, on edge in a cupboard or just left on the counter top and used as a work surface there when not being used on the sink and stove.
Towel foil and wrap dispenser		3.	Wall-Mounted Dispenser Another cruiser recommended that I try a wall-mounted unit that holds a roll of paper towels, a roll of cling wrap and a roll of aluminium foil. It has made more space available in the galley drawers and the towels, wrap and foil are available instantly whenever I need them.
2 spice racks		4.	Spice Racks Although we designed a spice rack that holds 20 bottles as part of the original galley we have begun to use more and more different herbs, spices and seasonings as we pick up new recipes and ideas from the places we visit. I have recently bought a second rack that holds an additional 18 bottles and mounted it on the inside of a cupboard door where it makes good use of otherwise wasted space and is easy to access.
Stick-on LEDs		5.	Lighting It can be difficult getting enough light into the galley at night to make cooking and cleaning up easy. We found an inexpensive and handy answer in the form of little LED lights that run for months off 3 AAA batteries. I have stuck these under the cupboards over the counters to light the areas that used to be shadowed. (We liked them so much we also put them in the hanging lockers.) We first found them at Ikea and subsequently at a bargain store called the Reject Shop in Australia.