How to Integrate LED Lighting Into Millwork – A.F. Johnson
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Integrated LED lighting can turn commercial millwork from a functional architectural feature into a memorable part of the customer experience. In the recent episode of The Maker’s Intent, host Mike Downer speaks with Kyle Greenfield, president and owner of AF Johnson Millwork Company, about how to integrate LED lighting into commercial millwork safely, effectively, and intentionally.
Kyle explains that successful lighting begins with understanding the designer’s goals, choosing between direct and background illumination, planning wiring and control systems early, and selecting brightness levels that complement the display. When these decisions are made during the design phase rather than after fabrication, the finished millwork looks cleaner, operates more efficiently, and often costs less to maintain over time.
Why Are Designers Adding LEDs to Commercial Millwork?
LEDs have become popular in commercial millwork because they offer longevity, flexibility, and minimal heat output. Older halogen lighting systems often became hot and required frequent bulb replacements. LEDs, by comparison, can operate for years with little maintenance when properly installed.
As Kyle explains, “When they’re installed properly, they’ll likely last longer than the display itself.”
Designers are also becoming more skilled at incorporating lighting directly into cabinetry, reception desks, signage, shelving, and product displays. Instead of finishing a project and then attaching lights wherever they fit, fabricators can build concealed tracks, wiring channels, and access points into the millwork from the beginning.
This approach creates a polished result in which the lighting feels like an intentional architectural feature rather than an afterthought.
What Is the Difference Between Direct and Background Lighting?
Direct lighting shines onto a specific product, object, or surface. It is commonly used in retail displays, jewelry stores, museums, hospitality environments, and corporate product showcases.
For example, jewelry may need focused illumination that allows customers to see its details. Crystal figurines can benefit from brighter spotlight-style LEDs that produce reflections and rainbow effects.
Background lighting, also called backlighting, is placed behind a sign, logo, decorative panel, or other feature. Rather than lighting the object from the front, it creates a glow around or through it. This can make a corporate logo appear larger, more prominent, or visually dramatic.
Neither option is automatically better. The correct choice depends on whether the goal is to illuminate an object or create an atmosphere around it.
Why Is Uniform Lighting Difficult to Achieve?
Background lighting becomes complicated when materials respond differently to light. Kyle describes a project involving a roughly ten-foot-wide illuminated sign for a beer manufacturer. Green bottles were arranged inside the display, and the design called for a consistent green glow.
The team had to carefully plan the brightness, position, and spacing of the LEDs. Without proper testing, one bottle might appear extremely bright while another looks barely illuminated.
Material thickness, color, transparency, reflectivity, and distance from the light source can all affect the final appearance. Mockups and lighting tests allow fabricators to identify bright spots, shadows, or uneven illumination before the finished piece is installed.
Direct lighting is often more straightforward, but it still requires an understanding of what is being displayed and how strongly it should be emphasized.
How Is the Right Brightness Level Selected?
Brightness should always support the purpose of the millwork. A corporate sign may need a soft glow that draws attention without becoming distracting. A product display may require brighter and more focused illumination so customers can easily see fine details.
Longevity and maintenance access also matter. Kyle discusses a university project in the Chicagoland area featuring a mural that extended along a two-story staircase. The client did not need extreme brightness, but they wanted a dependable lighting system that would not require regular attention after installation.
According to Kyle, the project was completed around six to eight years ago and still looks as good as it did when first installed.
Can LED Millwork Connect to Building Control Systems?
LED-integrated millwork can often be connected to a building’s broader lighting or automation system. This can be especially useful in retail stores, corporate offices, hotels, and other environments with numerous illuminated displays.
A centralized system allows staff to control multiple lighting features without manually unplugging or switching off each display. Depending on the technology used, operators may also be able to dim lights, schedule operating hours, or change colors through a phone app.
However, this type of integration requires early coordination. Millwork fabricators, lighting designers, electricians, and control system programmers must communicate before fabrication so everyone understands the technical requirements.
How Can LEDs Strengthen a Brand Experience?
Lighting can make logos, products, and architectural features more memorable. Kyle describes a high-rise corporate office where AF Johnson Millwork Company used two different LED techniques within the same reception area.
A metal corporate sign behind the reception desk was backlit with color-changing LEDs, creating a soft and impressive glow. Nearby, direct spotlight-style lighting illuminated products made by companies in the corporation’s investment portfolio.
The backlighting strengthened the company’s visual identity, while the direct lighting placed attention on specific products. Together, the two approaches created a cohesive brand experience without making every feature look the same.
Integrated lighting works best when it supports a clear purpose rather than being added only for decoration. By coordinating the lighting, wiring, controls, materials, and millwork design from the start, project teams can create installations that are functional, durable, and visually memorable. That early collaboration is the most important principle to remember when learning how to integrate LED lighting into commercial millwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do LEDs create much heat inside millwork?
LEDs produce considerably less heat than traditional halogen bulbs. Proper ventilation and installation are still important, particularly in enclosed cabinetry or displays.
Can LED colors be changed after installation?
Yes. Many systems allow users to change colors, adjust brightness, create scenes, or control the lighting remotely through an app or building control system.
Should lighting be planned before millwork fabrication begins?
Yes. Early planning makes it easier to conceal wiring, create lighting tracks, provide maintenance access, and coordinate with electricians or control system programmers.
Are LEDs suitable only for retail displays?
No. LEDs can enhance corporate offices, universities, hotels, restaurants, reception areas, entertainment venues, healthcare facilities, and many other commercial environments.
How long can integrated LED lighting last?
The lifespan depends on product quality, usage, ventilation, and installation. High-quality LEDs that are properly integrated can often continue operating for many years with minimal maintenance.
Is direct lighting brighter than backlighting?
Not necessarily. Either system can be bright or subtle. Direct lighting focuses light on an object, while backlighting creates illumination behind or around a feature.
Can existing millwork be retrofitted with LEDs?
In some cases, yes. However, retrofitting may make it more difficult to conceal tracks and wiring. Designing the lighting into new millwork generally produces a cleaner result.
Mike Downer: Hi, everybody. I’m your host, Mike Downer, and thank you for joining us on The Maker’s Intent. As always, I am here with Kyle Greenfield, the president and owner of AF Johnson Millwork. How are we doing today, Kyle?
Kyle Greenfield: Doing great, Mike. Good to be back with you.
Mike Downer: You too. This one has a lot of interest to me because I really am very excited to learn more about this. Today we’re going to be talking about how you integrate LEDs into commercial millwork. So I think that just sounds interesting as all get out. Let me ask you this: How do you safely integrate LEDs into custom projects, and why choose direct lighting over background lighting?
Kyle Greenfield: A lot of times, it always has to do with what the end user or designer has intended for it. Direct and indirect lighting are used differently depending on the purpose. If the lighting is being used to highlight something like a sign, you would want background lighting to make it appear bigger, glowing, or more prominent.
Direct lighting is more for displaying products, like in a retail environment. If you have jewelry or decorative items, you want those lit up so people can really see them. Especially with crystal items, lighting can make them shine and glow, making them more appealing to customers.
Mike Downer: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. So what’s driving designers to increasingly specify LED-integrated millwork into modern spaces?
Kyle Greenfield: LEDs are just a great long-term solution. They don’t burn out easily, so you’re not constantly changing bulbs. They also don’t create much heat. With old-style halogens, you’d walk up to those displays and they’d be hot. You were always changing bulbs, and it became a hassle.
With LEDs, when they’re installed properly, they’ll likely last longer than the display itself. Another reason we’re seeing more of this is that designers are getting better at integrating lighting seamlessly into projects. Instead of finishing a cabinet or desk and then trying to figure out where to stick a light, we can now build the lighting into the design from the beginning.
We can create tracks to hide the lights, build in wiring channels, and make everything look intentional and seamless.
Mike Downer: That makes sense. How do you handle integration between LED millwork and broader building control systems?
Kyle Greenfield: That can be a little more challenging because if they want the LEDs tied into the building’s control system, we need to be brought in early. Our lighting designers need to work alongside the control system programmers so everyone understands what’s possible.
But it’s really beneficial, especially in retail environments with rows and rows of lighting. Having everything controlled from one system makes things seamless. Instead of unplugging multiple displays every night, the entire lighting setup can be managed from a central control system.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense. What are the biggest challenges and considerations of direct lighting versus background lighting in commercial fabrication?
Kyle Greenfield: Background lighting can be really challenging when you’re dealing with different materials. Let me give you an example. We were designing a large illuminated sign for a beer manufacturer. It was about ten feet wide with beer bottles hanging inside it.
They wanted the green bottles to glow with a cool green hue. The challenge was getting the lighting to appear uniform. You don’t want one bottle glowing like Superman’s kryptonite while another barely lights up.
There’s a lot of planning involved with spacing, brightness, and placement. If the lights are too bright, you get that overpowering glow. Too dim, and you can’t tell there’s lighting at all.
Direct lighting is a little more straightforward. Then it’s just about understanding what’s being displayed and how much emphasis the customer wants. We did a jewelry store where some items needed softer lighting, while crystal figurines needed very bright spotlight-style LEDs to create rainbow effects and really make them stand out.
Mike Downer: Very cool. I know a lot of people are wondering: Can you change colors and color schemes in different systems you create?
Kyle Greenfield: Absolutely. That’s one of the really cool things about LEDs. You can dim them, brighten them, and change colors pretty easily.
Earlier you asked about control systems. We’ve seen setups controlled through a phone app. In theory, someone could be across the world and still change the lighting colors remotely. That flexibility really changes the look and feel of a space depending on the mood or purpose.
Mike Downer: That’s awesome. Besides the jewelry store example, how do you decide brightness levels in commercial fabrication projects?
Kyle Greenfield: It really comes down to understanding the customer’s goal. Are they trying to display something prominently, or is the lighting meant to serve as subtle background illumination?
For example, if we’re backlighting a corporate sign, you don’t want the light to be blinding. You want the sign itself to stand out.
We also think about longevity. We worked on a university project in the Chicagoland area that featured a mural running up a two-story staircase. They didn’t want extreme brightness, but they cared deeply about longevity because once it was installed, they didn’t want to touch it for years.
That project is probably six to eight years old now, and it still looks as good as the day it was installed.
Mike Downer: Very cool. What types of commercial spaces benefit most from integrated lighting millwork?
Kyle Greenfield: Honestly, I think almost all commercial spaces can benefit from it. It really depends on what effect you want to create.
In a corporate environment, you may want to highlight a logo. In retail or hospitality spaces, lighting can direct attention to products or focal points within the business.
The important part is integrating the lighting from the beginning. That allows us to plan how wiring runs, where tracks are hidden, and whether the lighting will be visible or concealed.
For example, with that large beer sign we discussed earlier, the lighting itself wasn’t the focus. The goal was to make the brand memorable so customers would walk away remembering it, maybe even taking photos in front of it.
Mike Downer: That makes a lot of sense. From what I’m gathering, not only does it look better when integrated from the beginning, but it’s probably more cost-effective long term too.
Kyle Greenfield: Absolutely. You said that perfectly.
Mike Downer: As always, you’ve shared a lot of great stories today, but I want one more. Can you share a project where LED integration played a key role in creating a strong brand experience for a customer?
Kyle Greenfield: We worked on a corporate environment in a high-rise office building. This corporation invested in a variety of manufacturing companies.
The reception desk featured a metal sign that was fully backlit with LEDs. The colors could change, and the sign had this really impressive glow when it turned on.
Nearby, we built another display that used direct spotlight-style lighting to showcase products from the companies they had invested in.
So within the same project, we used two completely different LED approaches. One created a subtle glowing brand presence, while the other highlighted products in more of a retail-display fashion. It was a really fun project to work on.
Mike Downer: Very cool. You’ve taught us a lot about lighting today and given us plenty to think about when designing projects. As always, call Kyle at AF Johnson — he’ll help you out.
Kyle, thanks again. I learned a lot today and always enjoy our conversations. Looking forward to the next one.
Kyle Greenfield: Sounds great, Mike. Thank you.
Mike Downer: Have a great day. Thanks a lot.
