Planning Planning Planning

I have slowed down on the household projects lately, but that definitely doesn't mean that they aren't on my mind. I recently got some free (or almost free) subscriptions to a few different decorating and design magazines, and my mind is racing with ideas. Add a serious Pinterest addiction to the mix, and I officially have way too many projects for any 1 person to ever finish in their lifetime.

I am still stuck on the kitchen. I made some decent improvements over the last year, but there is still so much to be done.

The main kitchen projects I hope to finish this year are:

1.   New light fixtures
2.   Backsplash
3.   Window treatments
4.   Shoe/Garbage storage

For today, I'm focusing on the light fixtures!

 The light fixture situation recently came to the hubby's attention when he whacked and broke part of the current fixture. He apologized and remarked, "Well, you did say you wanted a new light fixture, I guess here's your excuse now." So there you have it. I get to buy a light fixture! Yay!!

When I first started thinking about replacing the old light fixture, I browsed online and found some gorgeous modern fixtures like this one:

Modern light fixture by Estiluz

Unfortunately for me, these fixtures run in the thousands (if not more), so they will never be in the budget. I tried paying attention to some local light places and the big home improvement stores, but I wasn't finding anything that really caught my eye for less than $400.

 

A friend and I were browsing a trendy design place in uptown Minneapolis a few months back and I saw a wine glass chandelier that I really loved. This fixture is very "me", but it hung too low for our average height ceilings, and my tall (sometimes clumsy) hubby. I considered trying to DIY my own version in a lower profile model, until I ran across the light selection on Overstock.com.

While I do love me a good DIY project, I think I have found the light fixture of my dreams!

Indoor 5-light luxury crystal chandalier

Isn't she pretty?! It has a 4.9/5 rating and 45 reviews so I trust that it is a good quality piece. The reviews rave about the beautiful sparkle of the light, and about the modern twist on an elegant crystal chandelier. The best part is the price, $250! From all the looking I have done, many comparable pieces start at $1000 and they go up from there. A little further research showed that it is a copy of a chandelier by designer Robert Abbey (pictured on the right). The Robert Abbey original "Bling chandelier" retails right around $1000.

I am pretty set on this guy (gal?), but it isn't in the budget for this month so it will have to wait a few weeks. Hopefully it stays in stock. It is a statement piece for the room, and I love its modern look!

So hopefully that will be that for the main light fixture in the kitchen/dining area. There are 3 light fixtures total in the room. The emphasis is definitely on the big one over the dining table, but I want to make a change on a second one. Here is a shot showing all 3 lights in the room:

You can see the broken one on the left, a white dome in the middle, and a small pendant light on the right. The white dome I plan to leave alone. I want something understated and unassuming in that location because the room is not big enough for 2 large competing fixtures.

Plain Jane gets to stay!

The pendant on the right however, I am not thrilled with. It is frosted glass with brown tones marbled in it and I just don't think it fits in. I bought it because we needed something fro that space when we originally remodelled. I think the whole fixture cost $10 on clearance:

If I could get away with it, I would totally do some fancy crystal pendant instead such as these:

Chrome/Crystal 1-light Mini Pendant round chandelier &

Chrome/Crystal 1-light Mini Pendant square chandelier

Alas, I think that would be a little over the top with the current style and size of my kitchen so I will have to go with something simpler. Here are a couple of other styles I like:

Wimbledon Small Metal Sphere Pendant &

Triarch International 'Cosmo' 1-light Satin Nickel Mini Pendant

I like the circular shape versus the standard (read: boring) bell shaped pendant. The one the right is beautiful, but I'm not sure the dark metallic black color is going to go well with the space. The one on the right is kind of perfect, but I don't know if I want to spend almost $90 on a mini pendant. I will have to keep looking. Maybe in the meantime, I can try spray painting the current one white.

So there you have the status of my light fixture plans. Exciting stuff I know! It is really fun browsing through selections online though. There are so many options! I hope that one day I have a house with beautiful high ceilings that I can put dramatic show-stopping pieces in. For now, I'm pretty happy with my overstock finds. Hopefully I'll have an exciting update in a  few weeks with new light fixture pictures.