So I hate pot lights.
Much like my hatred of fingerless gloves there's really no explanation for it. I just do.
It should therefore not surprise you that I am getting pot lights.
I have to. The kitchen is incredibly dark and the only light in it is supplied from a single light hanging over my countertop. A crystal chandelier.
Because of the diminutive size of my kitchen, I don't feel like I can have pendant lights hanging everywhere which leaves me with ceiling huggers or pot lights.
I went with fingerless gloves. I mean pot lights.
I love my old chandelier, but if I'm redoing my kitchen I want to redo my kitchen. So the chandelier is coming down and will be relocated somewhere else. Also, a crystal chandelier isn't the most appropriate lighting choice for a kitchen that's constantly being cooked in. I bet if I scraped my chandelier at this very moment I'd have enough grease on it to whip up a batch of corn fritters. At the very least I could keep a small McDonalds franchise running for about for a week and a half.
Which means I get to pick out one single pendant light to replace the chandelier that's coming down. I, of course, have a budget. But since I'm only getting one light and am not deducting the cost of pot lights from my budget because I don't really want them and they aren't considered satisfying ... I can splurge a tiny little bit on my pendant light.
I started off my search on the Home Depot website because I figured it would be the cheapest. Shockingly it had a lot of great options. Sorry Home Depot ... don't mean to be insulting. But this is the era of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Sometimes it takes a bit of reminding that you can get similar looks from big box stores.
Granted, I also found some great stuff from places like West Elm, Crate & Barrel and School House Electric.
Behold my favourites ...
4. Polished brass and White Glass globe
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
9. Oil Rubbed Bronze with gold interior
Last night I ordered one of those lights. If you guessed choice # 8, you're wrong.
I ordered the Hammered Brass Pendant from Crate & Barrel. The round one.
If I could have afforded it I would have ordered this entire cluster. But I couldn't. The cost of the single pendant lamp to be shipped from Crate & Barrel in the States was $300. That includes something called "Border Free" shipping, which means there aren't any surprises. The duty, taxes, shipping etc. are all included in the cost. So you aren't sitting in your little Canadian house wondering how badly you're going to get randomly screwed when what you ordered shows up. I'm talking to you "Broker Fees".
I love this light. And clearly if I ever lose interest in it in the kitchen, it also looks good in a living room. A Crate & Barrel living room anyway.
Part of the reason I went with this particular light is because, (even though I haven't told you this yet) the look I'm going for in my kitchen is a sort of modern Scandinavian Farmhouse. I may have made that term up. Basically a lot of white and natural wood. There will be a mix of clean, modern pieces and rustic pine. The rustic I have covered. So for my lighting I knew even thought I love the barn lights, I needed something more clean and modern to create the look I was going for.
That's my first little design lesson by the way. Being open to options is important but so is staying true to your original vision. So if you can't decide on what to buy when you love a few different things, ask yourself what works best with your original vision.
Unless your original vision involves pot lights and fingerless gloves. Then it's time to rethink your vision.
jackson
I was very impressed with your ideas; you increased the beauty of kitchen. I want to try it out. Your idea so unique It was great to see your love for "Kitchen Renovation.
Lighting Options". I also have this desire to follow this equipment and steps. May God reward you.
Hilton Electrical
Great tips and interestingly enjoyable to read! It’s important you inspect your light switches and electrical outlets for any deficient signs that could be potential warnings. And I am so glad you have almost stated the important ones! Great job on sharing such informative post like this!
Ruth
I have no idea what the dickance a pot light is, so I guess I shall go befriend Senor Google. :-/
Feral Turtle
I love your choice!!! Just reading your newsletter right now which is awesome.
Karen
Yay! Thanks lady. ~ karen
Louise
Karen, love the light. Love the blog. Love the newsletter. But I'm with Shirley. On my iPad (which is pretty much all I use these days) there's a Pinterest/ Facebook/twitter/email link thingy on to the left hand side, right over your typing, which moves down with me as I move the page down. It's really really annoying as I can't read the paragraph properly and how ever much I move the page up and down, the little blighter follows. I hate those things! I guess it's to encourage me to repost? It's encouraging me to lie down in a dark room and weep, with a very large glass of the strong stuff!!!!!!! Love ya. Louise. UK. Ranting. Nicely....x
Karen
Hi Louise - Sorry. I'm actually just fiddling around trying to find a social sharing plugin that I like. I've since removed the one you're referring to until can figure out how to code it to not show up on mobile devices. ~ karen!
linda
I love my LED can (pot?) lights made by CREE from Home Depot. Don't understand fingerless gloves either.
Margaret K.
Number 3 is the one I thought would go best with your kitchen plans - glad to see you chose it.
Karen
Thank you ma'am. It was delivered yesterday. And it's beautiful. :) ~ karen!
Shawna
I love fingerless gloves. Maybe that's due to growing up in the 80s, though I never was a Madonna or Michael Jackson fan. I don't hate potlights but can one actually love potlights? I don't think so. I do hate those big fluorescent lights that were in the kitchen of every home built in the 70s and which my mother still thinks are great. I will take pot lights over the fluorescent monster any day. Of course your pendant choices are fantastic. I am currently really attracted to those matte black bell shaped things with a gold interior. It's a bit too glamorous for my kitchen though. I inherited a mostly white kitchen which I can't afford to change but I am making it as bistro and funky as I can.
Karen
I like all white kitchens! (hence my changing mine from green to all white, LOL) ~ karen!
Lianne
I just bought the teardrop shaped version of that lamp at the Vancouver Crate and Barrel. Hung it in my front foyer - be prepared to cut a lot of cord - it comes designed to be hung down to the floor, I think.
It doesn't cast a lot of light because of the small opening - but the gold interior gives a nice warm glow even if you are using environmentally friendly bulbs. And that shouldn't be a problem if you are also going to have pot lights.
Karen
That was my thought. :) The pot lights will light the kitchen, the C&B lamp will create the pretty. ~ karen!
Sera
I love your choice! There really isn't a crate and barrel in Canada? Sheesh. As I was scrolling through your selections, I kept thinking I don't know what the rest of your choices are so I can't place it in the room. Thanks for the description. I can't imagine that modern Scandinavian farmhouse hasn't been defined before. I totally know what you mean. And the pot lights - they may not be pretty but they disappear into the ceiling when they have bright light streaming out of them. So much better than a dark kitchen. I love mine. I kind of want them all over my house now. Maybe in 10 years when we finally manage to strip out all the knob and tube. Sigh.
Karen
We do have a Crate & Barrel but it's about an hour's drive away and the prices in Canada are usually higher than the US. Also, I'd ultimately end up buying MORE stuff at Crate & Barrel if I went there in person, so for me it was easier and probably cheaper to have it shipped from the States, LOL. ~ karen!
korrine
"Modern Scandinavian farmhouse" - THANK YOU for putting a name to my exact kitchen style. Also, I would cut a b*tch for that light fixture. ALSO, I think that number one would be a great complementary fixture, should you need one.
Jack
I found most of the selections were probably being used by St. Peter as in "walk towards the blinding light St. Peter". Indirect lighting is a much better choice and you made it.....congratulations. There is nothing worse than that unplanned casual glance one makes at a brightly burning clear bulb.
Karen
Thank you for shedding such a positive ... light ... on my choice. ~ karen!
Naomi
Nice choice. Good, clean lines, has the enameled-metal farmhouse thing going on but in a modern shape. Where are you putting the chandelier?
Karen
Dunno. I'll find somewhere for it. If not, my sister, my other sister, my mother or my niece will find somewhere for it. ~ karen!
marilyn
thank god it was 3 , that and 7 are the only ones i like..i dont want to be stopping by to poach some veggies off of you and have to lie about liking your new kitchen light! i can't believe you didnt leave us to stew about it for a few days..
Jane
Too late for your kitchen, but in my rooms that were not light enough for me, we put in solar tubes...they are cut into the roof like skylights but inside they look just like potlights, but it is all natural light...people always try to turn them "off"! Can't wait to see your new kitchen!! It's gonna be awesome!
Karen
I looked into those Jane but they were going to be too much $ because I'd have to get all the electrical work done for them too. They're easier and less expensive if you already have wiring/pot lights where you want to put them. I may look into them in the future. A sister of mine has several of them in her house. They're great.
Erica Filpi
That light is you, so option 3 was not a surprise. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Melissa
Hey! Modern Scandinavian Farmhouse is the title that I've given my attempted decor theme, too! So if there are two of us, than it has to be a "thing". We are so trendy!
I'm so glad you didn't chose #4. To me, it screams "apartment rental".