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
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.
Alex
I really look forward to seeing the finished product because it already sounds like my dream kitchen. I laughed when I read the term modern Scandinavian farmhouse because I am not joking when I have that written on my About page on my blog about our home decor style. Which completely matches (sarcasm intended) the fact that the house itself is a McHome in the suburbs no less. Devoid of any exterior character. So I've made it a mission to change that.
Laura C
Hmm. Does your hate of fingerless gloves extend to the ones with the mitten flap that can be pulled over the fingers? Because, I'm sorry, but those are the bomb. The bomb. My hands stay warm and I don't have to remove my gloves/mittens whenever I need to pull something out of my wallet, use my phone or do any other number of things that require bare fingertips. Also, the plain fingerless gloves do have their place. That place is my office. In the summer. When the air conditioning is blasting so high that my hands ache from the cold. I wear fingerless gloves in the office all summer and type away in bliss. I look ridiculous. I don't care.
The hammered copper light is awesome.
Karen
No, I like the mittens. Just not the gloves. ~ karen!
Evalyn
I like your choice, but I also can't help but feel a DIY project coming on.
Susan
Ha! The minute I saw #3 I knew that was the one you'd choose. Even so, I was surprised when that turned out to be true! LOL Nice choice. I personally like #9, also.
Beth
Karen, I'm so glad you didn't go with option #4. We had those lights in almost every room in our house when I was a kid and thought they were the ugliest things. I almost died when I saw it as one of your choices. Who'd a thunk they still make those and can actually get enough people that want them to keep selling them. HA!
Kim McM
Modern Scandinavian Farmhouse it my favorite design style! With a wee bit of industrial to round things out. I just signed up for your newsletter. Looking forward to the awesomeness to come.
Erika
I think this would be an easy and great DIY project - just find a brass looking vase, spray paint it from the outside and drill a hole for the light fixture... easy for somebody like you!
Karen
It would be easy! But you know what would be the hard part? Finding a brass vase and finding it in the right shape, LOL. Kind of like finding the perfect plain white shirt. Sounds easy. But in the end .. isn't. :) ~ karen!
Bols
I have to give you a pat on your shoulder for having an excellent taste, Karen. That's the one I would have picked myself. :-)
Carole
I love "modern with rustic pine" - I can't wait to see more.
Thera
I like your choice, but we have #5 in white and I love it :)
annie
I inexplicably hate pot lights too!!
HATE them. I totally agree with your logic around the pendant light splurge.
Thank you Karen. I don't feel so alone now.
ab
Debbie
I thought maybe on that list of yours would be your blue mason jars transformed into a cluster of lights with Home Depot electrical wires.
Leslie
At least the modern recessed lights don't suck all the heat out of your house, but they still display all the dead wasps. I'm not a big fan of any ceiling lights, but they aren't always avoidable. If you're working at your perimeter counter, the ceiling light behind you casts a shadow on your work surface -- not great for lighting so you need to get a pretty one to make you smile (the one you chose is gorgeous). I'm hoping to put under-cabinet lighting all the way around my kitchen ... someday.
Carey
Love all the modern choices you had, but I think you for sure picked the right one. Too bad you ordered already, sometimes stores have "open box" sites that are A LOT cheaper. I recently bought a $400.00 fixture for a new bathroom that I found on Lamps Plus open box site for about half the price. I thought something would be wrong with it, but nope, it's perfect! http://www.lampsplusopenbox.com/
Call Me Patty
Funny as I scrolled down quickly to see your choices. #3 was the one I liked the best for the same reason you do. Great choice Karen.
Sandy
Thanks Karen!
Nancy Blue Moon
Yep..that was my first choice..definite Scandinavian look to it..Also I like fingerless gloves..but not pot lights..although I need more light in my kitchen and would be happy with most any type..
Shawn
I like a couple of them myself, but I would try to keep my finishes matching. Like if you have oil rubbed bronze knobs, faucets, etc., I would try to match the metal finishes on the lighting in something close. If your kitchen is small too many different finishes might come out looking patchy.
Marion
Love it! It's going to look great in your kitchen. My personal favorite was #1, for some reason I'm really into gold right now.
Also, as a photographer and someone who types a lot in freezer-like office conditions, fingerless gloves are uh-maaaaazing creations! Don't dis 'em until you've tried 'em!
Karen
I have, I hate them, LOL. I just don't like them. Like I said ... no explanation. I just don't. Oddly, fingerless mittens? I like em. ~ karen!
Ev
I would have chosen #7, the white barn light. The girls would have loved it. Unless they are uneasy at being in a kitchen! Anyway, I wish I had a need/place for the barn lamp. Trying really hard to think one up! As long as you're happy with your choice, Yea!