Task light

Once upon a time I had an idea for the kitchen lighting. That failed. I re-thought the lighting and was inspired by these beautiful industrial lights from long ago (the white socket tulip bulb one is so pretty, I still fancy it). But I didn't want to spend a fortune, you know, in case I changed my mind or it didn't look as beautiful in my house. OR it did look beautiful but I had to sell the house and the new people didn't have the same appreciation. A little bit of brain storming, practicality and research landed me on ebay and I found something similar. I really liked the black twisty cord, the machine aged cage and the dull matte finished brass socket.  I ordered, it arrived and sat in a box on a shelf for a long, long while.

I debated between one task light versus two. The cord was long enough to create a second light and eventually I hunted down another matte finished brass socket (there are lots of shiny ones available, but no room in my house for shiny.) and a cage. When this package arrived, the cage was TOO new looking and I don't own a machine that ages metal.  Luckily I had also decided I may like to swap out the cages for some colour and had ordered two yellow cages.

My handy contractor put the second one together and installed the lights. I tested the switch and there you have it, cool industrial like task lights with some sunny yellow colour. And wallet still in the black.  The two brass sockets are a bit different, one having a pull chain, the other a turn key. Some edison bulbs to enhance the industrial look and set soothing atmosphere. The two other cages I have will be spray painted, black perhaps.

Check out 1000bulbs for all your electrical needs and industrial light building.

See here (post and link to come) for links and research and other ideas.

Fun in the kitchen - the details

Spice rack up! 

But what is casting all those shadows and light? Well! that would be the beehive light that I purchased many months ago! And luckily I still like it and it still works for me! Have you ever had something for so long, something you bought and loved but then months later, you wondered if you would still like it and if it would even look OK the way you originally envisioned?

I had ordered 2 medium and one large last August, 6 whole months ago. The medium arrived and I immediately cancelled the large, which had been backordered. The medium were large enough. I originally thought three would work in my kitchen, in a L shape  of sorts, wrapping around the backwards L counter.  No way, not after I had one sitting in here.   I re-planned the lighting, and kept the 2nd medium to hang above my stairs. 

Months later, my contractor came (alright, he had been here many other times to help install the cabinets and counter, but yesterday he came to help with the details). I sat and he would ask "Whats next?" Boom, boom, boom! My wishes, problems fixed and design ideas come to light right in front of me; install the remaining three problem drawers; spice rack up; beehive light, up, task lights assembled and installed. 2nd beehive light up. toe kick installed. Woot.

More about the task lighting in another post.

Next week, the trim and baseboard!

Sources:
"Beehive" light : aka West Elm Organic Blown Glass Pendant
Spice rack: Lisa and Lars Greenhouse framing
Yellow industrial task lights: Cage and bulbs from 1000bulbs; cord from an ebay seller.

Lighting inspiration. here, here and here

Two cage light options

One is found at Home Depot cage light  for 69.97.   The other at Restoration Hardware cage light for $119.00. 

I found the RH one first. Perfect for above the sink. And ties in with the beehive light I have for the main lighting. Put two in the basket, add in shipping, handling and taxes and we are well over 300 dollars. Search for other options and find the HD cage light. Suits me fine. No shipping fees and it does what I want it to do (dangle and protect the bulb and ties in with the other light).  But there is one small difference that is making me lean towards the other... the cord colour. Hmmmmmm.

Which one do you like better? Any more out there?

 Ohhh lala, I found another beauty, for admiring purposes only ... here & here. If I didnt have electrical holes for two, already in place, this would be a strong contender.

And another here.

Lighting, again

Yesterday I mentioned the lighting had arrived. And they did, in all their enormity. The pendants are huge, bigger then I was able to envision with the pictures and written dimensions that I scoured over online.  I was drawn to its organic shape and cage and decided to go for it.  I had fallen in love with it before but never thought about it for my kitchen. After the floor was laid I was informed electrical was the next step.  I was hoping to avoid having to make any more decisions and thought I could do that last, at my leisure.  Nope.  Noway. Not wanting to delay the project any more, I returned to all my pinned kitchen inspiration and concentrated on the lighting. I remembered this light, checked it out and realized it would look beautiful in the kitchen and tie everything together.

The size posted here is medium. I was going for two mediums and one large. The large was meant to be in the corner of my L shaped area, flanked by two mediums creating a triangle.  The large was on back order and I immediately cancelled it.  I now just have two and I have to figure out a different lighting configuration. One part of the ceiling in the kitchen is a foot lower then the rest.  And the medium barely fits there.  Perhaps it will be ok and I can just order another medium. If not, I'm leaning towards one medium light flanked by two spotlights. And I can install the 2nd medium light over the stairway upstairs.  Its open up there and may cast an interesting shadow, or at least, light it up really well.  And I can admire its "glamority" every morning when I make my way down.

Why don't I order a small you wonder? Yeah, having a large and medium size may imply there is a small, but nope. No small size to order.

Lighting

In the spirit and in celebration of having reached the electrical and lighting stage in my kitchen renovation, here are some beautiful and considered pendants but passed on. The lighting I have ordered is on backorder and limited, so that will remain on the down low.

 

 via West Elm

via Solo Pendants

And some lovely kitchen lighting inspirational photos:

via

via (looks like west elm pendants)

 

via

 

via

via

Cord and cage

+

New lighting for my kitchen! I was a bit hesitant, wondering if the cord would fit the cage, but they are standard size and fit perfectly.  The industrial metal cage from UrbanOutfitters is solid and cool. The red fabric electrical cord from west elm is just as it is pictured and it came with a little CFL bulb. There is a 3 prong plug and an On/Off switch attached to the cord. I haven't strung it up yet; it's stored in my faux leather bench that contains all my kitchen renovation stuff. Maybe I'll find a temporary place for it this weekend.

Dining room update

8 months later and the dining room light fixture is dangling in all its sweetness!

That works out to 2 weekends / 1 week spent trying to do electrical work myself.  Another week anticipating that the Contract-Her would finish my attempts. 6 months and 3 weeks to call an electrician. 1 week to call a different electrician. 3 weeks turn around / waiting time for the electrician to show up.  And 1.5 hours of electrical magic to make my lighting dreams come true.

And after all that time, I still love 'em. Phew!


Product info: West Elm Industrial Bulb pendant, UrbanOutfitters Damask Curtain, Pier 1 peacock dining chairr (that will eventually be replaced), Artwork: Milkweed b&w photos by me; Letters from Micheal's Art store, painted by me.

Electrical tape and the flu

I feel the need to update on my weekend project. I want to claim that I did not specify WHAT weekend.

Ego aside, I did play with the fuse box and discover there is not a switch specifically for the dining room. Main breaker switch it is ... I guess that is the safest way to go. But I needed the electricity for the time being. My assistant claims one needs more voltage then 140 to cause serious injury / death.

I turn off the light switch. Unscrew the old chandelier to investigate the wiring and hole and metal plate. All looks copasetic and doable. My assistant holds the fairly heavy lighting fixture, that would otherwise dangle from the wires. Its fairly heavy, anything is when you hold it with your hand raised above your head. I do a little more poking around.

Decide the new light fixture instructions need a more thorough reading. Try to screw light back on to metal plate. Can't get screw back in ... its very awkward up there near the ceiling, with a fixture blocking the view of the screw hole. Get my assistant to find and pass me the hemp rope. I loop the rope around the metal plate and the light. Tie it. Do it again, for added security. Make a mental note to check hemp rope, daily.

Light sort of back in place, I decide that was enough for Saturday.

On Sunday, renewed, I took some time to thoroughly read the new light fixture instructions. Google subject a bit and prepare to finish the task.

There was one minor snag, two wires coming out of ceiling. Three wires on new light fixture. There is no ground wire. But it's standard, I learn, to wire this around a green screw (which was provided). No biggie.

Feeling confident after reading the instructions and seeing the insides of the old fixture. And the wiring. And the encouraging google links. All is coming together nicely.

Except for two things.

Electrical Tape. That was showstopper. I do not have this, and I do not think substituting duct tape or wrapping tape would do.

So I add it to a list. A list that will not get further then pencil and paper. I also add voltage tester. That tool ought to be useful.

We are all sick right now. Stuffy and runny nose. Really sore throat. Puffy eyes and low energy. I wasn't running any errands. Instead I revisited the pleasure of watching a movie in the middle of the day. On my bed. With everyone.

Before posting here, I wrote an email to my Contract-Her. She is coming this weekend to gut my kitchen. And we are leaving on a jet plane to visit a friend on the west coast. I wanted to discuss some finer points of the gutting project. And as the final point I have asked her how much she charges for this kind of electrical work. I know a few Canadians who would happily do this for a case of beer. Maybe she would like a bottle of Baileys?

But I couldn't hit send. Ego back intact.

Cluster bulbs

 
I little while ago I stumbled across this beautiful bubble chandelier on Etsy and admired the organic look and the creativity. Hemp rope ... can't get enough of it (actually I do not know if this is hemp, but I like it)! Such a beautiful light. Kudos to the artist.












And then I noticed that this cluster lighting was popping up in other stores. How could it be? Has it always been around? I dunno, but it really lights my fire.  So when I clicked through West Elm's site and found this cluster of bulbs I treated myself.

I love it; the black cords, the option to switch out different sized bulbs! Yeah, I am sure someone else could rig this up on their own, but not me, at least not while my time right now is divided between my kids and work and maintaining my home).  As soon as it arrives I'll have to find someone to install it!

p.s. I think if I could I would have supported the artist, but I am just as pleased with W.E. version and in fact, W.E. version probably suits my home a bit more.

p.p.s AhHa! Subconscious inspiration. I saw it, but at the time, it was the sideboard and wallpaper that grabbed my attention.