A while back we bought this light for $29 at the Pottery Barn outlet. We originally planned to hang it over our sink “someday when we redid the kitchen” but then we got our oil-rubbed bronze pendant lights for over the peninsula, and although we love mixed metals, we just thought this silver + mercury glass light didn’t jive with them. So we started thinking about hanging it in a bathroom or something.
Then I asked tall John to hold it up as if it was hanging over the sink and surprisingly the shape was perfect. But the silver neck, black string, and silver ceiling cap were all wrong. But the glittering mercury glass shade was perfect (it tied into the chrome faucet and the stainless appliances and hardware). It was like a roller coaster. Perfect, all wrong, perfect. So I decided to call on my good friend ORB (oil-rubbed bronze spray paint with built-in primer) to take care of the all wrong department…
I figured giving it the same finish to help tie it into the other lighting over the peninsula was worth a shot.
A few thin and even coats later, I was left with a glossy oil-rubbed bronze fixture…
… that I couldn’t wait to hang above the sink and rinse dishes under.
I gave him a full day of drying time, just to be sure everything cured up and then up he went. It’s pretty cool how the dark finish helps balance the room and ties the pendants together, even though their shades are really different.
The new guy over the sink is sort of the “bridge” between the ORB pendants and the stainless/chrome/silver items touches in the room thanks to the gleaming mercury glass.
With our new stainless steel dishwasher installed (we actually did that this weekend by sliding a few pieces of cork under it without having to do the rest of the flooring quite yet – just have to take pics and write that post!) the room has even more balance now, since we have a silver thing on each side of the room. We didn’t plan that when we redid the layout, but it’s nice that it ended up that way (the dishwasher and fridge used to be sort of next to each other before we moved the fridge across the room).
Oh and we get requests to take photos of light installation but it’s rough to do since one of us holds the light while the other one wires it up (aka: no extra hands for photo or video taking) but if you search light installation videos I think they have a few good ones on youtube.
The little hexegons on the mercury glass shade make me really happy. I honestly think this fixture looks so much better with dark hardware to complement the cool silver shade. It’s so pretty and sparkly yet the dark tone sort of grounds it and makes it feel substantial and luxe.
We totally could have gone with another $60 outlet pendant over the sink like the ones over the peninsula, but there’s something really fun about having a light that goes, but doesn’t match exactly. And it’s a bit smaller in scale, which is kind of nice since the sink is a little less open and giant than the big ol’ peninsula.
Here are some “it’s on” shots for ya:
Now onto the “heading out” portion of this post’s title. As many of you know, we’re psyched and honored to be speaking at the Home & Garden show in Portland, Oregon this Wednesday. Which means we’ll be traveling for a lot of this week (hence us doing lots of projects this weekend, like the already-installed dishwasher, so we have lots to share with you throughout the week as we travel, speak, and travel again). We’re flying all day on Tuesday and are booked to be there pretty much all day on Wednesday the 22nd (from 5:30am to 8pm with just a few breaks for blogging and eating) and we’ll be giving an invite-only blogging seminar in the afternoon (they’re in charge of who gets invites, so maybe check their site/Facebook page for those details). But at 5:30pm there’s a Meet & Greet in the Smart House Remodel in Hall D. Anyone can show up for that, but they suggest your register. We’d love to meet you guys there!
Burger is actually staying back (with a house-sitter of course) since we thought it might be too stressful for him to travel there and back without much down time – but Clara is coming since we’ll actually have John’s mom and dad with us (they have family out in Portland so they decided to join us, which is a fun and very helpful plan).
So please forgive us if this week of posting is erratic and wonky! We’re going to do our best to get posts up at the regularly scheduled times, but there will definitely be moments when we’re in the air or at the show when we just can’t hop on and answer comment questions or get the next post up – so it might get a little funky. We tend to approve comments as we answer questions, so if you submit something and don’t see it pop up, we’re likely just waiting to get a moment to answer it or haven’t seen it yet!
But we can’t even tell you how excited we are to check out Portland (neither of us have ever been, but we have a list a mile long of things to check out, and of course we’ll blog about our home-related adventures during our fleeting two-day trip). Oh and to ensure that we’ll fit right in, we’ve been watching clips from Portlandia.
Sounds like a solid act-like-a-local plan, right?
In all seriousness, I’m not the best with public speaking, so feel free to cross fingers/eyes/toes for me. I’m skeeered. But I’m sure I’ll survive and have at least ten highly embarrassing stories to tell you guys when it’s all said and done. We’ve even been prepping Clara for the flight. More on that here. What did you guys do this weekend? Any ORBing or lighting bid-ness in the hiz-ouse?
Looks great! I have always wondered at spray painting metal
Metal usually takes thin coats of spray paint really well! Especially the kind with primer built-in!
xo,
s
Everything looks great! I can’t wait to see the final results of all your hard work. If you get a chance, you must go to Voodoo donuts. They are the best! My brother-in-law goes to Portland for work every few months (his company’s headquaters is there) and he always stops for those donuts.
If this place isn’t on your list, it should be! I watched it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and have been wanting to plan a trip to Portland just to try it!
http://pinestatebiscuits.com/
Mmm, we have heard great things about that and VooDoo Donuts!
xo,
s
I live one block from Pine State (the Belmont location) and I highly agree :) I love the McEisley. Yum. I know you guys don’t drink but it’s a hangover cure-all. Haha.
I’m commenting just to say this:
The difference in your kitchen – from dark, scary cave to bright and cheerful – is crazy. Like, crazy bananas.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think you installed a huge bank of windows somewhere secret. It just goes to show that choosing the right surfaces/paints/textures can make a gigantic difference.
I <3 you guys.
Aw thanks Riki! Love you right back.
xo,
s
Love the ORB finish on that pendant! Mercury glass is kind of an obsession of mine lately and that fixture goes perfectly in your new kitchen. Nice work!
I spent my weekend getting ready to go on vacation this coming weekend. I don’t know if I’ll squeeze a trip north into what promises to be a very busy week but I’ll sure try! Hope you guys have a wonderful time in Portland, I definitely second the Voodoo Donuts suggestion.
Looks wonderful! Good luck- I also hate public speaking, but have always found it easier when I’m talking about something I love. Hope it works the same way for you!
I need to get myself to the hone and garden show! Portland is excited for you! Hope you have so much fun checking out my city! You must get yourself to toro bravo….my fave restaurant. Order a glass of sangria and the chefs menu and just sit back and enjoy all the tasty dishes the select for you! Bacon wrapped dates being a personal fave (and you’re guaranteed to get one with the chefs menu). Seriously, go…no, run to toro bravo!
Mmmmmmm. Bacon wrapped dates = our favorite things ever.
xo,
s
Looks awesome!! You never cease to inspire me :-)
Random–but where do ya’ll keep your kitchen sink sponges/scrub brushes? I feel like mine clutter up my sink. Everything looks so tidy in the photos!
We have one of those suction cup wire caddies that hold them inside the sink out of view (it’s stuck to the front side of the sink). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
The new light looks beautiful! It goes great with the others over the peninsula. Well done.
Have fun in Portland! It is a super fun city…the people-watching alone is highly entertaining.
http://screendoorrestaurant.com/ and http://pinestatebiscuits.com/ were our two fave food places that we enjoyed when we were in Portland last year…just in case you guys are looking for more ideas :)
Thanks for the Portland tips guys!
xo,
s
It looks really nice. I have a question about your paint color…. Im thinking of painting my office BM Moonshine…but when I see it at the store it looks like it has a green base. Your photos don’t look green at all. What is it like in person? Does it have a hint of green?
Thank You.
I think it changes by room (depending on the lighting) so in our house there’s not a smidge of green (it’s a very pure gray) but in other homes it could definitely read differently!
xo,
s
We tried it in our house and it for sure looks like sea foam green. So weird b/c I love it on YHL and that’s why we tried it thinking it was a light gray! But it didn’t work in our house ;-(
Aw, so sorry Lindsay!
xo,
s
My hubby and I are flying to Portland (from TX) this week too!! We’ve never been there either, and we are super excited. He has an interview for a pharmacy residency position on Friday, so we’ll be heading up on Thursday. I so wish I could be there on Wednesday for the show and meet you guys! Y’all will do great, I’m sure.
Aw, we’ll just miss you! Good luck to your hubby on his interview!
xo,
s
Love mercury glass! This light fixture is perfect for your kitchen. And I’m always amazed at what can be accomplished with some spray paint! :)
I wasn’t going to comment because I’m sure you have a lot going on today to prepare and reading/approving another comment takes time, but I wanted to let you know that Dallas (as you may remember shares a birthday with Clara) and went on his first flight at 11 months, and was on another flight in January. He was out cold 20-ish minutes in to the longer flights (awake during the connecting flights which were only 20 minutes total since we unfortunately couldn’t get direct flights any time we flew). Even though each child is different I’m sure between snacks, movies, and burning off some energy in the airport while waiting, Clara will do great! But I’ll be thinking of you guys as you fly across country and hope that Clara sleeps like a champ for ya!! By the way, Dallas has a hard time sleeping well like he does at home when we are away, how does Clara do?
I must also say that I’m surprised you didn’t just take the week off of comment reading/approving/responding for the week, have some pre- planned posts go up on their own and spend countless hours catching up when you return! I would have done that, but that may be why you are the very successful bloggers and I’m not!!
And PS: I really like the light, I bet that feels great to have checked off your list of things to do befo you leave:)
Enjoy Portland!!! It’s beautiful:) and tax free shopping is just over the beautiful bridge into Washington state!!! YES!
Aw thanks Alyssa! Clara does ok sleeping in other places (usually slightly shorter naps and waking up about an hour or two earlier in the morning, but still a nice solid night’s sleep). Here’s hoping!
xo,
s
Just want to clarify that Oregon does not have a sales tax and Washington does!
Oregon is actually the tax free state not Washington. Although both are beautiful places. Have a great time!
Tax free shopping? I live in the Portland area and Oregon doesn’t have sales tax, though I think Washington does…
Well that’s good for you guys:) sorry about my rambling comment too by the way.
Sorry about the confusion with the sales tax thing and my reply comment was actually about Clara’s sleep schedule, not to the sales tax comments, after I read my reply I thought, “well I don’t sound very nice do I?” but it wasn’t intended for the commenters, just back to S’s original reply:)
Very nice! I’d love a new fixture over our sink but for now I’m happy with the little kitchen makeover I just completed thanks to all your tips on cabinet painting! I’d love for you to check it out…thanks for the inspiration!
xo, katie – strawbridgestuff.com
Looks great! And wow, that’s an awesome makeover budget!
xo,
s
Thanks Sherri! Luckily we didn’t have to change anything structurally, so the budget was pretty under control. Of course, that amount doesn’t include all the fun decorating items I want to buy now that I’m happy with the kitchen basics….not to mention my dream – new appliances. Easy to go overboard, no? Haha.
Don’t forget to breath and speaking slower than you normally do. This will help keep you from passing out. Trust me, passing out in front of a group of people while you’re speaking is quite embarrassing.
Oh man. Now I’m convinced I’m going to faint. Haha.
xo,
s