Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Hanging Two Glass Kitchen Pendants

I like big globes and I cannot lie. You other brothers can’t deny. When a light walks in with an itty bitty waist…

Globes 1 After Straight

… and a round thing in yo face you get sprung. At least I do. John just gets all blown out and looks angelic.

Globes 2 After With John

The purpose of that photo was actually just to show you why we picked the height that we did. The common pendant light recommendation is to hang it 30″ above the top of the counter (from the top of the counter to the base of the pendant), but we went 31″  because my tall hubby didn’t want those round things in his face obstructing the view. It’s so nice to have some proper lighting above the peninsula since that part of the room has been super dark. As we mentioned yesterday, they were $60 each at a local lighting outlet, which made buying two of them cheaper than the actual retail price of one (they’re $129 a pop here).

Of course we still have some holes to spackle (five to be exact), but things are definitely looking up!

Globes 3 After Angle

As in, I can’t stop staring up at them. And John’s been ogling them too.

Globes 4 Over Peninsula

The lights, not the holes.

I’ve got holes. In different area codes… area codes. Remember that song anyone? Apparently I’m in a singing mood today. I blame it on the eh-eh-eh-eh-electrical. Blame it on the eh-eh-eh-eh-electrical.

Globes 5 Holes To Patch

Ok, I’m done now. Promise.

Anyway, this is a shot to show you that we still have a light over the fireplace to switch out. It’s actually perfectly centered on the fireplace as you face it, although the angle of this pic makes it look all sorts of wonky. This is a pendant that broke pretty soon after moving in so we haven’t used it for about half a year. Can’t wait to hang something better suited to the chill-zone by the fireplace. Maybe a big ol’ drum pendant that’s only dropped a few inches from the ceiling so it’s high enough for anyone 6’4″ and under not to bump their heads (that’s the tallest person we know, haha). So yeah, along with spackling holes and getting a pendant for over the sink, this guy’s on the lighting agenda too.

Globes 6 Fireplace Light

But back to the globes. We actually installed a dimmer switch yesterday, which is awesome because we can blast them all the way up or lower them for we’re-just-eating-spaghetti-but-let’s-fancy-things-up ambiance. We’d love to get LED bulbs for our pendants (they’re compatible with CFLs, halogens, incandescents, and LEDs, which is nice) but since we have a dimmer switch, we have to find special LEDs that work with a dimmer. We’ll keep you posted.

Update: we’re getting lots o’ comments asking if we’ll be ORBing the stools – we’re actually going to wait for the dark cork floors to go in before making any decisions on them either way since that could be a game changer. Oooh cliffhanger…

Globes 7 Off Straight

Here’s how things look in the other direction. See how a big drum shade might be nice for that cozy corner by the fire?

Globes 8 Off From Stove

Mmm, let’s get a little closer, shall we?

Update: We gave edison bulbs a try and they were reallllly yellow in our room (maybe with white counters they’re not the best idea since they left ours looking dirty?) – we also gave clear bulbs a try but they cast a bunch of harsh shadows on the ceiling, so we prefer the frosted guys we have here for now – although we’re definitely still looking into dimmable LEDs!

Globes Off Extreme Close Up

In the words of sandwich-loving Joey Tribbiani: how you doin?

Globes Off Both Close

Oh and see that nice big chunk of sunny grellow wall between the fridge and the half wall into the dining room? We want to get a nice big piece of art for that spot. So we’re on the prowl. Will keep ya posted on that too.

Globes Off Space Over Count

When we were reconfiguring the kitchen we talked about putting an upper cabinet there but knew that the peninsula would feel so much more open to those sitting there (especially the person on the end) if they weren’t staring at the side of a cabinet. It’s actually an area where we do a lot of prepping now, so we love that it’s open. It’s hard to explain, but it feels more like a room and less kitchen-y, in a good way. Just sort of casual and airy and not too wood-riddled.

Globes Off Angle

Anyway, next on the ol’ kitchen list is patching those holes (we’ll share all the spackle-tastic details) and hanging (and building in) our craigslist range hood. Then we finally get to add the open shelves that I’ve been over the moon to “meet” since about four months ago when we decided to go for it. We’ve been keeping all of our dishes/plates/cups in a lazy susan cabinet in the corner by the stove, and while it works okay, open shelving will be approximately 957 times more convenient. Yes, I’m a complainer about turning the lazy susan one way to get a dish and having to spin it the other way to get a cup. Plus after we get the shelves made and hung and painted I get to put pretty vases and containers and frames up there along with all of our everyday dishes. Maybe even a ceramic animal or two if I’m feeling crazy. And let’s face it, I’m pretty much always feeling crazy.

Speaking of which, remember my whole self-imposed “Dude, Get On That Already” challenge?

Fascinator

How is it already Wednesday and I have yet to tackle something? Come on $herdog, you said once a week you’d get on that. So GET ON THAT, ALREADY! Hopefully I’ll have a little update for ya tomorrow. Anyone care to join me and share what you’ve done tomorrow morning?

So in summary: work continues and we’re all over the place as usual. Hah. What are you guys up to today?

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The ceiling is 8 feet tall and the counters are around 38″ I think from the ground and then I hung the pendants 31″ above that. So… there’s some math to do but I hope that helps! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  3. Lindsey says

    The lights look great, as well as the rest of the kitchen! I’ve enjoyed reading your stuff and this is my first comment! :) I make personalized name and word prints that might fit in with your kitchen or another location in your house. You can see them on my website or at my Etsy store if you might be interested.
    http://www.pindseyloudesigns.etsy.com.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  4. Ashley says

    I love this! The song jokes and of course the lights!

    You and John are completely changing my view of house hunting….we can do the little things or the big things….as long as its livable for now we can make it perfect later….and I thank you for that! :)

    Reply

  5. Nikki Kelly says

    It looks so beautiful with all that lovely lighting! Time to get those dark floors in therefore you go blind! And on “Get on That” news, I finally started painting the door frame to our basement. The door has been one coat shy of finished for over 2 months, but one step at a time!

    One door frame done, 9 to go. Ugh…..

    Nikki @ the ambitious procrastinator

    Reply

  6. Falon says

    I rarely comment on blogs but I have to say that I seriously laughed out loud at this title and first sentence! Made my freaking day…hilarious!!

    Reply

  7. Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista says

    The kitchen is finally coming into it’s own! I love how since it’s at the center of your house, it’s not a dark hole anymore, but a big, open airy, grellow space. Keep up all the hard work, I can’t wait to see it when it’s all done.

    Reply

  9. Nina Alegria says

    Hi Sherry,

    I am loving your new lights. So industrial! I am sure followers have already asked you but I just wanted to ask which Camera and lens do you use? I don’t seem to find it anywhere on the blog. I love your photography especially closeups! Can you please share?

    Much appreciated,
    Nina

    Reply

  10. Jenny B says

    amazing how those globes (especially in the ORB) really up the wow factor in the room and ground it (ground it from the ceiling! ha!). Can’t wait to see what the floors do! I applaud your decision not to ORB the chairs, at least not yet, because that might be all too much dark in only one part of the room. you guys really had a great vision and I’m loving it all.

    Reply

  11. Haley says

    I am really excited about seeing the cork floors! We are looking at options for kitchen and bath floors and cork is on the top of my list. But I wondered about it being in a room that could get lots of spills…will it hold up?? LOVE the stools by the way, I immediately wanted to order some for myself but I only need two and they were only sold in lots of 4!! :( Boo.

    Reply

  12. Katie says

    That grellow paint is really working in there now! It looks so crisp and fresh with the white cabinets – it’s amazing the effect good lighting can have. :) You’ve made me a grellow believer!

    Reply

  14. heather s. says

    I think I’m one of the few hoping you DON’T use oil-rubbed bronze on the stools. If they were ORB just like the lights, that one section of the room would be dark-heavy. I’m hoping you use the stainless/silver spray paint you bought (and didn’t use on the hinges) to bring the steel color of the appliances to that side of the kitchen. But with a fun colored seat of course. :)

    LOVE the new lights!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Nikki! I actually just added an update to the post about that. We tried them and they were too yellow for our space (they made our white counters look yellow) but they definitely can look amazing in the right rooms!

      xo,
      s

  18. Kelly says

    Lights look great. I love the darker color for some contrast. Can’t WAIT for the flooring to go in!

    I’m hoping to get another ‘Get on that’ project done tonight. Finish my hanging bubble chandelier project for the bedroom. Fingers crossed.

    :-)

    Reply

  20. Anika says

    WOW! The room has really come a long way since you guys moved in – well done! And those lights are beautiful!!! LOVE them and want some in my house asap. Thanks for the continued inspiration.

    Reply

  21. Emily says

    Love the lights!!! I can’t wait to see the range hood and the floors. I might be the most excited for the floors, but that’s because I’ve got flooring on the brain lately. :)

    Reply

  24. Danielle says

    Hey guys! Did you install these yourselves? If so, I’d imagine you’d post a tutorial…here’s hoping! ;-) I was trying to find a basic lighting/sconce switch out tutorial on your projects page but didn’t find anything. Am I missing something?

    As always, thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We actually haven’t done any in detail posts about installation mostly because it’s hard to have any spare hands to take pics (I’m usually on a chair holding the fixture and John’s doing the wiring or vice versa). Maybe try youtube.com for a nice video tutorial though?

      xo,
      s

  26. Lindley says

    About that pendant above the fireplace – I like the idea of a more flush/drum mount, but what about a spotlight on the fireplace? It’s such a focal point and they have great spots that allow rotation so you can point at Christmas Trees, Clara’s birthday present piles or other seasonal items that enter the room.
    Just a thought …. No doubt, it will be beautiful with any choice. Great job with the place.

    Reply

  27. Meagain says

    I think you have to work your magic on the stools. They need a little DIY touch ups. Maybe spray painting them…adding a little fabric to the seats…they don’t seem to fit in as nicely as they should. It would be ashame for the kitchen to not look as nice as it should because of these stools.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, check out this post and the original stool post for all those details! We have plans for them, just waiting for the floors to go in since that’ll be a room changer. Then we’ll make the call!

      xo,
      s

  28. katalina says

    love it! But can’t stop singing.. I love big globes I can not lie.

    easy to jump on the bandwagon stool debate but I like your palette of the grellow, dark brown, white and blue and in this case I am thinking blue….

    light blue with fun fabric seat or dark blue but it really is up to you…and John. I was thinking that the shot of the back of stools — when you sit there you see this white side of the frig—that would be fun place for art or shelves or
    something unexpected.

    Reply

  29. ScullyPA says

    Painting your working fireplace is dangerous? Oh, wait, maybe you meant while you were using it…I’m thick. I painted my working fireplace (except for the inside), looks great. Used car engine spray paint to paint the gold fireplace screen black, too. (fire resistant)

    Reply

  31. SM says

    Hands down, this is my favorite element that you’ve added to the kitchen! The lights are industrial and modern yet evoke a bygone era. GORGE. And loved your hip hop rendition today.

    Reply

  32. Amy says

    Ooooooo…. I love those! Can’t wait to see the dark floors now! Good luck filling those holes… it’s going to get dusty! Ha! I’ve just spent two hours sanding my stair risers so I feel for you!

    Reply

  34. Samantha says

    Sherry- For some reason I feel like I know you 1,000 times better after this post. Whole ‘lotta amazingness going on with those song lyrics, totally how we roll in our house, too. Now if only there was a music video for your DIY inspired medley…. :)

    Reply

  37. Julie in TX says

    Those pendant lamps are A-MAZ-ING! I think the metal contrast (ORB and silver in stools) looks fantastic. Great job!!! I can’t wait until the floor goes down and it all comes together!

    Reply

  38. Amber V. says

    LOVE!!

    Are your floating shelves going to be a deep brown? If so I think these bad boys will look amazing in the room without orbing (that’s a verb on this site, right?) the stools.

    I think your choices in this room have been FLAWLESS. Awesome job!

    Reply

  40. Andrea says

    My brother is 6’6.5″ so I’m sure he would be happy to hear that you are looking out for your tall friends with a drum shade!

    I kind of like the way your stools play off the gray in the penny tile. Maybe once you have the new floors, if you don’t want to ORB the stools you could treat the stool seats with something to darken them up rather than the metal.

    Anyway, everything is turning out wonderful! I’m excited to see the cork flooring, oven hood, and shelves!

    Reply

  41. Captain Micah says

    Good Golly, Miss Molly! It looks amazing! I love how light and open and airy the lights still are…no obstructing anything while still providing beautiful light. Ahhh, light. I’m starting to think we need it to survive.

    Take that, Alaska.

    Nice jorb. I love the entire kitchen process. When doing my own processes, though, I’ll admit I’m more of a finished-end-results type of gal.

    Reply

  42. Lindsey says

    So pretty.

    And about those stools… I like the idea of ORBing them. Even with the dark cork floors. I just think they would blend nicely that way especially from the dining room view where you can’t see the stainless appliances in which there’s nothing for them to relate to. That’s just my thought.

    I saw this today and thought of you guys. Maybe another option down the road. I’d sit there and eat, craft, watch tv… Looks so comfy :) http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=88486&relatedPhotoId=88475&index=0

    Reply

  43. L says

    Hmm. Usually a big fan of everything you do, but I have to be honest. I do not like those lights at all. They are too large for that small countertop space and overwhelm it. I’ve done plenty of design, and I just can’t see past them. Knowing how many times you two change things and redo them, I’m sure the lights will be temporary, and you will find something more suited to your space.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Definitely one of those personal preference things! I promise we love them and would bet they’ll be here a while, but know not everyone would make the same choices if this were their house! That’s part of the fun though, right?!

      xo,
      s

  44. New England Girl says

    Your lights look awesome.

    My husband and I just put dimmable LEDs in our kitchen. It was a huge pain and I’m still not thrilled with how it worked out–so I will be happy to hear if you have LED wisdom to share. :) We had two problems: 1) LEDs are super cold light, generally, and we wanted our kitchen to feel warm. After trying four different bulbs, we found one at Lowe’s that was warmest (55W bulb from Sylvania, called the 2700K), and although it says it’s a “flood” recessed light, it was quite focused, so now our kitchen looks very slightly like a Broadway stage…. and then problem number 2) dimmable LEDs do this horrible flickering strobe light thing if you don’t have the exact right dimmer switch for the bulb you want to use. We ended up using a Lutron dimmer we got from Lowes, but we had to contact Lutron and get a list from them of bulbs they thought would work with our dimmer. Apparently they have a crew of engineers doing tests all the time to figure out which bulbs will work with their switches–it’s that complicated. Our bulb we settled on wasn’t on the list, but a similar one was, and we were tired of the hassle and having no light in our kitchen. And now when we dim the lights, it flickers at some points in the dimming process, and it doesn’t actually dim very much. We really needed to get LEDs or CFLs because it allowed us to plug leaky ceiling cans and warm up our drafty kitchen, or else I think we would have thrown up our hands and just gone with good old incandescents.

    Reply

  49. Kim says

    Haha, the song reference was great! Looks awesome. Random question: how tall are your stools? We have a counter height island and can’t decide on tall stools, over which we’d hunch slightly, or shorter ones that make us feel like little kids.

    Reply

  50. Kimberly says

    Have you considered a bulletin board or magnetic chalkboard for the empty space instead of artwork? Then you could post Clara’s masterpieces and switch them out when the mood strikes you. And the lights look great.

    Reply

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