Lightin up...

The house. Not a dooby. Just thought I'd be specific.

So I decided what I wanted and there was no talking me out of it. I wanted this beauty from Barn Light Electric.


$138 a piece, not including shipping. Boo. I almost bought two of them about 5 times. But the DIYer in me thought there had to be a cheaper way.

Turns out there is. I found these lights for $30 a piece at Lowes (they have the same ones at Home Depot).


I just spray painted them the red color I wanted. They look exactly like the ones I wanted but $63.00 instead of $276.00 not including shipping. I almost painted them yellow but thought I might get sick of that quickly.


I taped off the inside so I'd have a straight line. It took about 30 minutes to dry and they were ready to hang.


Imagine the possibilities! Buy this light (which is white on the inside by the way) and it can be whatever color you want if you paint it yourself. And cheap too!


As you can see, I decided to put the picket fences above the cabinets and I LOVE it. I just need to find more chippy ones for the front of my house.


And one last close up...

Kitchen island

Well, I finished my kitchen island. Almost. I have to get an over sized outlet cover from Home Depot because I got a little crasy with the saw on one side. But that IS the power of Home Depot right?


I really love the corbels on the island. I think they really make the space. I used 3 different ones because they didn't have any that were the same in our free pile. But I actually ended up liking it more.


I know, the lighting blows, but until I get up some light fixtures over the island, they'll have to do. Speaking of, which do you guys like better? I'm planning on hanging two. This oh so popular in blog land from ikea...


Or this one from Lowes?


The cheapo in me says the one from Ikea, but I already used it in a bathroom. I feel a little unoriginal. I kind of like the idea of having a white pendant light in there to keep the white thing going. What do you think? I would actually love to use one from barn light electric but I definitely don't see myself spending over $200 on two lights. If you've never been to their site, go. I love their lighting.

Advice....

I hate my kitchen island. Flat paint + messy kids = me scrubbing my island nearly every day. So I figured I may as well put up some sort of bead board or paneling to give it a little more personality while I'm at it. The whole thing is going to be white, but I was thinking of something that looks like this...


Or this wainscoting...


The problem is, I'm considering putting bead board on top of my kitchen cabinets all the way to the ceiling. The little pop out pantry would stay painted drywall.


So will the bead board be too much? It is a lot to have it as the island, back splash, and above the cabinets. Should I not do it above the cabinets and just have it on the island and backsplash? I was thinking I could put my chipping picket fences above the cabinets instead of bead board. OR should I do a combination of the paneling and bead board like this...



So here's an easier way to vote

1. Bead board above the cabinets
2. Picket fence above the cabinets

A. All bead board (first picture)
B. Wainscot paneling (second picture)
c. Combination of bead board and wainscoting (last picture)

Just choose 1-A or 2-C... you get my drift. Help me! I can't make a decision!

*All images are via pinterest*

Back splash and pantry project

I decided since the kitchen in my new house is smack dab in the middle of the floor plan, it needs to be done soon. And since it's in the center, it doesn't have a single window to it's name. It makes me sad, actually. Although this house is twice as big, it just doesn't have the same light feel as my old home and I miss that. Here's before we moved in...


The cabinets really are beautiful but they're just SO dark. I told my husband that I would wait at least a year before I painted them. The paint on the walls throughout the house is also a darker neutral so once we paint over it all, I think it will help brighten the space. In the mean time, I put up a white bead board back splash and it did help. I want to install bead board on top of the cabinets too, all the way to the ceiling. I think that will help too.



I used thicker molding to finish the edges and I love the chunkier look of it. The whole project took me about 6 hours because I had to wait for paint to dry. I used the new miter saw we got from my husbands grandpa and it cut my molding like butter. I'm spoiled I tell ya.



Here's my new pantry doors. I got them at Merchant Square Antique Mall in Chandler during one of their flea market sales. I actually met a reader while I was loading them up. It was funny to meet someone who reads my blog.


And here's the inside of my pantry before. It's kind of embarrassing to tell you the truth.


I used the template from Jones Design Company (one of my favorite's by the way) found here for the painted wall paper. If you remember, I did it on some pillows a while back and couldn't get it out of my head. I debated about doing a chevron print but I felt that was something I'm probably going to be over in a little while.



And here it is pre-food with all my clearance Hobby Lobby baskets and some others I had laying around.


And finally with all my food in it. I don't know how, but I guess I've been collecting cans of vegetables. Specifically creamed corn. I have 11 cans of creamed corn. I've never even eaten it! Maybe my husband bought it for fishing or something.


One last picture of the whole kitchen. I'll show some of the rest of the great room next.