August 20th marked one year since we moved into our new house. Before we moved in we made some big changes like painting all the walls, ceilings, doors and stair rails. We added hardwood floors on the lower level and gave the kitchen a facelift by painting the kitchen cabinets white.
With all the cosmetic changes made, we’ve slowly been tackling our long decorating list. Among other things, the list includes new kitchen hardware, new light fixtures throughout and decorating my office space, which I finished last month. You can see the before and after of my office space here.
Our townhouse was the model unit and had a few upgraded features. Unfortunately lighting was not one of them. All of the fixtures were builder grade with little to no style. Changing out the lighting was on the top of our to-do list and slowly we are making progress.
In February I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway that Kristy Wicks had in partnership with Lamps Plus. Since I source a lot of lighting from Lamps Plus for design clients, I was thrilled to win a $500 credit from a company that I love. I immediately went shopping and selected a new chandelier for our dining space, new pendant lights for the kitchen and a ceiling mount for the lower entryway.
Lamps Plus processed the order in a flash and my new lighting arrived on my doorstep a few days later. That was back in March and FINALLY we got around to getting the lighting installed last month.
Our kitchen counters are black granite and all of the interior doors in the house are black, so I selected black and gold lighting for the dining area and kitchen.
Here’s a look at the dining room chandelier from Christmas. The original fixture was a grey color with dingy white lampshades.
NEW DINING & KITCHEN LIGHTING
Our new fixture is a beauty. It’s the Lufkin 6-light Chandelier with black shades and an antique brass frame. I love the combination of black and brass which speaks to my love for traditional decor and the rounded shape adds a modern vibe that I love.
**sadly the chandelier is no longer available
With an open concept main floor, our dining area and kitchen are right next to each other so the kitchen lighting had to coordinate. I choose three of the George Kovacs Gold Mini Pendants to hang over the peninsula.
fyi–the gold arm and collar on the pendant lights was bight gold so I used antique gold Rub-n-Buff to tone down the color. One coat gave me the finish color that matches the chandelier perfectly.
I’m thrilled with our new lighting and the transformation it made to our dining area and kitchen. The final decorative piece for the dining area was a new rug which I ordered a few weeks ago. I shared a glimpse of it on Instagram and will have a full reveal later this week. Stay tuned because it’s a beauty and a great price!
Our project list is getting shorter but I’m glad to have a few things checked off.
If you’re in the market for stylish and affordable lighting, definitely check out Lamps Plus. In addition to an amazing lighting selection, they also sell furniture and home decor. One stop shopping at its best!