Blog Archives
First Things First
Pretty much without fail when we move into a “new” home we generally start with replacing lighting. I know that may seem strange as it would make most sense to start with paint, but for me sourcing the right lighting is one of the more difficult tasks. It would seem like it would be fairly simple as my taste runs more toward the traditional side (in general) but finding the right light at the right price just tends elude me (especially vanity lighting)!
Even before I walked into our new home in Virginia Beach I had started the search for new lighting, specifically dining room, family room and eat in kitchen lighting. I found this light at World Market.
It looks perfectly suited for a causal coastal vibe and at $200 it wasn’t going to break the bank. Plus I have plans to modify it by wrapping the metal rim in either sisal or leather lacing, basically making it look more upscale for very little money and effort! The other thing about this light I love is that it has 4 bulbs (40 watt each) which since I’m using LED lights I can use a higher wattage and add a dimmer to adjust brightness as necessary.
The other light I found that I’m totally excited about is for the family room. It’s from Ballard Designs and at $400 it’s not exactly cheap but I totally think that it is priced very nicely!
Unfortunately the light is backordered until July, but I plan on it setting the tone for the whole room. I’ve also decided that if for some strange reason we LOVE utilizing the fan/light combination that’s currently in the family room I can use this in the dining room, bedroom or the foyer I think it’s that versatile.
There were some other options I considered for the dining room, but I want to wait to get the bamboo light installed before I pull any triggers.
How cool is this one though? Very masculine I know, but I’m totally digging the feel of the leather and brass! It’s by Savoy House and it’ll cost about $600 depending on where you source it, but it’s pretty bad ass looking and my Hubby totally loved it of course!
I also saw this bad boy at Lowe’s and while I like style a lot it wouldn’t jive with our dining room furniture and that furniture is not going anywhere…
My hubby installed the beaded chandelier already and I’m thrilled with how it looks even if there’s no table there yet…
We also installed these Lutron motion sensor lighting in the two master closets, it is just so convenient (or lazy) to be able to walk into the closet and not have to turn on the light. We set them to turn off after 1 minute of no movement or we can manually turn it off ourselves, which for some reason is no problem for me to turn them off but I do want them to come on automatically… go figure! Super easy to install by the way…
Another item we just “had to install” was this Lutron remote control dimmer for the master bedroom and media room. We love being able to remotely control the lights and we were used to it as we installed two of them in our KY home in the master and the media room as well. They are super easy to install as well, but if you have little kids (or maybe just irresponsible teens) you may want to find a place to store the remote so you always can find it, but I did find out that you can buy a new remote if the old one is “misplaced”…
So I have a crap ton of lights to replace, but it may be that I get to the painting before I buy more lights… we’ll have to see as I am still living in Louisville until June 1st (last day of school) and Hubby is already living in the new home like a nomad without any permanent furniture, so I don’t have a lot to do but pack and daydream about our new spaces!
While I was at the new house for Spring Break I needed a place to set my coffee etc. down while I was watching TV (this is how Hubby is living for 8 weeks!) so I found a cool antique store with lots of goodies and found this TINY table for $20! I just love it and I plan on using it in a bathroom after the “real” furniture arrives, but it is so dang cute I smile every time I see it! I mean it’s SUPER tiny!
So I’m off to pack a few more boxes, I did a little calculation and determined that if I pack just 2 boxes a day I will be done by the time the movers come, I hope that is the case as I’m pretty much sticking to that number!
Thanks as always for stopping by…
Until next time…
PS Have you ever tried this Grapefruit Vodka? If not you might want to it’s delicious, I enjoy it mixed with La Croix Grapefruit Sparkling Water… they have other flavors too if you’re just not into grapefruit…
Kitchen Updates, Tile, Lights, Paint
Hey all! This post has been stuck in my “to finish” pile for a while but I wanted to share with you the kitchen updates we have completed so far. We still have some cabinet painting to do, but that is a project that I might get started this winter.
So here is a BEFORE shot my hubby took while doing the home inspection (that’s the inspector at the island).
This I took just after we moved in, we had not yet replaced any appliances or done any work.
Here it is after we had replaced the dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, sink, faucet, added pendant lights and painted (Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore). I had a VERY difficult time deciding on a paint color, I kept trying to go light but I didn’t like any of the combinations. As soon as I saw this color I was smitten, but a little concerned it may be too dark… I loved it the moment I started painting. It was the perfect choice for us!
We installed the backsplash using Queen Beige tumbled Amalfi marble. It is a nice neutral color that worked well with the existing counter. I normally would have removed the 4” granite backsplash and tiled all of the way down to the countertop but they had also installed the backsplashes on the sides of the oven cabinets and I wasn’t sure what would happen to the cabinets if I tried to remove it…
My Hubby replaced all of the outdated florescent under cabinet lighting with new LED lights. I like the cool bright light here vs. the warm yellow hue. Also, I LOVE using my vintage tool box to hold the tools, oils and vinegars that I use most frequently.
I “shopped” in my storage room and found this antique scale which was the perfect color to coordinate with my toolbox. The measuring cups I purchase from Anthropology several years ago and are not only pretty to look at but it is handy being able to have them setting out.
This was the original sink and faucet setup (and no I didn’t bother to clean it before I took this picture)…
We hired a plumber to come replace the sink, faucet and garbage disposal… my sweetie is very handy but plumbing is not his best skill set so we usually leave the pluming up to the professionals 
I cannot begin to describe how much I L-O-V-E this sink! It is SUPER deep which is great for leaving dishes in and the single bowl just works so much better than double bowls for us. I can fit sheet pans, baking pans or a child or two in here… (just sayin’ it’s awesome)! We also had an extra hole (where the sprayer was) so we now we have a hand soap dispenser and a dish soap dispenser!
I bought a set of the new blue jars and frog inserts to go with them. Eventually I hope to have pretty, fresh flowers from the garden in them, but for now I just adore the way the sunlight from the Sunroom filters through the blue glass.
This little area to the right if the refrigerator we have setup for all of our drinking “tools”, coffee maker, Magic Bullet, Soda Stream. We keep all of the coffee mugs above and the blender cups and big blender below. Having a drink / coffee bar area just works so well for our family.
This is what the original eat in area of the kitchen looked like. This light was in such a weird place for the traffic pattern to work. I think they had it setup for a round table there…
The whole kitchen / eat-in area are painted the same Chelsea Gray, I took down the light blocking valances and put up curtains and rods. I just cannot get rid of our farm table even though it’s just the 3 of us most of the time eating there. We bought the table 13 years ago and it is made by Hoskins Creek Table Company. The tables are made in Virginia, by hand, and are put together like they were long ago with beautiful joinery and old looking nails. There is a bench on the one side (for lots of little kid butts 
) but the chairs are vintage hand carved with original rush seats. The rug is from FLOR and is really carpet tiles, easy to care for and they can be cut to fit ANY area.
I do love the beaded chandelier we purchased to replace the oriental looking one that was here. It’s hard to see but the beads are a washed out gray color, I bought it at World Market and I thought it was a great price considering what similar ones are being sold for elsewhere.
From the kitchen you can see somewhat into the Family room. I originally thought I’d want to remove the wall that the bar is on, but I really have come to like the setup as it is now.
We bought this bar set from Pottery Barn about 4 years ago and it fit in this space like we built around it!
I will eventually paint this pantry area as well, but I’m still on the fence with a couple of choices I need to make. The speaker above the cabinets is wired in from the TV in the family room so we can listen to music or whatever.
We added these pendant lights where there used to be can lights and I really love the way they look. We found them at Shades of Light if you’re interested in them. I wrote a previous post on the island update we did and you can find it here.
One of these days I would LOVE a new Thermador gas stove and double oven combination, but I’m thinking that might not happen in this house (or ever), but I can still dream right?!
We have come a long ways with our kitchen, but to finish it up I need to get these cabinets painted. I painted the cabinets in our last home 5 years ago and I still remember the “pain” of it, so I’m pretty much putting it off until I can’t put it off any longer…
Hope you all are feeling some Fall weather, it’s just gorgeous here today in Louisville, KY!
Thanks as always for stopping by,
Until next time!
