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31 August 2009

Lighting

Subtitle: My husband is so patient!

This is the story of our lighting. (The pics aren't the best.) (And the cabinets are much darker than these pics show.






Our kitchen is very dark. When we first moved to Sugarbear, this was our only kitchen light (pic is funny because it is cut from a panorama). It provided about 60 watts, & only over the sink.










We had the good fortune to do some minor remodeling last fall. We put in new sink & faucet, a dishwasher, new stove, & a microwave. Also this light. And, because it was halogen light, it was an improvement over the previous fixture. But it still didn't give much light to the room. There is a light over the stove as well, but not very bright.







So we've been planning to add a light to the middle of the room. We have put in an "island," meaning a counter-top height chest. We do plan to expand this cabinet with a new top. So Duane put in the light fixture this past weekend. Kimmy was here today & impressed with the professional look of the installation.





It makes such a difference to the room! I know that these pics really don't
show it, but the light is so wonderful. Working in the kitchen after dark won't be such a problem any more.









But, while Duane was getting ready to hook up the light (he had to hook into the one over the sink), i decided i'd really like a different fixture
over the sink. I like that fixture quite a lot, but i wanted a black one, & the way it was attached made it rather wobbly. So, just before Duane was to hook it in i stopped him & we went to the lighting store here in town (the only one, or we could have gone to Kmart, or one of the hardware stores). Nothing really clicked for us, but i did choose one. It looks kind of funky up.





However, the one that was in the kitchen got moved to our upstairs bath. This is what was up before.





This is what we have now. I LOVE it!!! We haven't done much - um, w
e haven't done anything - to that bathroom because we plan to remodel. But it is a very dark room & i love so much the way the light works in that room.

And my poor, patient husband forgave me (kind of) for stopping him in the middle of a project to go buy another light. But he does like the light in the upstairs bathroom.




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3 comments:

Land of shimp said...

It's absolutely amazing what a difference a light fixture can make in a room. I swear you could spend ten thousand dollars on furnishings and it won't make a whit of difference until you change the light fixtures. A fifty dollar light fixture can have a huge impact.

Also, few things are uglier than an ugly lamp :-)

Well done making the maximum impact on your space with wisely spent dollars! Oh, and most cabinets can be painted, if you ever want to brighten the room? That can really help.

It looks great, Kathryn.

Amrita said...

looks very nice to me

Mrs. Mac said...

I see my friend Amrita found you. She's a lovely gal from India.

Your lighting situation is greatly improved. You know, I'm just saying, I think (men) design bathrooms and kitchen that they don't have to use much. Women would do things differently .. every home I've lived in (except the one I designed and currently live in) had serious flaws with lighting design. Love the new bathroom fixture .. your husband is sweet for redoing the kitchen sink light for you.

Hang in there with the company. By now your parents have seen your house totally clean .. and you can relax a bit.

Enjoy your time with them please.