Thursday, February 5, 2009

Lighting Help Needed!

We've selected our contractor and soon will be meeting with a designer--we are bumping out the back wall of our teeny family room and the eating nook off the kitchen!! I am SO excited about this!! We have been talking about doing this for a couple of years and it looks like the project will start in March!!

Enlarging these two areas will be so great for our family as we spend so much of our time in these spaces. We'll finally be able to use our real kitchen table (from our last home) in the kitchen and seat more than three people at a time--currently that table is in our not-so-formal dining room. Plus our family room will have floor space for playing! Oh it will be wonderful!! And, did I mention, we're hoping to lower our utility bills too--our gas fireplace is so cold and drafty and so is our family room window. Replacing them will be great!

With that said, I need some lighting advice/help! When we moved in here, we removed the dated and unnecessary ceiling fan from the family room and just replaced it with an ugly overhead light that we removed from another room in the house. I don't like the light AT ALL (it looks like a big n!pple on the ceiling!) and we never use it. Now is my chance to replace it...but I don't know what to do!
(Ignore the wall color, ugly tiles, gold fireplace, and the mantel decor--I just tossed my topiaries up there to get them off my kitchen counter!) Instead look at the ceiling...what should go there? (I think the spotlight will stay...it's the other light I'm talking about.) Ideally I would love to put up a chandelier...but it wouldn't be centered over anything. Does that matter? However, there is a problem with this idea...
This is the current kitchen table--with chandelier. And, if you turn around, you see this...
Another chandelier! This one is in the dining room.

So, that would be three chandeliers--will that look strange? In my head it seems like chandelier overload!
This chandelier (over the kitchen table) will be moving a bit though--so the light fixtures won't be all in a row the way they are now. Look out the window--you can see the edge of the deck and patio--that's how far we're bumping out the wall. So, the chandelier will move to just about where the sliding door is now.

What to do, what to do?! Help, please!! No ceiling fans though--they aren't my style and they aren't necessary in our house/climate. Oh, and the dining room chandelier and kitchen chandelier are staying because I like them and selected them myself. They aren't fancy, but they're definitely my style!

5 comments:

Shell in your Pocket said...

Oh what fun to do a remodel...I love your chandeliers so fun!!!! I can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks for the reminder about the cookie cutter and sandwiches...I need to do this next week for their lunch! Yeah!
-sandy toe

Shannon said...

I like your chandeliers too! I bet you are so excited about the changes that are going to be made!

My suggestion would be 4 recessed can lights. They are not hard to do at all! My dad put some in his living room in about an hour. Can't wait to see whatever you choose!

Ms. Tee said...

I really like your chandeliers, too! :) Maybe the recessed lighting is an option? How fun that you're finally getting to do those things. Hope you have a good weekend!

Tausha said...

HOw fun- a redo! I am so jealous!!! Lighting is the biggest thing in a room. I don't have any overhead lighting in my front room-and I wish that I did.
With cans that is. I love cans-they give softer light, not that harsh bright light, they are inconspicous so you don't have to pick out the perfect fixture. They are not that hard to install either. I would maybe ask about them. You could just do a few instead of one big overhead. Espescially if you are not a big user of overhead lighting.
Good luck! I would go and buy more lamps. Lots and lots of lamps! They are much cuter and cheaper than a light fixture, plus when you are sick of it, you can just spary paint it!!!

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

I really liked the others' suggestion of canned lighting. The only other thing I could think of is some cool track-lighting, maybe a set of three. Some track-lighting hangs down a bit from the ceiling, or can be installed right on the ceiling??? It's up to you.

Good luck!!!