09.25
Hey there! I'm back today with some lighting updates around the house. I found a GREAT deal on a beautiful light a couple weeks ago while we were in Cincinnati. Our routine is usually to stop by IKEA, then head over to Kings Island for our son. This time I took a super quick trip into the Ballard Designs outlet store on the way to the amusement park.
If you aren't familiar with this outlet, it's minutes away from IKEA in West Chester and it's a large store with Grandin Road and Frontgate as well. They usually have some fantastic deals but it had been years since I had been in.
Luckily for our boy (who was totally over shopping at this point), I found a gorgeous light within two minutes of walking in. I get weird feelings about stores sometimes -- it's odd but it never fails me. I just knew I'd find a light I loved that day and so we went. I get that vibe about random stuff and it my intuition is almost always right. I wasn't even really looking for a new light, but something was drawing me to the store. I tell my husband it was meant to be when it happens. ;)
The light was the Hadley pendant and it was big, but I knew had a number of places I could put it. I really want to change out our stairway light and our foyer light, and at first I thought I would put it in one of those spots.
But we got home and I had a better idea…over the kitchen table. I knew it would look so good in there for a number of reasons, but was a little worried it would be too big. I measured the old light fixture (you can see it here) and turns out it was way wider than the new light and actually taller too. I was surprised because the new one seemed larger. I think because it's the same size uniformly, unlike a chandelier.
Anyway, I got it up and was SO THRILLED:
Most of the lights in our home have stayed the same or maybe moved around here and there, but I don't change them out often. But the kitchen table light is one that I've probably changed out four times now over ten years. None of them have ever felt 100 percent right till now!
I absolutely LOVE IT:
It works because it's so "light" feeling -- you can see through it completely so it doesn't feel like a heavy fixture. It's normally priced at $300, they had it on sale for about $230 and they had even more of a sale that day so I got it for $130. Score!!
Our old chandelier had eight lights bulbs but it got so bright I changed most of the bulbs out to 40 or 25 watt -- so even with half the lights at 60 watts, this one lets off similar light at night. We still use our dimmer most times with it anyway:
So of course you change one and something else feels off, right? I hate when that happens. I had a couple lights from Joss and Main in my cart online for a week or so, and I knew they would work so much better with than our current lights in a couple nearby spots.
This one in our family room was one I've wanted to change out for awhile. It just felt really heavy to me and that spot is supposed to be more of a flush mount light anyway:
I went ahead and got the Marceline flush mounts from Joss and Main and absolutely LOVED the lights, but they were such a pain in the butt to install.
I have to preface my rant by saying I absolutely LOATHE installing light fixtures. Lighting is by far my least favorite DIY project -- there's always always always something annoying that happens when I install a light. All of the screws and junk have to be just right for everything to hang correctly and it drives me absolutely crazy.
These had me cussing and sweating. I hated them with a burning passion. Flames…flames on the side of my face. (Name that movie!) If you purchase these know that they are beautiful and lovely but you need to purchase longer screws before you try to install them. Just a warning. But I loved them!:
I don't want that family room light to be such a focal point so I'm so happy with the look of this one, and it's higher too.
Another annoyance with these is that the glass is permanently smudged. I have tried absolutely everything to get them clean…and they are clean. But the glass is damaged in a way that when the light is on they look dirty:
When the light is off you don't see it. I'm emailing Joss and Main to see if they'll send new glass because it's really not good. I'm still not over the anger from the installation yet so they are staying up. :) Too much drama to even consider taking them down right now, ha!
I replaced another light with one of these too -- five years ago I added a $5 light from the Habitat store to our small hallway by the stairs:
This was an area that could take a little more presence but I didn't want it to hang any lower than the old one.
I just love it here!:
I think the new kitchen light looks so great with these and I like that the two flush mounts match -- they add some consistency we were needing:
This one was also a pain in the butt to install and also has the weird glass problems, but I still like the lights a lot. These are a GREAT option for "boob" light replacements. They don't hang down too far and look great. Just be prepared to be annoyed when you install them. :)
I got all three lights for the price of what the Ballard light is originally priced at -- not a bad deal at all! Have you been eyeing either of these light fixtures? The kitchen light is my new favorite and I throw heart eyes at it every time I walk in. I just love it.
Tell me I'm not alone in the installing lights thing -- is it the worst job ever or what? I'd rather drywall and that's saying a lot.
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