Kitchen Remodel Details - Lighting

I love lighting. Lamps, chandeliers, vintage, new. And I don't have the time nor the inclination for tacky lighting. There are too many good choices at every price point. Granted, there are a whole lot of fabulous options if you have an unlimited budget. But with some creative wrangling you can tweak some inexpensive lighting products or vintage finds and get something that fits with your design needs.

Here's what I wanted in our new kitchen. These sconces below but in red. They were available last year (maybe from Circa?) but I cannot find them now. I think I found them for around $150 each. The hubs preferred my 2nd choice to save $.

This lovely space was designed by Erika McPherson Powell, Urban Grace Interiors.

So I found these outdoor sconces at Home Depot, but they were a lighter brown last year.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Design-House-Monterey-Wall-Mount-Outdoor-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Dark-Sky-Downlight-516732/202500790?N=25ecodZbvmm#.Uc5HyD5evcc

Cute, huh?

But I wanted them red.

So, a few cans of red spray paint later...

These are $53.33 at Home Depot right now, a bit less last year.

So! They're cute, no?

I love the way they look. It would be nice if they were the articulating sconces, so I could adjust the angle and position.

Another plus for the more expensive sconces is that they would have taken up less wall space so I could have hung the top shelf a few inches higher. The lowest shelf is hung slightly lower than the bottom of a kitchen cabinet is usually hung, which is a teeny problem, limiting some of the items I can place on the counter under the shelf.

Live and learn. 

These details are the kinds of things that make me nuts and make me appreciate professional designers. Yes, you can learn from experience, but how many kitchens am I going to remodel or build?

Shameless plug for design professionals!

I just read a blog post from a decorator that talked about not scrimping on design details, like lighting. Of course she's right about quality and all. 

But, I'm not sure I would spend thousands on each fixture if I had thousands of extra $ lying around. Regardless, since we may tear down this house some day soon, I think we got an inexpensive stylish solution that provides plenty of light. And we are not in debt! 

Whatcha think?