My Creative Blog:
Dining Spaces

Spraypainting a chandelier is REALLY easy and it's a super cost-effective way to change things up in your home. Back in January we shared our home goals with you, and one of mine was to start redecorating our dining room space. ALL of the furniture pieces in this room were bought on clearance (hooray for a $60 dining table!), through Craig's List (the hutch was $100) or from a family member (the red chairs were my grandmas!). Even the art was upcycled! Anyway, it's just not fitting in with that lighter, brighter, coastal-cottage look I'm going for, so I figured it was time to get moving.

I have had a light fixture in mind for this room for months, and I guess I've gotten stuck on that idea. Because it's not in the budget right now, I had just resigned myself to wait until the time was right. Then, inspiration struck after seeing Kelly's pinteresting home, and I realized that taking stuff I already own and making it better is what I DO! Duh. So, you guessed it, I took that baby down (by myself!) and spraypainted it. Here are my go-to tips:

1. Take your chandelier outside and find a tree with a low-hanging branch. Throw a dropcloth down under the area you'll be painting.


2. Using rope or wire, tie the chandelier firmly to the branch. Hanging your chandelier allows you to spraypaint the entire thing at one time. No spraying the top, waiting for it to dry, doing a second coat, waiting for it to dry, turning it over, painting etc etc etc. (I'm such an idiot and forgot to take before pictures of the process, so you'll notice my chandy had already been attacked by spraypaint!)


3. Stuff cottonballs down into the stems (where the lightbulb screws in), so you don't damage it with paint.


4. Pick your poison favorite paint and start spraying! I am embarrassingly in love with this color I found from Valspar called Hacienda Tile. It's a mix between pink, red and orange that is absolutely perfect, and satisfies my longing for an infusion of coral in my home. Also, this spraypaint is awesome for this project because it can spray at all angles, so you can easily get down under the chandelier to spray the undersides. Spray 3 light coats, with some drying time in between, for the most even coverage without drips.

5. Hope that your neighbors don't turn you in to the association for being white trash. (Yes, that is my FRONT yard!).

I'm thankful I have such nice neighbors. Anyway, I can NOT wait to show you how this has one little change has inspired a major makeover of our dining room. Yay for more projects!
How many of you spray painted something this weekend?


Did you guys know that Monica and I love discovering and studying small businesses, right? We both have owned our own businesses, and now run this blog which has turned into a small business in it's own right. We find it fascinating to watch people do what they love to do and turn their gifts into a fulfilling career! There's just something so inspiring about the whole thing. A few weeeks ago, I gave you a peek into my dining room complete with three new fabulous light fixtures from Lucent Lampworks. We thought it would be fun to let you in on what it's like behind the scenes with Brad at his home, and how we both fell in love with a few lights for our own homes.

This is Brad. (and his adorable daughter, Lia)

He is not an electrician. He is not a trained lighting designer. He is a self-proclaimed tinkerer with a creative side who one day decided to make a few custom lights for friends and family as Christmas gifts when money was tight. He opened an Etsy shop, had a sale a few days later and is now creating fabulous light fixtures out of old barn pulleys, found items and whatever gets his creative juices flowing for people all around the world. People, this guy is seriously talented. Since 2010, his lights have been showcased in the following awesome places: *Extreme Makeover Home Edition — Beautiful New Home in Texas that aired in 2012 *The Winter Collection Catalog for Stylish Home Magazine — www.stylishhome.com
*History Channel show — Abandoned — aired August 2012
*Featured in Soulemama.com
*Food Channel — Restaurant Takeover — Canadian version airing this fall!

Monica and I went to visit his little"shop" in his basement to see how he does it all and quickly realized how out of our element we were when Brad started talking about all the old reproduction wiring, vintage plug ends and exposed sockets.: ) But what we did know was that Brad was passionate about that stuff and it showed in his work.

Brad styles all the photos of his lights himself and has an incredible set up. See all those different backgrounds? He makes most of them himself so that his lights pop against them.

He doesn't mess around with lighting his"sets" either. Every thing this guy does is done right.

See what I mean? We got a few ideas for creating backgrounds for our finished projects, so, thanks, Brad!; )

Cage light anyone?

Monica got two of these gorgeous green enamel shades made for her. You have to wait for Spring to see what she did with them, but they are incredible!

I had to get my cheesy pic with that cobalt blue beauty and Monica was totally digging this glass cylinder pendant. 

And, in case you're wondering, this trip to his shop was where I first spotted the white, enamel pendant light that is now proudly living above my dining room table.

I also spotted this cage light which inspired the industrial cage light sconces that flank the art in that same room. Brad took my idea, researched and found cages from the early 1900's and turned them into awesome sconces. I loooooove them! 

Isn't that amazing? We strongly encourage you to take at a look at Brad's shop to see what other awesomeness he has going on there. You will not meet a nicer guy and he'd be happy to help you create the light of your dreams (please tell me I'm not the only one who dreams about lighting…) Oh yeah, one more thing just for you guys! You can get 10% off your order at Lucent Lampworks by using the coupon code EC2tenoff! You're welcome! Do any of you have a small business? Leave us a comment with the name so we can check it out! It's one of our favorite things to do!

My dining room. Well, like everything else around here, it seems like it's taking forever to pull together. I am oh-so-close to doing a full reveal for you (like next-week-close!), but I wanted to give you the juicy details about the fabulous lighting that we installed that totally completes the look I was going for. Love it when that happens! The last time you saw this space, it looked like this:

Awesome planked wall, beautiful white-washed table and the doesn't-quite-fit-in spray painted chandy. I'm happy to report that it has come a long way since then. When this picture was taken, I was feeling so stumped as to how I could make this room feel like I wanted it to, and I knew that what was holding me back was that coral chandelier. I mean, don't get me wrong- I love the color, but it was definitely limiting me. And limits I do not like. That's when Brad, from Lucent Lampworks, stepped in and said he might be able to help me.

His lighting. Oh, his lighting. It's gorgeous and simple and modern and vintage and industrial and cool all at once. Brad invited us over to his shop to take a look at his work and we were blown away. He's not a lighting guy by trade, but creates some beautiful fixtures in his spare time. Just recently one of his lights was featured on Extreme Home Makeover, so you know if Ty P. is sold, then this guy is the real deal. Anyway, I digress. I told him what I wanted, and you know what? He made it for me. Custom. And they're awesome. And his prices are ridiculously reasonable. See? I like Lucent Lampworks so much I can't even write in complete sentences. Let's just cut to the chase, shall we?

I really wanted two sconces to flank the piece of Marbled Paper Art that fit in with the whole coastal, cottage feel. Brad searched for these cages and found them on Ebay and turned them into fabulous sconces. I absolutely love them- all they need are some edison bulbs, but I keep forgetting to pick them up when I'm out!

I love the contrast between the industrial sconces and the marbled paper art.

I'm still messing around with the final touches for the dining room (for instance, those plant pots aren't staying that color, but it's been too darn cold to spraypaint!), so most likely this buffet will look different next time you see it.
As for the pendant light for above my dining room table, I decided to go with a white enamel shade (similar to this one in his shop) that Brad reclaimed from the Scranton Lace Factory. This light is probably from the early 1900's, which I love! It has loads of character and chippy goodness.

It's perfect, isn't it? And, I am thrilled with the view from the kitchen, now that it includes my fabulous lights!

The pendant has really soft uplighting from holes in the top of the shade that is just beautiful and helps illuminate the space better at night.

I seriously could not be happier with my new lights! If you guys are in need of any lighting, head over to Lucent Lampworks to see all that Brad has to offer! You will not find a nicer, more accomodating guy than Brad and he is super talented. Use the code EC2tenoff to receive 10% off your order and tell him we sent you!
Tell me, what does your dream light look like??

So by now you know that I'm in love with chalk paint. I basically shout it from the rooftops whenever I get the chance. It totally transformed my fireplace, and is now helping me to makeover my dining room, one furniture piece at a time. The first piece I tackled is this old Ikea table that we bought when we were first married. Even though it looked fine with our barnwood organizing bins, I was so over the warm wood tone and ready for a change!

I chatted with Shaunna about some different color options and decided on the gorgeous Aubusson blue as an accent color. 

I seriously would kiss this paint if I could…and it wasn't so messy. I love that you don't have to prep the piece at all before beginning to paint. Because of this, I had a regular paint shop going on in my kitchen a few weeks ago… 

Once I finished painting, I decided I wanted to add a little more depth to the piece, so I brushed on Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. 

It's a bit scary, but immediately you can see a difference. Basically, you brush the glaze on, let it sit for a minute and then wipe it off with a lint-free cloth (I used an old t-shirt). 

Shaunna recommends that you use wax before distressing and adding a glaze, but oops! I didn't know that before I tried it. As I was wiping off the glaze, the paint came with it! Ahhhh! So then,I had to repaint and reglaze. Ugh. So… paint, wax, then glaze and distress! 

Finally, once the paint had dried, I waxed the entire piece in order to protect it from damage. I used this method and it helped me tremendously and worked like a charm! This wax is unbelieveably smooth, goes on like butter and goes a long way. I've never tried the other brands of furniture wax, but now that I've tried Annie's, I don't think I ever will.

I made sure to let it cure for the specified time before setting anything on it, and then got busy decorating for Fall. Now for a slew of pretty pictures…

I can't get enough of this color. It doesn't scream at you, but it makes a statement, you know? It's like he's saying in a very polite voice,"Look at me. Aren't I handsome?"

I'm on the lookout for some late Fall/Winter decorative pillow or covers, so if you have recommendations, send them my way!

Gotta love the details.

And look! A sneak peek at my new accent wall partly dressed up! I'm still messing around with the layout of things, but we're getting closer to the big reveal!

I'm thinking it's a whole lot prettier now, but let's take a look at the before and after, shall we? 

What do you think of the transformation? I like it so much better.

Ahhhhhh…I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Well, kinda. Our kitchen renovation that I've chronicled here, here, here and here, is done…for now! You may remember that it all started like this:

Ugh. That's a sad picture, people. It's not sad anymore, though, just look at it now in all it's *almost* finished glory!

Seriously, that is one big difference! I am absolutely crazy about our open shelves, new kitchen layout and big opening to the dining room. (Although I REALLY wish I made some sort of effort to clean up our dining room before snapping pics! Bad blogger!) I've been decorating and undecorating the shelves for weeks now, and I'm pretty happy with them, so I figured it was about time I shared. This is how they look right now, but I can absolutely guarantee you that they won't stay this way forever, since I crave change after about 4 days of anything staying the same.

The blue and green add just the right pop to my otherwise serene color scheme. I really do love the contrast of the fancy stencil with the trendy aqua blue accents. So fun! Those two round pie plates were wedding gifts, but they're only hanging out there until I can find a tray or something that I love- the blues just aren't perfectly spot on.

Up close and personal:

You've already seen the printable I made, but the plate right next to it is from the Pottery Barn Outlet. Can't get enough of that thing. That and the bird (from Joann's) are the only new things I bought for the shelves. Everything else was gathered from around the house- you got to work with what you have sometimes, right? Ok, I lied. I forgot that I bought this blue vase at a flea market this weekend for $4, and the mugs came from Ikea.

I have been scouring the stores to find dish towels that I liked and that matched the kitchen, and couldn't find anything that wasn't chevron (no offense to all you chevron-lovers out there, but I'm just not on that bandwagon!), but I found this one at Kmart! Yes, I was shocked too.: ) Cute, cute, cute!

I'm showing you this picture of all our mail for two reasons: 1) I just got this mail sorter from Kmart and it's a lifesaver. Really. All that stuff used to just lay on my counter making my already frazzled brain even more frazzled (if that's possible), and 2) See that uncovered outlet? I didn't even realize it didn't have a cover on it until I looked at this picture. It's so ridiculous what you get used to living with, and then start to ignore. *Fingers crossed that that baby EVER gets a cover.*

Here's a view of the other side of the kitchen:

We finally cut and hung two more open shelves to house our microwave. I gotta tell you, I so enjoy the extra space on the counters now that thing is off of it. So roomy! And if you're wondering about that crack in the counter, it's there because we moved a cabinet and it's counter from it's original spot on the other side of the fridge. It'll stay like that until we upgrade our countertops, and then it'll be seamless. Technically, I could hide the seam using a painting method a friend told me about, but, honestly, there are so many other things I'd rather be doing with my time.; )

I'm thrilled that, after 8 years of marriage, I can finally easily access my china. What a nice surprise to see that it actually works really well with my damask stencil and the colors in the kitchen. Woohoo for happy accidents!

Oh yes! I almost forgot that we installed this new light fixture above the window, and it's stinkin' awesome. Forget about all the additional light it gives off, it's adorable!

***Update: Several people have asked where I got this light. It's Allen + Roth from Lowes.

And finally, a view from the hall. I'm contemplating adding simple, wooden blinds to the window because it seems a bit bare. Anyone have thoughts about that? Should I or shouldn't I?

So now I've promised my husband that I'll tackle only really easy projects that don't involve him for a while.: ) I think this room has come a long way, and it just feels so much more like me. After a few annoying touchups on paint, fixing some broken tile and installing one more light switch, this pretty baby will be complete. Phew! Next week I'll show you what I finally decided about the curtain situation on the other side of the room.

Next on my agenda? A dining room redesign! I can't wait to show you what I have up my sleeve.

So, what's your favorite part about my new kitchen? Color scheme, open shelving, white cabinets, something else entirely?

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