Now We're Cooking

     This is going to be a post about a light fixture we replaced in the kitchen, but I want to start with a little back story here.  It was the Tuesday after we had moved in (the fourth day we had lived here) and we were getting ready to do a little cooking.  (Our kitchen has three lights, which is nice, but all three are on different switches, which is annoying.)
     Anyhow, we were cooking and Aaron flipped the switch to light the fixture closest to the stove.  All of a sudden there was a giant spark in the cord and a loud snapping noise.  It turns out that when I had raised the old fixture up on its swag (it was hanging down at about a four foot level when we moved in) the ground wire had frayed to the point that it broke in half.  The spark and crackle was the result of the light fixture grounding to itself.  Needless to say, it was time to replace our first fixture.


Here is the old fixture that grounded in the center of our kitchen:

     Aaron and I had already discussed replacing this particular fixture and we had actually chosen the replacement already, we just hadn't anticipated having to make a trip to IKEA to get it in the middle of the week, and during rush hour at that. 
     So I moved on to Plan B; I would find something similar at Home Depot the next day and Aaron could install it that night.  Fast forward through Home Depot, Lowe's and Lamps Plus and a few frustrating hours later I still had not found anything similar to what we had picked out or even something we liked in general. (I guess we're light fixture snobs...)
     The last stop on my list of lighting stores was Lightbulbs Etc. and I was hoping I could find something affordable there.  Almost immediately I found an even better version of what we had originally picked out and it was only $80.  I should have known then that it was too good to be true. 
     I asked a salesperson how I could buy the fixture and he told me to come sit with him to pick out finishes.  I told him I liked exactly what they had hanging up and I would be happy without customization.  He then informed me that the fixture I had chosen was a custom fixture;  it would be built to my specifications in Chino, CA (about five miles from our house) and ready for delivery in about four weeks.  So close, yet so far away.
    At that point I called Aaron to tell him we wouldn't be going to Yoga that night and would instead be driving to IKEA to buy a light fixture.  He was not very happy, but in the end he bit the bullet and obliged. 

So, one trip to IKEA, $30 and about 30 minutes of installation time later, this is what we ended up with and we couldn't be happier with it:

     We also replaced a can light over the sink with a pendant.  Another project with a couple of setbacks, but nothing major compared to the first fixture issues.  I designed this one for us about a year ago for the rental house and, no kidding, about two weeks or so after we had made it I saw a pendant very similar posted for sale on a website for $80.

Old can light over the sink:

Mason Jar Pendant over the sink: