kitchen eating area light fixture & lamps plus giveaway

We’re paying a little visit back to the kitchen again in this post!  We are still working on little finishing touches and I am sure we always will be.  I don’t ever call a room done, but done for now.  There should always be some wiggle room for more change.  Today, I am sharing about the new light in the kitchen eating area.   As a full disclosure, this light fixture was a part of a partnership with Lamps Plus.  I’ve worked with them before on lights for the exterior of the house as well as for the hallway, and they had a great fixture for the kitchen eating area.  There are giveaway details at the bottom of the post, so don’t miss that!

Initially, I wasn’t planning on putting a new light over the eating area.  We opted for recessed lights to give an all-over wash.  I left open the option that we might add lights over the island and/or eating area down the road if we felt like we needed it, but it was one of the decisions I didn’t feel like I needed to make during the initial renovation.

But, when the electricians were working on the wiring and installation, they informed me that the box in the wall needed to stay accessible.  It was a meeting point for several other fixtures and outlets, so it would either need a fixture or a removable cover.  We started with the removable cover while I thought about it.  I have digitally removed it from most of the photos I’ve shared of this space, but you can see it in the photo below just to the right of the pine hutch.

Since my option was a plastic cover or a light fixture, I decided a light fixture was a better option.  It would define the eating area a bit more, add some task lighting, and would provide an opportunity to inject some pattern, color, and softness.  It is for that reason that I envisioned a drum shade.  I wanted to add some of my own fabric to it to bring those elements into this corner that is mostly neutral.

I selected the Possini Euro Pendant Light with a White Shade.  The light has a warm gold chandelier, which I liked.  It wasn’t just a bare bulb under a drum shade.  My dad came over one afternoon to help me with installing it.  The wire was long enough to swag over to the electrical box, but the chain wasn’t quite long enough.  We added some extra chain from my “chandelier parts box” to make it reach.  Since we had mismatched chains, I also made a chain slipcover for it out of antique linen.

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know my dad is the champion of projects that involve tinkering.  He’s great at doorknobs, light fixtures, faucets, and fixing things that are wiggly, stuck, loose, etc.  So, he fiddled and tinkered while mom and I worked on other things.

Here is how the light fixture looked with the chain cover and the white drum shade.  I knew I wanted to make a slipcover for the shade, but I wanted to live with it like this for a while.

Finally, when we had the sewing machines out for other sewing projects, I took a morning and made a slipcover out of some vintage checked fabric.  I didn’t make a tutorial because I was sort of figuring out as I went, but I essentially hemmed the fabric along the top and bottom and made a box pleat that would fit the perimeter of the shade.  I honestly wasn’t sure if it would even work and, when I first fitted it on and stepped back, I was completely unsure of it.

But, I have learned that I need to live with changes for a while.  I really loved the color, pattern, and softness it added to this little corner and it definitely looked European.  It reminded me of the vintage fabric shades I’d see hanging over tables in Germany as a kid.  In fact, I had a couple of them in miniature in my dollhouse!  So, there was something about this that felt homey and familiar.  When my mom came over and noticed it, the first thing she said was that it looked very European.

So, I lived with it for a few days and, the more I lived with it, the more I liked it.  I feel like it will be a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it with my online audience, but that’s okay.  For me, I think it’s unique and fun.  It’s sort of like a cute little checkered skirt for the light fixture.  And, the nice part is that it’s removable.  I can always make different slipcovers or just go with the plain white shade.  I had just enough of the vintage checked fabric left to make a tablecloth for the small antique pine table.  I haven’t hemmed it yet, but it will be perfect for when I want to dress up the table.

(As a note, this area is so hard to photograph!  The light bounces off the range and the floor and creates cray shadows!)

Here is a peek at how it looks underneath…

And here is the eating area looking from the living room…

I have this same fabric on a chair just outside of the doorway and I think the pleated shade makes even more sense when seen with that and the cuckoo clock.

Lamps Plus offers an extensive collection of light fixtures, shades, and other products for the home and they are the first site I visit when I’m looking for anything lighting-related.  They are also having one of their biggest sales of the year now through September 25, 2023.  And, as a little something special for my readers, Lamps Plus is offering a $250 Lamps Plus Shopping Spree to one winner.

The giveaway is open to residents of the lower 48 US states and those aged 18 or over.  Just take a look at Lamps Plus and leave a comment here on this blog post letting me know what you would be interested in ordering if you won.  (You can obviously change your mind!)  Comments are eligible to win through Friday, September 15, 2023, at midnight PST.  A winner will be randomly selected and contacted on Monday, September 18.