New Kitchen Light

So I was a busy girl on Sunday. I painted the kitchen ceiling (3 coats of paint) and installed a new light fixture. It is so much brighter with the white ceiling! I love it.

The brown ceiling was hard to cover. I hope the wall paint covers better. I might prime the walls first then paint with a hope to get it done in 2 coats. I had planned to remove the ceiling medallion that was installed with the old light fixture, but found that there was an big indentation in the cement ceiling that needed to be covered. I didn't want to reuse the old 12" medallion because it had a wood grain texture I didn't like. I went to two home improvement stores trying to find a 12" plain medallion. I ended up with a 16" really simple one. It looks OK but is bigger than what I wanted. I didn't want to be without a light so I went with it (the old light was already down).

I had a little help with the new light fixture. I just couldn't get all the wires twisted together, hold up the fixture and screw it all together. I tried and tried. I got frustrated and called in the reinforcements. My brother came over for 15 minutes and got it done. (He's usually super busy but only lives a mile away so it was nice he was able to come help). A tip he told me was to attach the ground wire first and use it to hang the fixture (as long as it isn't too heavy) as you make the other connections. Then tuck everything up into the ceiling and finish the installation.

I like the new fixture. It's nice and bright. The old halogen light had adjustable heads so I was able to focus light under the cabinets. Now the upper cabinets create shadows on the countertop. I'm going to have to get some under cabinet lighting, I think. It's pretty dark on the counters. And to install the under cabinet lights I will need to switch out the current toggle switch for the exhaust fan to a switch and outlet combo. Hopefully that is something either I can do or my brother. I didn't budget for any electrical work. My pantry area is so much brighter with the new light. And the fluorescent bulbs will not heat up the kitchen like the halogen ones did.

Yea progress! I've got volunteer work and other obligations next weekend so I don't think I'll be able to paint the walls until the following weekend. I hope I have time to work on a couple smaller projects though.