A while back we bought this light for $29 at the Pottery Barn outlet. We originally planned to hang it over our sink “someday when we redid the kitchen” but then we got our oil-rubbed bronze pendant lights for over the peninsula, and although we love mixed metals, we just thought this silver + mercury glass light didn’t jive with them. So we started thinking about hanging it in a bathroom or something.
Then I asked tall John to hold it up as if it was hanging over the sink and surprisingly the shape was perfect. But the silver neck, black string, and silver ceiling cap were all wrong. But the glittering mercury glass shade was perfect (it tied into the chrome faucet and the stainless appliances and hardware). It was like a roller coaster. Perfect, all wrong, perfect. So I decided to call on my good friend ORB (oil-rubbed bronze spray paint with built-in primer) to take care of the all wrong department…
I figured giving it the same finish to help tie it into the other lighting over the peninsula was worth a shot.
A few thin and even coats later, I was left with a glossy oil-rubbed bronze fixture…
… that I couldn’t wait to hang above the sink and rinse dishes under.
I gave him a full day of drying time, just to be sure everything cured up and then up he went. It’s pretty cool how the dark finish helps balance the room and ties the pendants together, even though their shades are really different.
The new guy over the sink is sort of the “bridge” between the ORB pendants and the stainless/chrome/silver items touches in the room thanks to the gleaming mercury glass.
With our new stainless steel dishwasher installed (we actually did that this weekend by sliding a few pieces of cork under it without having to do the rest of the flooring quite yet – just have to take pics and write that post!) the room has even more balance now, since we have a silver thing on each side of the room. We didn’t plan that when we redid the layout, but it’s nice that it ended up that way (the dishwasher and fridge used to be sort of next to each other before we moved the fridge across the room).
Oh and we get requests to take photos of light installation but it’s rough to do since one of us holds the light while the other one wires it up (aka: no extra hands for photo or video taking) but if you search light installation videos I think they have a few good ones on youtube.
The little hexegons on the mercury glass shade make me really happy. I honestly think this fixture looks so much better with dark hardware to complement the cool silver shade. It’s so pretty and sparkly yet the dark tone sort of grounds it and makes it feel substantial and luxe.
We totally could have gone with another $60 outlet pendant over the sink like the ones over the peninsula, but there’s something really fun about having a light that goes, but doesn’t match exactly. And it’s a bit smaller in scale, which is kind of nice since the sink is a little less open and giant than the big ol’ peninsula.
Here are some “it’s on” shots for ya:
Now onto the “heading out” portion of this post’s title. As many of you know, we’re psyched and honored to be speaking at the Home & Garden show in Portland, Oregon this Wednesday. Which means we’ll be traveling for a lot of this week (hence us doing lots of projects this weekend, like the already-installed dishwasher, so we have lots to share with you throughout the week as we travel, speak, and travel again). We’re flying all day on Tuesday and are booked to be there pretty much all day on Wednesday the 22nd (from 5:30am to 8pm with just a few breaks for blogging and eating) and we’ll be giving an invite-only blogging seminar in the afternoon (they’re in charge of who gets invites, so maybe check their site/Facebook page for those details). But at 5:30pm there’s a Meet & Greet in the Smart House Remodel in Hall D. Anyone can show up for that, but they suggest your register. We’d love to meet you guys there!
Burger is actually staying back (with a house-sitter of course) since we thought it might be too stressful for him to travel there and back without much down time – but Clara is coming since we’ll actually have John’s mom and dad with us (they have family out in Portland so they decided to join us, which is a fun and very helpful plan).
So please forgive us if this week of posting is erratic and wonky! We’re going to do our best to get posts up at the regularly scheduled times, but there will definitely be moments when we’re in the air or at the show when we just can’t hop on and answer comment questions or get the next post up – so it might get a little funky. We tend to approve comments as we answer questions, so if you submit something and don’t see it pop up, we’re likely just waiting to get a moment to answer it or haven’t seen it yet!
But we can’t even tell you how excited we are to check out Portland (neither of us have ever been, but we have a list a mile long of things to check out, and of course we’ll blog about our home-related adventures during our fleeting two-day trip). Oh and to ensure that we’ll fit right in, we’ve been watching clips from Portlandia. Sounds like a solid act-like-a-local plan, right?
In all seriousness, I’m not the best with public speaking, so feel free to cross fingers/eyes/toes for me. I’m skeeered. But I’m sure I’ll survive and have at least ten highly embarrassing stories to tell you guys when it’s all said and done. We’ve even been prepping Clara for the flight. More on that here. What did you guys do this weekend? Any ORBing or lighting bid-ness in the hiz-ouse?
Sara says
LOVE the ORB!!! I found this on Houzz and thought of you instantly!! Just had to share. Your barstools (ORB’ed??!!) are much more fantastical though! http://www.houzz.com/photos/442907/The-Hawthorne—Kitchen-traditional-kitchen-calgary
YoungHouseLove says
Fun!
xo,
s
Amy says
So excited to see you here in Portland. Mother’s Bistro is great for breakfast or dinner. Screen door is also fantastic. My family and I are moving to Richmond next month. Very excited to see your part of the country.
Jill says
Hope you guys have a great trip!! Would love to hear all about Portland – I’m going there for work in August and am sooo excited (never been before) :)
Lindsay says
Have a safe trip! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures & awkwardness :)
Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says
Good luck and have fun in Portland! This weekend I FINALLY found a chair for a desk I have. I snagged a brand new dark colored bamboo chair for $26!!! I was so excited.
Also, am I the only one who goes into a crying fit leaving her dog? Do you guys do that when you leave Burger?
YoungHouseLove says
Totally cried. John even got sniffly.
xo,
s
Emma says
Is there a reason why you guys put 4 brackets under each self on the left?
I love the whole kitchen except for the brackets….I have gone as far as photoshop them out…and I liked it much better. It just looks so chunky on that side. No balance at all!
Is there a reason why?
YoungHouseLove says
Just one of those personal preference things! We tried it a bunch of ways (with tape on the wall and in photoshop) and just preferred the brackets all spaced the same distance apart (that is consistent on the right and the left and worked with our studs) so it has great balance in person for us.
xo,
s
harmony says
I’m in love with mercury glass lights! I think it looks great over the sink :-)
Lili says
I loved this post because it ended up with a funny clip from Portlandia– definitely one of my favorite shows to put you in a good mood! The mercury glass pendant is amahhzzzing and for $29!! I actually went to Portland last summer when I was driving up to Mt. Rainier National Park for a hike. We only got to spend some time driving over the bridges and going to RMI and Whole Foods in the Pearl District, but I fell in love with the city. The people are so nice. One place to check out– Voodoo Donuts. It’s pretty much a staple of a trip to Portland. The line can be a little insane sometimes though. Enjoy!!
Danielle says
Love the new light. I have an affinity for all things mercury glass.
This weekend I started silver-leafing an awesome round mirror that I picked up at HomeGoods for $29 (marked down from 89.99!) The frame was a heinous ugly wood brown color, so I hopped on Amazon and ordered what I’d need to try my hand at silver leafing. I used the genuine silver leaves, which are smaller than the composite, but didn’t order enough to cover every nook and cranny. Since the leaves are whisper thin, they float and crinkle onto themselves, limiting the coverage area (it’s nothing you can do outside!) New leaves should come today, but the mirror will have to wait for spring break because I’m working on school projects and house-hunting this weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh have fun and send pics!
xo,
s
Samantha says
As a native Oregonian who now lives in Orlando, Florida here is a list must-do for the Portland area
1. get lost in Powell’s
2. Eat a voodoo doughnut (I know they’re not Clara’s thing but they are pretty fantastic)
3. go see a IMAX at OMSI (look it up)
4. go to the Japanese gardens
5. Become a hipster tree-hugger (yes I say that with pride)
Drink Oregon Pinot Noir
6. become way too educated on all things recylcing
7. Never want to leave
So there you go, helpful tips from the Native Herself! Tell my family I miss them (they’ll be seeing you guys at the convention)
Samantha says
oh and go dancing in the rain… that is a must!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha.
xo,
s
Giselle says
Just got to say…. Im obsessed with u guys, i´ve been hooked on YHL for over a year now, as i read it every single day, every day amazed of how you two show us how to make our home a little piece of heaven…. Im getting married in april and i have so many ideas and cute stuff i want to do in my very own little space and all thanks to you!!!! i truly wish i can count on YHL for many years to come!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Giselle. You’re sweet. Happy wedding!
xo,
s
Georgia says
Love the light, love your spray paint prowess, and absolutely love the Portlandia clip. I watched it twice, laughed so hard and then had to share it. I hope you fit in all those things on your list while you are out west!
Quan Banks says
Hello I must say tht I loved your backyard wedding. Im getting married soon & plan to have a backyard wedding as well. But have no clue on where to start. Can please give me some insight or a few pointers. Thank you
YoungHouseLove says
I would just recommend not getting too nervous or hyper about things! Do your best to remember it’s your day and it should be fun! It’s just a big party with friends and family members, so sometimes calling it a big party in our heads made it less high-pressure than using the w-word (wedding!). Haha.
xo,
s
Jolene says
Love the kitchen pendant light. Any idea where I could get a look alike today?
Thanks!
Jolene
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe Pottery Barn? Lampsplus? Shades of light? Ebay? Good luck!
xo
s