Changing the lighting in your kitchen can completely change the vibe of your space. Watch my video to see how I take down my old light fixtures and install my new black and gold kitchen pendant lights!
Shop Kitchen Affiliate Links: Black Pendant Lights | Stools | Kitchen Accessories | Sconce Lights
Installing New Light Fixtures
Press play and watch the video to see how I install my new kitchen pendant lights!
Choosing New Pendant Lights: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Decorating
A few years ago I changed out our black kitchen stools in favor of the backless upholstered stools pictured below. I loved the change; however, the backless stools are not nearly as comfortable to sit on as my black velvet stools. I spend a lot of time paying bills, looking up recipes, snacking on food, and chatting on the phone while sitting at the kitchen island. I found myself missing my comfy velvet stools to curl up on. When I switched the stools back to the original black velvet ones, it triggered what I like to call, give a mouse a cookie decorating phenomena.
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If you’re unfamiliar with the children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, I highly recommend it! It’s a cute series of picture books about the neverending and tiring dilemma of a human trying to please their difficult-to-please mouse. Every time the mouse gets something it asks for, it triggers a new desire and new need for something else the mouse now feels he needs—and so ensues a seemingly endless array of demands and requests. Sometimes in decorating, when you change one thing it can trigger the desire to change a seemingly endless array of furniture and home decor items!
In true give-a-mouse-a-cookie fashion, once I changed my stools back to black I felt like the lighting also needed to change! I used the apps Retouch and Canva to quickly “try on” some new lighting options in my kitchen and loved the transitional modern look of the black and gold light fixtures.
Pendant Lighting Options
If you’re in the market for new kitchen pendant lights, click the photo below to shop some of my favorites in my Shop on Amazon. The boho coastal lights are very affordable and remind me of some found on Serena & Lily!
DIY Tools to Help with Light Fixture Installation
Installing your own light fixture is easier than you may think. I won’t go into a full tutorial in this post on how exactly it’s done, but it really is as easy as installing a crossbar or universal plate, twisting together the correct wires, and then securing the canopy. There are, however, some tools I recommend having on hand that will make the job much easier!
- Cordless Drill – Having a drill on hand will make disassembling your previous light fixture and installing your new one much easier! You should also have a multi-bit screwdriver available for when a lighter touch is needed.
- Irwin Vise-grip Wire Stripping Tool – I love this tool! In my opinion, one of the most difficult aspects of installing a light fixture is It makes cutting the cord and stripping the wires a cinch. There are several short YouTube videos on how to appropriately use the tool. I’ve had mine for years and it
- Orange Twist-on Wire Connectors – A former neighbor of mine who worked as a master electrician put me on to this tip! The wire connectors that typically come with your new light fixture tend to be rather small. Sizing up your wire connectors just a tad makes the job easier!
Showing Off the New Lights
As a natural light photographer, I don’t typically shoot my interiors with the lights on. I prefer the look of natural light photography, but it seemed silly to talk about light fixtures without showing off the lights! Often when choosing light fixtures, I don’t place enough emphasis on how the fixture disperses light. My new black and gold light fixtures are perfect for task lighting and direct a soft glow onto the bar.
Shop Kitchen Affiliate Links: Black Pendant Lights | Stools | Kitchen Accessories | Sconce Lights
Shop Kitchen Affiliate Links: Black Pendant Lights | Stools | Kitchen Accessories | Sconce Lights
And because I can’t resist, here are a few more shots of the kitchen from different angles!
Shop Kitchen Affiliate Links: Black Pendant Lights | Stools | Kitchen Accessories | Sconce Lights