It is a surreal feeling walking into YOUR house for the first time.
Sadly my first thought when I looked up as Cody was unlocking the door was “Holy shneikies. This is all mine. To clean.”
But the carpets containing years of someone else’s toenails and spilled ketchup are gone. GONE.
And you know the other crazy thing? I’ve never really “hired” anyone to do anything for me before (besides follicular maintenence.) Those guys tearing out all the nasty linoleum and fixing plumbing and laying tile and delicious bamboo flooring? They’re doing it because I asked them to (and signed a contract to give them money when they are done.)
Every surface our feet will touch will be new. Every surface will have a fresh coat of paint in colors that I picked out.
Yankee candle will have nothing on my new house smell.
Part of what makes living in a hotel so bearable is that when it’s all said and done?
I get to go home.
For the first time ever.
Now tell me what to do with those silly bubbly lights in the kitchen. So strange. In so many ways.
making unbreakable - formerly moosh in indy. 
Very exciting!!!
I’m no interior designer, so the only thing I can suggest for the lighting is maybe recessed? It’s either that or something like this…
http://tinyurl.com/yaub6xq
Riiiiiight…
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@Nanette, I literally just wept a little inside at the sight of that lamp.
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Those.are.awful! Go look for a flush mount light fixture that is not brass. You will be glad.
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@Indytina, It can’t really be *that* easy can it?
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Your house looks fabulous!!! You must be so rapt =)
Have you thought of downlights in your kitchen? You can actually get some really sexy compact fluoro downlights now that provide HEAPS of light at very low cost – perfect for work surfaces if you add one above the counter where you would be most likely doing food prep. The clean lines of removing the bubbly light fittings would go so sweet with your beautiful bamboo flooring (I LOVE bamboo flooring!!)
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@kelly, Rapt. Heaps. Clean lines.
I’m so in love with you right now.
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I feel the same about the bathroom carpets. EEWWW! My in laws have it in their family’s vacation home and everytime I go there I want to rip them out!
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@bea, Not only did I grow up with bathroom carpet, I grew up with white carpet IN THE KITCHEN.
Clearly this explains many of my home renovation issues.
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I believe that these are Australian, but you guys should have HEAPS more range… This would throw off a lot of light, but all you see protruding into your room is a thin plate of frosted glass. Don’t think it even has the potential to ever get gawdy (those bubble lights were probably the latest trend when they were fitted!!)
http://www.cromptonlighting.com/cat07/show_fitting_product.php?id=93&subcat=1
Good luck in your search =)
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@kelly, You again? Still love you. Just as much, if not more than two comments ago.
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@Casey,
LOL!! I aim to please 😉
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I am SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!! Can’t wait to see it all, settled in and Mooshed up!!!!
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@Meg, Thankfully I have designer friends help because mooshed up? Is not necessarily a good thing.
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email me fluttercrafts at gmail dot com. I can totally help with the ugly lights
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@flutter, Comments like this will end up with me sending you naked pictures of myself as well. Just warning you.
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LOVE your new house! it’s beautiful! can’t wait to see the finished product. not sure what your preferences are, or what kind of style you’re going with in your kitchen, but here are LOTS of suggestions http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Close-To-Ceiling-Lights/
we’re getting ready to remodle our OLD house, and i love looking at this kind of stuff! good luck!
~long time lurker 🙂
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If you can swing it, recessed lighting would be your best bet for the kitchen. And if you have some sort of plan of the kitchen, I can help you with the layout. 5 yrs of architecture school (accredited #3 arch school in the country, TYVM) + 4.5 yrs in the real world at a residential firm means I am fully qualified to help you out if you need anything 🙂
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@Maggie, Did you die a little at the layout? The kitchen is staying as is for now until the big lawyer bucks roll in but you’re staying on my blog speed dial.
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I see your PAINT samples…and they look like…
DULUX Buff-It which is the best!!!!!
well cos i got it for my house.
yay for u!
i love your house already!
xoxxxx
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@Durga, Heh. It’s actually Sherman Williams KILL EM’ BEIGE.
(Okay so it’s Kilim Beige. but KILL ‘EM is more fun to say.)
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CARPET IN THE BATHROOM?! Did you vomit when you saw it? Sick!
You better make sure Cody carries you over the threshold when you move in. So fun.
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@Joe @ IrrationalDad, I have pictures. OH MY LANDS I HAVE PICTURES.
Worth of a horror movie is carpet by a toilet.
Threshold, check.
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@Casey,
I just have to add…want to make it worse? How about PINK carpet in the bathroom? PINK I tell you..our last house it was… And yes, it came out before we moved in. Pink carpet in the master bathroom. It matched the pink floral vinyl in the kitchen. Ewwww. All of which came out before I set foot in the house. Carpet does NOT belong in a bathroom, nope, nope, nope. Your house is going to be beautiful now that all that stuff is torn out it’s already looking lovely. And I want to learn about bamboo flooring!
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@Chris, I also grew up with green stuff in the bathroom. sink, toilet, tub. But honestly? They were really awesome.
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New house!
Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay!
It all looks very pretty!
And also, the house I’m living in had carpet in the bathroom too. What the heck is up with that nastiness?
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@ClassyFabSarah, People are cheap.
And very disgusting.
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I’m so excited for you! And I say go with pendant lights.
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@Avitable, Until someone tall comes over and owes me money for breaking my pretty lights with their giant head.
Wait, maybe I’m not sure what a pendant light is…
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@Casey, that’s a good point, especially if you were married to someone tall with a giant head.
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@Avitable, I was more referring to my tall friends with giant heads.
(Good thing you have a pinhead huh?)
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Yay new house! Woot!
As for the lights, um yes, those are weird. I’d say replace them with something close to the ceiling that won’t involve too much rewiring (because really, you have enough on your plate without having to call in electricians). Maybe something like this?
Good luck! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
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@cindy w, Oh honey. We’re paying electricians.
My baby’s a lawyer. Not an electrician.
We both know and accept that.
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@cindy w, OOH AND I LOVE THAT LIGHT!
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@Casey, glad you like it. And we’d have to call electricians too. I just tend to assume other people are more handy than we are.
Honestly, we moved into this house in September and lived without light fixtures in the bedrooms for 2 months until my father-in-law came to visit last week & installed them all for us.
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OK, now that I’ve stopped dry-heaving over the bathroom carpet…SQUEEEEEEEEE! Yeah, the bubble lights are freaky. Congrats! I know you can’t wait to get in there.
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@Jen L., So you don’t want to see the picture? Of the bathroom carpet around the toilet? No? Really?
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Ohmyland those lights are spectacularly horrifying.
Ideal, but involves an electritian and wiring: recessed pot lights. (You’ll need more than two – like 6-8) Make sure you add task lighting though!
http://bit.ly/47AsqV
Also good and less work: track lighting. It works for both ambient and task lighting. Plus, it’s gotten sexier over the years:
http://bit.ly/4eD1R7 http://bit.ly/48kbfu
http://bit.ly/tx134
http://bit.ly/BCfAc
Ideally, a combination of recessed lights and pendant or track lights with added lighting under your upper cabinets will add lots of light and yumminess!
http://bit.ly/1w2Ch2
Good luck!!!! And congratulations again 🙂 Your house looks great!
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@Karen, Thanks! And thanks for all the photos! THOSE are what I need. I’m not a visual person at all.
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I totally suck at designing and such, but HGTV has great ideas. HGTV.com is great too for home improvement ideas and on a budget too!
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@Jenny, HGTV is my new porn. (Food Network was my old porn. Before that? There was no porn.)
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@Casey, I still watch food network. My dream is to work for Duff! I love Ace of Cakes!
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SO. EXCITING. I would say just get a flush-mount light fixture in non-brass so you can get rid of the hideousness that is currently there. Something like this is simple and goes with a lot:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=106010-337-7508LP&lpage=none
But not this because it looks like a giant boob on the ceiling:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=36463-1390-G4319-ABZ-I&lpage=none
And if you end up wanting to change the fixtures once you’ve been there a while, it wasn’t a huge investment initially. Have fun!
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@Jessica @ A Bushel and a Peck, HA! We just bought 4 nipple lights last night for closets. (Boobs on clearance!)
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First of all: SQUEEE! I love home renovations. We did so much at our old house (both on our own and with people we hired for a heavy stuff) and it was- mostly- a lot of fun. (Although I have to say, I’m very happy not to have to do too much at our new place, other than some painting and things)
As for those lights… um wow. Weird. How about just replacing them with some recessed lights? Or if you want/need more light than that, just some smaller, non-tri-testicle-like lights? heh
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@Jen, Tresticles.
This is what I will be calling them.
Thank you ever so much.
Seriously.
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@Casey, happy to be of service, ma’am 😉
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Bamboo! Your tile sample! :drool…:
I have a thing with pot racks, and I know how you love to cook, so have you thought about a pot rack with built-in lighting? I’m not sure how well it would work with your layout, but it’s a thought.
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@Lisa in TX, If I had pretty pots? Yes. But I don’t.
AND ZOMG WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE BAMBOO.
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CONGRATS…it’s all sooo exciting, I’m happy for you guys!
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@staciesmadness, Thank you! It really is kind of fun. I think since the whole process of getting the house stunk so bad this part is actually kind of enjoyable.
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I didn’t read through all other comments, so this may already have been suggested, but a friend of mine did track lighting in her kitchen…which might seem strange, but actually is great! It provides lots of light and can be adjusted to light areas that you want. I don’t think it’s terribly expensive either.
Love the house! Good luck with the renovations…can’t wait to see the afters!
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@Maura, I really like what’s been done with track lighting. It’s come a long way.
And whoo honey, I can’t wait for the afters either.
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i’d remove them, burn them, & then have your guys install a few recessed canisters in there.
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@mommymae, I was thinking of making a testicle like craftastrophe.
But that’s just me.
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I somehow missed up to now that your house HAD bathroom carpet in its first incarnation.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
That is Teh Yuck.
ALSO YAYAYAYAYAY for your house pretty lady!
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@Miss Grace, Never posted pictures. Because EW.
It’s like trying to forget the awkward years of elementary school, if there’s no pictures, they never happened.
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Congrats on your new home!!!
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@Nicole, Thank you muchly!
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My two cents on the light: We have something like this in our kitchen, and I LOVE it: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=164697-24969-800RAL5WHN&lpage=none
It’s a track that’s made of two brushed-nickel tubes that are a series of curved pieces that you can attach any way you like, to make an S bend or some other organic kind of shape. Five small lights attach to the track, so that you can point each one in different directions, shedding light nicely on stove top, counters, into pantry, etc. It looks sleek without looking too MODERNE for our traditional style house. It attaches to a regular ceiling light box, and you can get multiple kits and attach them to each other, to make a long and sinuous set of lights across the ceiling. We replaced a GIANT flourescent light rectangle with ours and suddenly our kitchen looked all 21st century instead of super 1978.
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@MommyTime, My mom did the same thing and it made a HUGE difference.
Thanks for the suggestion and the vote of confidence in your choice.
I NEED MY HAND HELD.
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PS The picture on that link is HORRIBLE and will not make you want the light. Trust me when I say it’s worth going to the store to look at lights like this. They are much nicer in person.
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Hi Casey,
We had some seriously ugly lights in our kitchen too! We replaced them with Hamilton Bay Flex track from Home Depot. It looks awesome. You can position the track in curves or straight runs and add pendants or spotlights. It works great! In our kitchen we used a combo of spots and pendants to give me good work lighting and it looks great too! I can send you a picture if you want an idea.
Catherine
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@Catherine, I think your comment just sealed the deal on this flexible track lighting. Thank you!
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Recessed lighting…Truly the best thing we ever did!
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@(Another) Nanette, What’s so funny is I forgot that you can even DO recessed lighting. *house virgin* hee!
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I’m learning so much about lighting fixtures from these comments! I like this one that someone posted. Purty.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=106010-337-7508LP&lpage=none
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@Barb @ getupandplay, I pretty much have the best readers with the best taste ever.
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Wait, there was carpet in the bathroom? That is so wrong.
When I see big open spaces like that, I have the urge to do back handsprings like I stopped being able to do at 11.
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Oh, do I ever feel your pain… I’ve been out of our house for FOURTEEN MONTHS and have no idea when we’ll get to go back home. It’s killing me.
Also, lighting vexes me. If you find someone with the gift please share!
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DUDE!
So cool.
My 1100 sq feet and 1 bathroom are envying all that delicious space.
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If you are paying electricians I would so remove the 2 lights and put in one. Depeding on how high the ceilings are you could probably do something that hangs a bit. Easier to replace the bulbs instead of recessed.
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Is it me or do those kitchen light fixtures somehow resemble a deformed set of testicles? I’m not sayin’. But I’m just sayin’.
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You go to Lowe’s (or Menard’s because Peter says they’re better). You buy light fixtures that you like. You invite us over for something delicious. Peter then installs new light fixtures very quickly ’cause he’s handy like that. We then have a lovely dessert you made for us. Then End.
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We may possibly listen to Abba while Peter is installing the afforementioned lights. I do have their greatest hits because I’m classy like that.
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It’s going to be gorgeous!!!!
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I am so jealous. I am almost envious of you living in a hotel and getting to go home when everything’s complete.
I said ALMOST.
😉
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Your house looks fabulous, especially with the bathroom carpet gone. That’s just so wrong.
Even though we live in a house now, it was my husband’s before we were married, so I have yet to experience the thrill of moving in somewhere that I’ve partially chosen. I can’t wait!
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Yay! Congratulations again on the new house, it looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the inside finished and with all your personal touches!
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Don’t skimp on your new faucets! Stick with the better brands and make sure that when the plumbers install them they use quarter turn shut-off valves and threaded connections. The last thing you want is to have to do is mess with sweated fittings when you want to change a faucet out.
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I love my bamboo flooring. Love it. Very good choice. 5 years and it’s still fabulous.
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