OUR NEW KITCHEN LIGHTING, CHIPPENDALE BARSTOOLS + VINTAGE STYLE RUG

The day is finally here, my friends! I know I’ve been talking and talking endlessly about all of the updates we’ve been planning and working on over the past several months, and I am beyond thrilled to be sharing the first ‘reveal’ with you today! I know it’s not a complete overhaul, but I can tell you, with just a few simple changes and additions to this space, our traditional, ‘old-world-meets-modern’ kitchen is now at a completely different level of chic. Our new kitchen lighting and barstools, plus a vintage style rug add just the right amount character I’ve been looking for. As you already know, this past summer, we added a new brass faucet and new brass hardware (read more here), which completely changed the look in here! I also shared the previous ‘before and after’ of this space since we built our home nine years ago – you can see it here – there’s no question our kitchen and our home have undergone many ‘revisions’ since we first moved in, but that is part of what I do as a blogger and designer – I am always looking for ways to update and reinvent our home. Everyone’s tastes change, and style evolves constantly, and I am so grateful that I have a platform which allows me to work on our home and share it with all of you! I’ve been looking at changing out our lighting and barstools for quite a long time now. I loved our before, but the after is exactly what I had been envisioning –  I couldn’t be happier! I hope you love these new changes as much as we do, and I would love to hear what you think in the comments below!

Before I begin, I want to extend a huge thank you to both Perigold and Wayfair, for partnering together with me to bring these gorgeous new changes to our space! While I’ve received product in exchange for writing this post, all selections, reviews and opinions are my very own. *Affiliate links are provided throughout, or at the bottom of this post for your shopping convenience – see my full disclosure policy here.

OUR NEW KITCHEN ISLAND PENDANT LIGHTING

I want to start with the lighting over the island since it makes the biggest impact in the room. If you remember my post from last month, I shared the three different lighting styles that we were considering for this space (read it here), and although my photoshop mockups featured our final choice, it certainly didn’t do justice to the real thing! We chose these gorgeous, 4-light cone shade pendants by Hudson Valley Lighting, from Perigold, which are also available in a larger, 8-light size. I’m a big fan of over scale lighting, and almost chose the larger size, but in the end, I was nervous that two of them would be overwhelming, so we went with the smaller version instead. What I love most about these elegant and tailored pendants, is the brass detailing. Brass lighting was a must for me, and these have just the right amount of metal detailing to compliment all of the brass that we have going on in this space.

As many of you know, we’ve been working on some big changes in our home over the last several months – our kitchen being the first reveal, and our living and dining rooms are both about to be revealed in the coming weeks as well, and I am just so excited to share the changes with you! I’ve shared quite a few peeks on Instagram if you follow me over there, so you’ve seen some bits and pieces so far! I’ve partnered with Perigold on those two rooms as well, and I can tell you honestly, they have been absolutely ideal to work with. The selection is endless in any category you’re searching for, they offer a complimentary ‘concierge service’, which truly helped me with my selections, and their free, white-glove delivery service was amazing when they delivered our sofas and dining room table. I couldn’t be happier with the pieces we chose and the service they provided.
Back to our fabulous lights! I love the sophisticated, grown-up feel they bring to our kitchen and the shades provide the prettiest glow when diffusing the light. By the way, I shot this with the lights on for the most part – the lighting was so tricky the day I was shooting and everything just looked better with the lights on, so I went with it :) The lighting casts a beautiful glow on our island and I love to keep my arrangement full of pretties as the focal point here.
You can see a glimpse of the new brass globe light over the sink from here too – that was super tricky to shoot as well, so please forgive my photos, I apologizing in advance! There’s some better detail in those shots a little further down…What I really love about these pendants, is the lightness they bring to the kitchen. I was in love with our previous lighting as well, and they were a gorgeous compliment to the black and brass details we have throughout our home, but these lights bring such a different look and feel to our kitchen, there’s an airy sophistication that I just love. I’m really happy I went this route instead of brass lanterns, they add the right amount of elegance and I think they’re the perfect choice.

OUR BRASS GLOBE PENDANT SINK LIGHTING

Finding a single pendant to compliment the shade pendant lights was not as easy as you would think! I didn’t want to have another shade hanging here, that would have been overkill, but I knew I wanted something brass, and large enough in scale to make a statement. This gorgeous brass globe pendant light by Hinkley Lighting, also from Perigold, is the fourth generation of lighting that hangs over our sink in nine years, and I think I’ve finally found the right fit. One of the details that I really got excited about is the small little pointed tip that sits right above the dome – sorry I don’t know the technical term for it haha. It has a sort of Chinoiserie-esque detailing that reminds me of a Chinese pagoda. Perfect for all of my blue and white pieces that often play a role in our kitchen.
It’s also a gorgeous compliment to our Chinese Chippendale stools, another nod to traditional Eastern design.Like I said before – I apologize for the lack of detail in these shots  – it’s not easy shooting detail right in front of a window!I think you can still get a great idea of the detail and styling of this pendant light. I love it’s modern edge, with a nod to tradition, and all of that glorious brass just makes me happy, especially with our hardware and faucet. I am in love with all of our brass elements in here.

 OUR CHINESE CHIPPENDALE BARSTOOLS

Ok – let’s talk about these fabulous Bayou Breeze  27″ barstools from Wayfair! They are as perfect as it gets in my opinion! You know I’ve had my eye on these particular ones since the summer (read about it here), and I’ve been talking about my love for Chinese Chippendale since I’ve been blogging! My aunt had the most gorgeous Chinese Chippendale kitchen set in her kitchen when I grew up, and I have loved it for many, many years. Because of my Aunt Jo, and that fabulous kitchen set of hers, I developed a love for this style when I was very small! She’s since changed her set, but kept the table for me, to take off her hands one day. Too bad the chairs aren’t around anymore though! They’d be perfect in our dining room with my new pieces that we chose. Which, by the way, we are working tirelessly on, so stay tuned for that reveal coming in the next few weeks!Back to my beautiful stools :) I wasn’t completely sure about going with a cream/ivory finish versus a natural wood and I debated for some time about the look I wanted. In the end, I felt the kitchen needed the wood element to compliment all of the ivory that we have happening in here already. I think it was the right choice, especially with all of our brass details. They’re a natural finish, which I love, with a very faint ‘whitewash’ look. The best part, they can easily be painted if I ever decide to, but I don’t think I’d ever want to. Just remind me that I said that if I ever start talking about it haha. I love the contrast against our black island and walnut stained floors too.

OUR VINTAGE INSPIRED TURKISH RUG

The last piece I layered in this space is this fabulous Turkish style vintage-inspired rug. I had been looking and looking and looking for the right runner to use here, and I knew that I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, simply because I change rugs here quite often. Last week, I shared my dilemma between a runner and this larger, rectangular size option on Instagram, as well as here on the blog (see the two different sizes here), and I can’t get over the amount of feedback I received (mostly on IG) and how popular this rug has become as a seller already! As many of you know, you can purchase products through my links here on the blog as well as my LiketoKnow.it profile (which I link to my IG posts), and I don’t think I’ve ever seen something become such a hot item so fast. I can honestly tell you, the bang for the buck is worth every penny. For a very small amount of money, this beauty is perfect and will go with so many different styles. When I stumbled upon it, I knew I had to try it. I bought it from Wayfair, which is honestly one of my favorite online shopping destinations. I always find what I’m looking for, it’s so easy to navigate the site, and the customer service is excellent. My rug came the next day, which is amazing to me – I’ll take free and fast shipping over $49 US (or $75 CAD) anytime!
We have a very wide space between the sink and island, over four feet, so the runner was just getting lost here. I wanted the pattern of the rug to make a bold statement so I ended up ordering the larger one and keeping it here in the end. It naturally fits better and it really helps to tie all of our new elements together so beautifully. I love it so much, I ended up using the runner in our laundry room! Which by the way was a little too short, so I exchanged it for a longer one, completely hassle free.I’m seriously loving our new kitchen lighting and barstools in this space, and accented with our new rug, with my blue and white ginger jars, I am head over heels with the changes and how the perfectly feel right at home, as if our space as always been this way. They’re not huge changes, but they certainly make a huge impact in here. Definitely a win!

I’d really love know what you think of all of our updates, tell me your favorite part! I’m not sure I can pick just one to tell you the truth. They feel like the perfect package to me.I can tell you I think I am finally finished with updating this space… at least for now :) I’m still dreaming of a stainless steel and brass combination hood and a marble backsplash. Oh, yes, and possibly flanking the sink with counter-to-ceiling mirrored cabinets one day. I told you, this space is in a constant state of evolution! Until we build our dream home one day that is ;) Don’t take that the wrong way, I love our home and love our kitchen and I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to have a truly beautiful space to call our own. We have worked very hard for many years to make it what it is today, and it will always be a very special place to all of us.