The Heart of the Home - Part 1

They say the heart of the home is the kitchen and maybe one day that will be true for us once we renovate it and open it up a bit more but our dining room is more the heart of the home because it is literally in the center of our house. You see it from pretty much anywhere you stand. It's a big open space, big enough for a down-the-road purchase of a much larger table that can comfortably seat 8+. We had a nice canvas to work with when we moved in. There is a long wall from the foyer that runs the length of the dining room that was covered in very old yellowed peeling grasscloth wallpaper, built in china cabinet that needed some love, french doors that lead you to the family room addition and the potential for an awesome chandelier.

Let There Be Light

We removed the wallpaper a couple years ago when we added in our staircase and hardwood floors but we left that a primed wall up until this point not sure exactly what we'd do there. We have that figured out now but that will be for another blog post. We decided to tackle the lighting and the china cabinet first. The pervious owner had a basic apartment-grade flush mount glass and brass fixture that wasn't cutting it. We weren't sure why this was what they picked for a dining room light at the time but after doing some measuring of the room, it all became clear. The room is a weird space. I mean its a big rectangle but the space isn't centered to anything. The french doors don't line up to the wall parallel to it from across the room. The hallway opening doesn't line up to the start of the kitchen... so basically there was no where to center a fixture above a table. This created a couple challenges for me. I had to find a fixture that fit the feel of our house, looked good from all rooms but also didn't hang too low that it would obstruct the view from a room or at the table itself, and a light that looked somewhat centered in the space even when it wouldn't be.

I wanted something unique and not the typical go-to fixtures everyone seems to get... sputnik, the saucer... Nothing wrong with that just it's expected. I spent years looking and changing my mind constantly, I'd mock up a fixture and realize it was huge or I'd fall in love with ones that just were too expensive like the Bocci spheres - die!

It wasn't until I was on a forum page for MCM fans that someone posted a picture of their dining room and a fixture her husband made. I had seen some similar on etsy but for whatever reason this one spoke to me. They are custom made brass fixtures and you can pick the rod height, the globes and my hubby really wanted Edison bulbs so that was an option too. Done, ordered. There were some hiccups along the way with scratches on the smoked glass globes we first picked and we ended up reordering with clear glass which now I like better and before we installed it I started to question if I picked the right one since it is such a focal point of the house but I like it a lot.

Mockup fails and successes 

       When I thought we could pull off the Modo Chandelier. Even the smallest one is huge - #fail

Once I decided on the fixture... The trusty painters tape makes another appearance. Had to figure out what rod length to get and the wingspan of the overall light itself.

With special guests, the colorful bendy straws.

We cleared out the room, measured where the new box needed to be placed up in the attic and had our electrician wire it all up. Cats were put in the family room during the chaos and were acting like they were being tortured in a room they spend all their time in anyways just now with the doors closed. Room with huge sunny windows, water bowls and food at your finger, eh, pawtips... you poor things! :)