This is where it all started. I found this picture on The Yvestown Blog. The decorating style of this blogger captures me. I love her use of color.
I found this particular picture of her kitchen. I am ALWAYS drawn to hues of blues and grays, but do you know what caught me in this picture of her kitchen?
Those green pendants hanging over her kitchen island.
Somehow I thought they balanced perfectly with the color combination she had going on in there.
Next ensued a diligent online search for mint green ceiling pendants. I found a few mint green ceiling pendants, but I wasn’t really finding anything that was worth purchasing. These pendants are a bit trendy and the mint green color is somewhat whimsical. I didn’t want to be spending a lot of money on something that may not stick around for years.
What do I finally do? I emailed the writer of the Yvestown Blog and asked where she bought her lovely mint green pendants. Well, it turns out this blogger lives in the Netherlands. And, the store where she bought them at (in the Netherlands) no longer carries them. Lovely.
I continued my search online. I looked through a few brick and mortar stores in the area. I found many barn light pendants (I learned that’s kind of the ‘official’ name for these lights), but I didn’t find any in the mint green color.
Then, IN A MOMENT OF CREATIVITY…
I remembered this barn light fixture. It wasn’t the right color, but why can’t we spray paint it? WE CAN SPRAY PAINT IT! I already had a bottle of Krylon’s Honeydew spray paint. This Krylon color is basically a toned down mint green.
We purchased the barn light pendant. Since we already had the spray paint at home (from another unfinished creative moment), this project was turning out to be quite inexpensive.
We have done a little bit of spray painting over the years.ย This is what works successfully for us. Here are a few tips we have learned when spray painting:
1. Constantly keep moving.ย Don’t ever stop and hold the can in one spot while spraying.
2. Hold the spray paint can about two feet away.
3. Think thin layer after thin layer.
4. Allow the coats to 80% dry before starting another coat. In other words, a little tackiness is good when you start the next coat. The paint has a better chance of adhering well.
Here’s the old light fixture:
This light fixture was here when we moved in a couple years ago. Obviously, NOTHING is
wrong with this light fixture. But, one of our favorite things to do on the weekends is change something in our home so it reflects more of US.
We completed this project in less that 48 hours. We bought a new light fixture on Friday evening. We spray painted it Saturday morning. We hung the new fixture on Sunday afternoon.
This light fixture is not quite as bright of a green as we see in my inspiration picture at the top of the page. Subtle is good for me. It keeps me from having buyer’s remorse. Once I add lots of bold color in a room, I start to over think any other decor I can add to the room. I start to get too concerned about coordinating. This is perfect for us!
We find satisfaction taking something and trying to make it better. This was a quick and easy project that almost anyone can do. Updating our homes can quickly become expensive and time consuming. Adding a little paint to some furniture, or, in this case, a light fixture, can be one of the most inexpensive ways to add fresh color to your decor.
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Loving the color you chose, it looks perfect for that spot. Great job!
Hi there, visiting from StoneGable, love that you painted the light, I too did the same and wrote a post on it. I say if you don’t really like something Paint it! lol Lisa@ Sweet Tea N’ Salty Air
Hi Lisa! Yes, paint is a wonderful thing. I’m heading over now to check out your post. Thanks for stopping by!! ๐
IN LOVE with this!! We’re redoing the lighting in our house in an effort to get rid of lamps, and I can’t wait to show this to my husband for our kitchen!
Hi Morgan! I’m so glad you like it. Lighting is so expensive!! And this was a little more within our budget. I’m excited you are redoing your lighting. It’s always fun to change things up a little. ๐ Be sure to send us a picture if you end up using this one! Thanks for stopping by, Morgan!
This is really pretty and I love that color. Now you’re giving me some inspiration for my pendants. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Mary, I am glad this provided you with some inspiration! We are on the hunt for some new pendants for entry way so if you have any great recommendations for new ones, be sure to send them my way. ๐ I appreciate you stopping by, Mary!
Perfect! I was just thinking I wanted a new light over my sink and this is perfect! Thanks for the post!
Hi Pamela! I’m glad you found something you liked. This light has worked really well for us! It was a simple and quick project, and it made our little breakfast nook look a lot better.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to let us know if you find a perfect new light for your sink. ๐