Social Media and Kitchen Lighting

Yeah, that's right. I put social media and kitchen lighting in the same post title. Why, you ask? Well, a few weeks ago I threw out a post on both Facebook and Twitter asking people if they had any recommendations for electricians who could help us out on our small kitchen lighting project. Within a few hours I had six recommendations. Awesome, right? We'll probably only call on three or four, but it was so helpful to get suggestions from people I trust.I know social media can be a downright annoying at times, but there are other times when it comes through like a champ. Facebook friends and Twitter followers will most likely always know more than you on certain topics. So why not lean on their experiences and knowledge a little? That's how I roll, anyway. Many thanks to those who responded so quickly with recommendations.

Within the next few weeks, we'll be getting estimates and starting our little project. We began our small kitchen make-over in October by painting our cabinets (at which point this awful box light made an appearance alongside one very handsome husband).

The husband stays, but that light has got to go. Right now it looks like this:

I removed the plexiglass (I think that's what they were made of, anyway) so we could see what we were working with. Here's a close up of the current wiring situation, for those of you who are into that sort of thing:

We're hoping to replace the less than flattering fluorescents with several can lights (aka: recessed lighting). They are fairly inexpensive and they really light up a room, if you know what I mean. Heheh. Okay, maybe not that funny.

Anyway, then we have this little disaster to deal with:

Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but if you just focus on this picture for a minute you'll see what I'm talking about. Yeah. That. The can light that was here when we moved in is OFF-CENTER by a few inches. It drives me nuts! We really want to put a nice pendant lamp here, but that would just accentuate the asymmetry of it all. The horror!

So...yeah...we'll be looking to the experienced professionals to give us a run down on fixing this situation.

As for the pendant light, we've been looking around for some options. We're both digging the schoolhouse or industrial look, so I think we're headed in one of those directions. We stopped by Lofings Lighting here in Sacramento recently and the helpful salesman walked us through several options, which I've since pinned to our Kitchen Ideas Pinterest Board. We're looking to buy the fixtures locally, so we're glad to have several shops to choose from. Of course, we'll keep you all posted during this little upgrade adventure.

Anyone else giving their kitchen a face lift? Any local lighting sources you want to share? Give us the scoop!