ceilings · Chatfield Court

Kristi / Friday,April 7, 2017

Farmhouse Kitchen Lighting Ideas

If you’ve been following along the last several weeks, then you know I’ve been working on my combination kitchen and dining area. I recently finished the dining area and shared it, here, but the kitchen still isn’t done. We didn’t do a lot of work in here besides adding the reclaimed wood shelves and painting the walls, but the kitchen lighting definitely needed to be addressed.

We have 3 can lights and one ceiling light in this space. The can lights are fine but the ugly florescent ceiling light definitely need an upgrade. This was a project we were going to tackle during the kitchen remodel, but the dislike of the light was too great. It had to go. We weren’t sure what we would find underneath but, once it was down, there was no way it was going back up.

I cleaned the ceiling where the old light was and, after checking all of the wiring, we filled in the holes and patched them up. It’s hard to patch a ceiling, especially this big of an area, but it looks so much better than it did. I’m probably the only person who would notice that it’s been patched so I’m trying to release my perfectionist tendencies and let it go.

Oooommmmm…deep breath…

So, the ceiling is fixed and ready for a new, more modern light. Trouble is, I can’t find anything that I like in the perfect size (that’s in the budget). Our ceilings are pretty low so we need a flush mount that is no more than 12 inches high. Not ideal but you can’t change the ceiling height (yes…I have put some thought into doing that 😉 ). 3 light fixtures have been ordered, delivered and returned over the past several weeks…all failures.

I’ve looked at tons of light fixtures so I thought I’d share some that I considered.

Farmhouse Flush Mount Kitchen Lighting Ideas

(Affiliate links used. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Please see my Privacy Policy for more info.)

ONE – Galen 3-Light Semi Flush Mount $102.99
TWO – Chittening 3-Light Semi Flush Mount $107.91
THREE – Andante 1-Light Semi-Flush Mount $40.87
FOUR – Norfolk Semi-Flush Mount $80

FIVE – Evergreen 3-Light Flush Mount $120
SIX – Sargeant 4-Light Semi Flush Mount $249
SEVEN – Belgrave Falls 1-Light semi Flush Mount $96.99
EIGHT – Arthur 3-Light Flush Mount $118

I’m waiting on my fourth light fixture to be delivered. Let’s hope it’s “the one” so I can move show you the ceiling without a gaping hole in it. 😉 Fingers crossed.

What do you think about flush mount kitchen lighting? Do you have a favorite out of the 8 fixtures I shared?

As always, thanks for stopping in. Happy weekend!

In case you missed it, here is the finished dining area that is part of the unfinished kitchen.

Our Small Dining Area is Done and Ready for Guests

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Kristi / Monday,May 9, 2016

Where to Find Pre-Primed Tongue and Groove Planks

Since we installed the pre-primed tongue and groove planks on the kitchen ceiling during our remodel, I have been getting so many comments and emails asking about the source for the planks, so I thought I would update the post a bit and share the info on where we got ours.

Before we started working on the ceiling I did a lot of research, as per usual for me, on what would be best to use for the kitchen ceiling. The biggest takeaway I got from all that research was to use pre-primed tongue and groove planks and I’m so glad that we followed that advice. Not only did it save our necks and backs, but it also saved us a ton of time.

Getting the info online proved to be the easy part because finding it in a store was almost impossible. We went to every store in our area that sold lumber until we walked into our local Home Depot (*affiliate link) and hit the jackpot.

They had primed tongue and groove pine planks in 8 and 12-foot lengths…exactly what we were hoping to find. For all of you that have been asking, here is what the display looked like in the store. You’ll note that the side showing in the store display looks different that the plain sided planks on the ceiling. I’ve been questioned a ton over this (and actually accused of lying) and it is, in fact, the same board. It simply has two sides (I talked more about it in this post). We went with the plain side for our ceiling because it was just the look I was going for.

I’ve heard from several people that the tongue and groove planks that they have been able to find have been very expensive. I thought the ones that we got were very reasonable. We spent about $275 just for the planks for our 13’x 8′ kitchen.

Painting it was literally a pain in the neck, but it wasn’t the worst job ever. The whole time we painted, though, we kept saying that we were so happy that we spent the extra money on the pre-primed. We’re both ~~cheap~~ frugal when it comes to buying stuff like wood or other building supplies that will get painted, so that’s saying something.

A little extra tidbit…I did find a few spots where a small amount of sap seeped through but I just added an extra coat of paint over it and it looked fine. It may seep through again but, honestly, you can’t tell. I just noticed because…well, I’m weird like that. I would stand there and practically stand on my head to look at spots on the ceiling at different angles and in certain light but a normal person walking in there probably wouldn’t notice. The mister didn’t, but I could shave my eyebrows off and he probably wouldn’t notice. Ok, bad example. Seriously, it wasn’t really an issue, I just wanted to let you know that it could happen.

The ceiling turned out so much better than we thought. I would love to do another one in our new house in North Carolina….fingers crossed.

I hope that this little bit of info helps you out. Let me know if you’re able to find any pre-primed tongue and groove planks in your area. I’d love to pass the info on.

UPDATE 3/2018 – I still get a ton of emails and questions about the tongue and groove planks that we used. I just wanted to update you and let you know that these planks are still available in our local Home Depot stores. We are actually getting ready to use them again and our local stores had plenty of inventory. I hope you find this useful.

You can find the tutorial on the tongue and groove plank ceiling here…

Tongue and Groove Plank Ceiling Tutorial

Or see the whole kitchen remodel reveal here…

Kitchen Remodel Reveal

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Kristi / Friday,March 4, 2016

Kitchen Remodel Details

Before I share all of the kitchen remodel details, I want to take a moment to thank you for all of the sweet comments and emails from the reveal. I’ve always known that I had the best readers and you all proved it again and again during this whole process, by sharing words of encouragement and cheering us on when we felt like we would never get done. I am truly grateful.

This is a long one so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. If you make it through to the end you’ll find all of my sources and projects with links, along with an announcement.

I shared the reveal a few days ago and only showed a few before shots and a lot of afters, so today I wanted to give you a quick summary of the projects that we did and try to answer some of the questions I’ve gotten.

When we started the remodel on our small galley kitchen in January 2015, we had 3 main goals we wanted to accomplish. We wanted to lighten up the space, add more storage and do it all on a budget. Our plan was to complete everything in 6 months but…yeah, that didn’t happen.

The project that started it all off was the removal of the two soffits. A messy and dirty job but it really opened the space up.

After we patched the ceiling and walls, we installed a plank ceiling. A couple of coats of paint later and our first big project was complete. Wow, talk about changing a room. I love it!

The next project to get tackled was the custom cabinet we built around the refrigerator. It added a ton of extra storage and toned down the look of the fridge (if that’s even possible when you have a large gray box in a small room).

Once the fridge was done we worked on the DIY range hood. I wanted to change the small stainless steel one that was there, so we took it apart and used the insides to make our own custom hood. I think the one that we built is a much better fit in our new kitchen.

The other side of the kitchen got some attention when we raised the window sill and built a custom cabinet that would give us more countertop space and more storage, which is what we needed most in here.

I had a few items on my “wish” list for the kitchen and built-in garbage/recycle bins was at the top. Now they are hidden away and I’m so happy with the way it turned out.

While all of the cabinet building was going on, I was working on the one thing that made the biggest difference in this small space, painting all of the kitchen cabinets. If you’ve ever done this then you know that it’s a monumental task. I will admit that, because of my back injury, it took me almost a year to finish, but I did it.

The kitchen sink was the next project. We had a double stainless steel sink before and I wanted a change so we went with the DOMSJÖ from IKEA. It’s just a single bowl but it’s nice and big to work in and I love it!

Once the sink was installed and all of the cabinets were built, it was time to choose tile and countertops. I always knew that we would have a subway backsplash but choosing the countertops was a more difficult decision. We finally decided on granite and began the most difficult project of the whole remodel, cutting and installing the granite. We were on a budget with this whole remodel so we chose to do it all on our own, a job we’ve never done before…ever. It took us two weekends to finish and it was nerve-wracking until the end. All we kept thinking about was all the money that would be wasted if we cut wrong or cracked it while working on it. Thankfully it all worked out and we got beautiful countertops on a budget.

The subway tile backsplash with gray grout was next and, once it was all done, we knew that the end was in sight.

One thing that we did that really opened the space was to remove a cabinet between the two windows on the sink wall. We added a barn wood shelf, for a little texture and to break up the white, subway tiled wall, and I think it may be my favorite thing in the kitchen.

Because this is a small space there are only 2 walls that we can paint to add a little bit of color. After much debate, and a lot of swatches, I went with the same color I used in the adjoining living/dining area, BM Gray Owl at 50% strength. I also painted the back door a pretty dark gray, BM Wrought Iron. There’s a little gray in the countertops that I loved and the wall and door colors really bring it out.

We still had a couple of big projects to finish though and one of them was lighting. The only working light in the room before the remodel was a center ceiling light. It took me 3 tries to find the perfect one but, in the end, I found a beautiful pendant light.

One pendant light was not enough for this space so we added recessed lighting. This project was the one that the hubs dreaded most, and kept putting off, but they really look great and made a huge difference, especially when we’re working in the kitchen at night.

The final project was to add new cabinet doors to the custom cabinet we built on the sink side of the kitchen. Months ago we were lucky enough to find 2 similar cabinet doors, at the right size at a local ReStore, but we needed 3 more. We discussed making them but, by the time we bought the correct tools and wood to make them, we could order 3 already made and ready to paint. So we went the least expensive route and ordered them. Once they arrived I did a quick sanding, a coat of primer and 2 coats of paint and they were ready to hang.

After 418 days and a ton of projects, our remodel is complete and I truly love it all!

One more before and after, because this post isn’t long enough already. 😉

Phew, that took almost as long as the remodel did (almost). Thanks for sticking with me through this long post and the last 418 days of our remodel. If you have any questions about anything we did, feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Now go take a nap, you earned it. 😉

Sources

ceiling paint – BM White Dove, pearl finish
cabinet paint – BM White Dove Advance, satin finish
wall paint – BM Gray Owl, 50% strength
back door paint – BM Wrought Iron
pendant light – West Elm; love this one too! (affiliate link)*
recessed lights – Lowes
subway tile – Floor & Decor
granite countertops – Floor & Decor
kitchen sink – IKEA DOMSJÖ
cabinet hardware – Pottery Barn; similar (affiliate link)*
chalkboard w/ calendar – a DIY project by me
Mason jar lamp – a DIY project by me
wall brackets for shelf – Signature Hardware
barn wood for shelf – local flea market
cutting boards on shelf – HomeGoods

In case you missed it, here is the reveal…

Kitchen Remodel Reveal

Two days after we finished the remodel we put the house on the market and sold it to move to North Carolina (totally unexpected). You can see our new house, with a video tour, here.

New House Reveal (with a video)

*You can find my disclosure here.

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Kristi / Friday,February 19, 2016

Kitchen Recessed Lighting

It’s an exciting day at Chatfield Court. We’re only one project away from finishing the kitchen renovation…woohoo! Lately, I’ve been feeling like it would never be done but we finally got our act together and tackled the last of the big jobs, the recessed lighting.

We’ve been living without proper lighting in the kitchen for over a year so finally having it all in, and working, is a huge deal. There was only one, lonely hanging light in this space when we started the renovation and it always seemed dark, especially with the dark wood cabinets.

When we put the plank ceiling up (you can read about that here), I thought about covering the light hole and only using recessed lighting but, at the last minute, we decided to keep it.

If you’ve been following along on our renovation journey, then you know that I tried several lights here before I found a winner.

Nope…

No quite right…

The winner!!!

With the ceiling done, the pendant light up and everything else nearing completion, it was time to think about the recessed lighting, the project that the hubs has been dreading most. It wasn’t the messy install he was dreading but the trip up in the attic to make all the connections. It had to be done though and, since he’s the electrical genius of the family, this was all him.

The one very important step we took when we planked the ceiling was to document where all the beams were so that, when it came time to install the lights, we would know where we could put them. This really saved us a lot of aggravation.

Another thing we did, before we cut one hole in the ceiling, was to put copied pictures of the lights up on the ceiling to see where we wanted the final placement. Strange? Maybe, but it was a huge help.

Don’t they look real? The hubs wanted to keep these but we needed real light and, well…paper lights don’t actually light up (believe it or not).

We installed 5 LED lights, 4 in the stove/sink area and 1 by the back door.

Do you see that beautiful cabinet door? We needed to have 3 custom-made and they just arrived. Guess who will be priming and painting this weekend?

The hubs also installed a dimmer switch for the recessed lights, the pendant light has a separate switch on another wall. He wasn’t thrilled about chiseling the wall but you know what they say? “Happy wife…” . We are both loving the dimmer though.

Three more cabinet doors to paint and install and we are done! The big reveal is almost here. Can you tell I’m excited?

Some of our other kitchen renovation projects…

New Kitchen Sink

DIY Granite Kitchen Countertop Installation

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Kristi / Monday,April 20, 2015

A DIY Tongue and Groove Plank Ceiling in the Kitchen

A new tongue and groove plank ceiling was at the top of my wish list when we were planning our kitchen remodel. It took a lot of planning but we were finally able to work out the details and get started. I’m loving the way it’s turning out.

Installing a plank ceiling is one of the biggest projects in the kitchen remodel, so let’s get to the details.

Our first job was to measure the square footage of the ceiling to see how much wood we needed. Then we had to locate the studs in the ceiling so that we could attach the planks to the studs as we put the ceiling up.

Armed with our square footage, we purchased our planks. We found pre-primed pine tongue and groove planks in 8 foot and 12 foot lengths from the home improvement store. We brought them home and left them sit in the house for about a week. This allowed them to acclimate to our indoor temps and humidity so there would be minimal expansion and shrinkage.

The planks we bought had two sides to them. One side had a groove/seam down the middle that made it look like two planks in one. The other side was just a plain plank. I decided to go with the plain side so that we had less seams showing.

After all of the prep, we were finally able to start installing the planks. I say we in most of these steps because this is definitely a 2 person job.

The first piece was one of the 12 foot planks. Before attaching it to the ceiling we applied beads of paintable silicone caulk to the back of the plank.

We put the board against the ceiling leaving a 3/8 inch gap along the wall for expansion, which we did around the whole room.

Next, we used a pneumatic nail gun to put a brad at each stud marking on the ceiling to hold the plank up. We put the brads in the tongue of the planks so that you couldn’t see them when the ceiling was complete.

On the first board, we did use 3″ construction screws at each end to make sure that it was completely secure. The upper cabinets would hide the screws so no one will ever know they were there.

The next board to go up was also a 12 footer.

We had to marry the tongue of board one to the groove of board two together so we tapped a block of wood against the tongue of board two to get a tight seam. Next, we secured board two to the ceiling with a pneumatic nail gun and brads.

We continued this process for the rest of the ceiling. In some areas, the 12 foot plank wasn’t long enough so we did end up with seams. To make it look intentional, we staggered them. Once the whole plank ceiling was done we caulked the seams so that they would blend in.

In the middle of the kitchen ceiling there is a light box that we had to work around. We used a coping saw to cut the planks around the box. This will allow us to have access to install our new light fixture.

Once we reached the other side of the room, we used the table saw to cut down the width of the planks. Then we just followed the same process of attaching them to the ceiling.

We do have a few spots near the walls that we didn’t plank. When we install the kitchen cabinets they’ll be touching the ceiling so we felt that it wasn’t necessary to have planks in all of those areas. It saved us a bit of time…and money.

The last thing we did was to paint the planks with BM White Dove, in the pearl formula. The trim will be the finishing touch to cover the 3/8 inch gap we created, once all the cabinets are installed.

Our total cost for our new plank ceiling ended up at around $320 for the tongue and groove planks and the caulk. We already had all the other supplies, including the ceiling paint.

I’m loving how our new kitchen plank ceiling turned out. Now I’m ready for the cabinets to go up.

Next up, though, is building a cabinet around the refrigerator. Wait until you see. It’s looking awesome.

Because we’ve gotten a ton of emails asking where we got the planks, I wrote a separate post and shared the source for the pre-primed tongue and groove planks.

Where to Find Pre-Primed Tongue and Groove Planks

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Kristi / Wednesday,October 1, 2014

Ceilings (Inspiration)

I am still working in the guest bedroom (we’ve started making the bed…yay!) but my mind is already on the kitchen. I’ve been thinking about this room since we moved in a year and 3 months ago but I’m no closer to a plan than I was the day we moved in. This room is small, really small, so changing the layout is not gonna happen. I do however want to make some big changes and one of them is the ceiling. There isn’t a whole lot of area to work with up there but I’ve found a few ideas to change things up.

An easy ceiling treatment would be to paint it something other than traditional white.

Apartment Therapy

How about some gingham wallpaper on the ceiling? Love the color but it would be too much in my small kitchen.

Mendelson Group

Tried and true white wood planks. Love this look but is it overdone?

The Idea Room

Love the planks with the painted wood beams (although my kitchen is too small for this treatment). Can we just take a moment to admire the dreamy turquoise island…

BHG

I know this isn’t a kitchen but trying to find a stenciled ceiling in a kitchen was tough and this one that Not Just a Housewife did is so pretty.

Not Just a Housewife

Stained wood planks are another great option.

Houzz

While writing this post and looking at oodles of kitchen ceilings, I think I know what I’m going to do…but you know that could change…several times. So what do you think about decorating a kitchen ceiling or do you think it should be white? Which ceiling treatment do you like best?

Farmhouse Kitchen Lighting Ideas

Farmhouse Flush Mount Kitchen Lighting Ideas

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Where to Find Pre-Primed Tongue and Groove Planks

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Kitchen Remodel Details

Projects (with links to the posts)

Sources

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Kitchen Recessed Lighting

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A DIY Tongue and Groove Plank Ceiling in the Kitchen

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Ceilings (Inspiration)

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