I did it!

Last Autumn, Calvin broke one of the fan blades off of the ceiling fan in the living room. We tried to replace it or repair it, but it turned out to be impossible. So, we decided that we needed to buy a new ceiling fan. When we saw this one at Home Depot yesterday (see above) we liked it, and wanted to get it, but we also wanted it to match the lighting over the kitchen table, as the rooms flow together with only a railing separating them. We found a light that seemed to be a great match. Not perfect, but fairly similar. We got home and took them out of the box to compare side by side. There were a few differences. The metal part of the kitchen light was a dark steel color, and the lamp cover glass area was solid, not veined like the ceiling fan light. I decided to fix that. I went to Michael's and bought 3 shade of paint to mix together to most closely match the color of the base/metal of the ceiling fan. Then Allen, Zachary, Ethan and I painted every metal surface on the kitchen light, including each link of the chain, (which will eventually be used to bring the light over the top of our soon to be island/table.) Then I took white paint, and painted a veining into the inside of the glass cover. It's certainly not a perfect match, but it looks pretty good, from the distances they are from each other. And most importantly I did it without freaking out. I normally would not want to attempt something that seems so important. It would make me so nervous, and worried that I would ruin something brand-new!! But I DID IT!! It's not perfect and it's okay. I think it looks great.




We've ordered the new cabinets for the kitchen, and next week we'll go pick out the granite for the countertops. We'll also get a new dishwasher, and some flooring repair from "child damage" and filling in the spaces left empty from the change in the kitchen design. I'm so excited!! We are going to rearrange the kitchen so that the island will be shaped like... three sides of a stop sign. Can you picture that? With the countertop extending out 15 inches to accomadate 6 chairs for eating up to, etc. Then we will get rid of the kitchen table and chairs, and use the formal dining room if there is more than 6 people eating. Homework time will be soooooo much easier with this new design!! Each of 3 kids can have essenially his own counter space to work at, and spread out all his stuff, and I can be working in the kitchen, and able to simply lean over to which ever kid needs my help. Which means I no longer will be wasting time sitting next to a child watching them do their homework, and have the other child wander off. I can help all of them at the same time, and maybe clean the kitchen at the same time!!