Neat Solutions for Kitchen Remodel- #4

As I said in my last entry.... electrical needs to happen after demo but before the cabinets are installed. It's a good time to talk about electrical and lighting. While Kevin the tiler was doing demo, Jesse the electrician was moving outlets and electrical boxes. Electric...we know dangerously little about it. And dangerous it could be. Please find a licensed electrician. Jesse Dugan (Dugan Electric - 704-256-4234) came highly recommended from a neighbor. During the initial meeting we went over the basic layout that we had in mind. Jesse was able to ask questions and make suggestions to refine and improve our vision. That's the great thing about finding knowledgeable and experienced subs... they can improve your ideas ...TEAMWORK! Based on this first meeting we received a quote on electrical work. The quote included labor & cabinet lighting but not new room fixtures. We agreed we would shop for those on our own. We decided we would keep the pendants above the island (for a while). The problem was the hideous gray tubes of fluorescent lights that  circle all four walls of the 80's "modern" kitchen. They lit the area well enough..but LOOK AT THEM! We thought one just goes to the lighting store, show them a picture of what you currently have, and ask what other choices 

will work! We received many, many quizzical looks with expensive and complicated answers. Apparently our current lighting was very .... "unique"...utilizing the same electric boxes would take creativity and an abundance of searching. You see... the current lighting is wall mounted, not ceiling. The "tubes" are mounted on narrow bands of wall..so size is an issue. We considered adding recessed lighting into the  vaulted ceiling...expensive and we just were not sure it would light our space adequately. We could not find wall fixtures that were suitable and to buy enough to light the circumference of the room would be mega expensive. Our current pendants hang on tracks... so we thought ...track lighting. Its not conventional to put track lighting on a wall and usually the designs are fairly contemporary, but, track lights allow you to point the lighting where needed and they would fit in the narrow space without tearing up the ceiling! We shopped local big box stores (ugly) and lighting showrooms (pricey). We literally combed the internet to see what was available. We finally found an appropriate style, but, it was shown as a ceiling mount. We called the manufacturer directly to ask questions. This is a great tip. The manufacturer can help you with technical issue and also direct you as to where to purchase their product. They directed us to a website (http://www.direct-lighting.com/) where we could purchase the style we liked and it was VERY reasonably priced. We consulted with the electrician via email about our choice. He was confident it would work... so we made the purchase. It was shipped from California and arrived unscathed in one weeks time. They even included the halogen light bulbs. We will let you know how this solution works out. This one is a bit scary, but, we put in the time and energy to ask questions and shop around. The track and light fixtures are a bronze color. This helped guide several future design decisions.... faucet, cabinet pulls and sink selections. Stay tuned....