Mock-Ups

I am deciding on a light for our kitchen and this seemed like the perfect time to talk about mock-ups. If you are thinking of making some changes to your house - like purchasing a carpet, moving furniture and changing light fixtures (and you don't have the items out on approval), it is so important to do a mock-up to see if you will like the changes.

The first thing you need to have in your junk drawer is Blue Painters Tape....

I capitalized those words to show you how important I think Blue Tape is! It is the best, you can use it on the floor to visualize a new sized carpet - just stick it down on carpet or wood and it comes right off. You can also tape off the size of upholstered chairs, and occasional pieces to see how you would like to lay out a room. It is so helpful.

I also use this miracle tape to hold up Athena's artwork on our kitchen walls. It doesn't peel the paper and it comes off the wall nicely. You really need to buy this if you don't have it, or stuff someone's stocking with it for xmas. They will thank you.

So back to the light fixture. I tied up the pendant lights in our kitchen (using bread ties:-)to see if I wanted to do a flush mount fixture instead of pendants, and immediately I loved the results. It really opened up the room to remove something hanging over our island. These ceilings are low.

Then I found a fixture I loved here

but after reflecting on the price, and receiving the RH catalog, I decided this one will work just fine. I actually like it better.

Next, had to figure out the size to order and here is where the fun began. I couldn't find any cardboard boxes in the garage so I hit the playroom to see if the kids had anything which might roughly be the same size. I came up with this Melissa and Doug wooden box which is 15 inches long. I then used kitchen string (also another necessity) to hang it precariously over the tied up fixture and see what I thought.

Here are the results - close up. It is hanging lower than the real one will, but from one end of the island I was really able to visualize the width of the fixture, and I think I am going to order the middle sized light instead of the large which is perhaps just a tad big for our kitchen.

As cheesy as this looks, putting a little extra time into these decisions can save you money and aggravation in the end!

Happy Friday everyone! We have Christmas in the Square here tonight! Hingham does it right. Santa rides into town on a fire truck. Should be a lot of fun with family and friends.

See you Monday.