Finding the Right Kitchen Pendants
Sometimes it feels like updating our kitchen is this ongoing saga that will never end - and maybe it is! We renovated this space 3 years ago, and to be honest, we made some rushed decisions. One of those was choosing the kitchen pendants, and for the time, our simple cage lights were great, but I was never in love with them. Well, we've finally updated the island pendants, and ohhhhhhh boy... they're good!Let me show you what I mean...
First of all, how gorgeous is this Avery pendant from Mitzi and Hudson Valley Lighting? I am head over heels in love and utterly obsessed with it. The size is just perfect, and it comes with these perfectly sized lightbulbs as well.But let's get a reminder of what the kitchen looked like with the old lights... 
And now the new! 
So why did we make the change? A few reasons, really. Ultimately we just did not have the time to think through this decision the first time around, and here are a few mistakes we made:
Choosing pendants that are too small
The original pendants were too small, and this is something that often happens with island pendants, though typically people use 3 very small pendants above an island, when it might only need 2. Our original ones were only 9.5"dia. x 9.5"h and the island is 72" long - this is not good. It almost immediately made the kitchen feel dated even though it was brand new!
The new Avery pendants are significantly larger at 14"dia. x 13.75"h and it really shows! Having them be a bit larger just makes sense for the kitchen since we only have two pendants and it makes for a more contemporary look - none of that 90's look with tiny pendants hanging over a big island!
Installing pendants that are too 'busy'
Because our kitchen already has dark cabinetry plus white walls plus gold hardware plus wood shelves, it has enough going on that the pendants didn't need to add any further contrast. The old pendants, being a cage-style, felt too busy hanging in front of the shelves and they almost got lost, also making everything feel a lot more cluttered.
New pendants, new vibe! The creamy white is perfect with our white walls, and now we can actually see the pendants better, which seems crazy considering they match the tile and walls. Having them in front of the wood shelves, however, you can see how they stand out on their own, rather than just blending in with the background.
Making a rushed decision
I mentioned this earlier, but when we first chose our lighting, we were up against some tight deadlines, were living 45 minutes away, and had two 10-month olds to keep alive. It wasn't the best timing, so I ended up choosing something I could grab at a big box store and made do with it for 3 years. I know renovations can be hard and stressful, but if you have time to really think about what you need and choose what you love, DO IT! I knew the second I saw the Avery pendant that it would be perfect for our space, and I have NO REGRETS! Have I mentioned that I'm in love with them?
I'm so thankful to Hudson Valley Lighting for partnering with the Modern Handmade Home series, and though this post was sponsored, all opinions of love are my very own!Now if you want to see more gorgeous light fixtures (and I know you do), go ahead and check out my buds - I linked all their blog posts below!