Sorry we haven’t posted more over the past two days. We spent Thursday and Friday enjoying food, family, and friends — and celebrating that our new pendant light from CB2 is finally installed above our dining area. Here it is as seen from the kitchen:
And here’s the view from the living side of our combined living/dining room:
Moving a table and chairs into one side of the living room and adding a light instantly created a practical dining area that feels like it has always belonged there. The transformation cost only about a hundred dollars — a modest investment for a functional dining space that suits an open-plan home. Placing the table adjacent to the kitchen makes serving and setting the table simple thanks to the short walk between the two zones.
While the electricians were here, they also rewired the kitchen as part of a full lighting update. We added five recessed lights (we’ll share details on those in a future post) and installed a seeded glass pendant from West Elm over the sink. Ignore the ceiling marks for now — we have some spackling and touch-up paint on the to-do list.
We also replaced the windows throughout the entire house, and the difference is dramatic. The new double-hung windows with Argon fill and Low-E coating look crisp and make the rooms noticeably less drafty compared with the original 50+-year-old windows. Installation took only a few hours, and after repainting the window casings a glossy bright white, every room feels refreshed. The energy improvements are a welcome bonus — and the new windows may qualify as tax-deductible home improvements, which is a nice perk for an older house.
We hope you’re having a great Thanksgiving weekend. We’re heading back to our old stomping ground — New York City — for the next couple of days. It’s where we met and fell in love, so it’s always special to return. Expect updates from our trip, including impressions of the new CB2 store in SoHo and Burger’s take on the city. It should be fun — and cold.