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October 10, 2019

One Room Challenge Week 2

Alright it’s week two of the One Room Challenge and I’m ready to show you the small but big changes we’ve made to the kitchen! For real though, I cannot wait to show you what a difference changing a single light fixture can make! My more modern kitchen is quickly becoming a reality.

Feeling lost? Here is my kickoff post last week! Doing the ORC is always a bit of a stretch for me because I do like to share more ‘final’ spaces with you. It’s a good exercise to be able to show you every step of the way, the in-between stages and the stages where I’m not sure where I’m going next. So yes, there are still a lot of imperfections, things that need to be fixed, cabinets that need to be put back on, but here is where we are at after one week!

Black and White Modern Kitchen Updates

This is a view I don’t share often. I’m going to guess it’s because my kitchen has to be perfectly clean to get this full shot and it rarely is. But I want you to be able to visualize our full open space and how it all connects. The lighting in here is so hard to take great photos that truly capture how this space feels, so I’m going to show more photos with the lights on. I think it feels more like ‘our home’ that way.

Kitchen Light Update

You guys! Do you see that? After FIVE years I finally got my wish of switching out the light fixture above the island the something a little more industrial and modern and I am IN LOVE. Ok, I knew that it it would make a difference, but I am honestly shocked at HOW MUCH of a difference it made in our kitchen already. Here is the light I picked.

Here is how it looked before, it was a little too bling for me and but I was able to live with it until now.

Just look at this beauty. I ended up putting just 25w bulbs in here because I didn’t want it to be blinding! I originally had 60w in there and because it’s all exposed and right in sight it was a little over powering. The lower wattage creates a really pretty dim look in the kitchen. We have plenty of other lighting in here to light up the space, so this is a really nice accent piece. Still functional but we don’t need the super bright in here either.

New Dining Area Rug

The next big change we made this week is this rug! I have always wanted a rug under our dining table, but since we have carpet on the other side of this room I always thought it would compete too much. Now that we are planning on ripping out the carpet soon, it’s time to finally make this space the way I envisioned it!

I still need to iron out the seem from rolling it out! Because our live edge table is custom made for this space, I had to get a larger rug in here. It fits the length perfect but it also feels a little large at the same time. It could also be because I’m not used to having on in here. Maybe I need some layering action?

Black and White Kitchen Updates

I am honestly just amazed at how a few simple changes have already started to transform this space. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together in the end!

Kitchen Before:

Here is what the kitchen looked like just last week when I shot this post. Loving seeing the changes come together and make this kitchen feel so cozy and modern at the same time!

Next up on the list:

Putting new cabinet pulls in, hopefully this week! And new dining chairs and bar stools.

Also, big thanks to Overstock for helping me with some of the pieces for this kitchen update!

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!

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Meet Taryn

Taryn Whiteaker

Hi and welcome! I'm Taryn and the voice of style behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. Sharing our journey of modernizing our European style home in Dallas. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list to get all the latest updates! Read more...

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