no more ugly lighting

Oh happy day!  We have finally updated our ugly pendant lighting in the kitchen and I couldn't be happier! This is the mess we started with.

Not pretty, I know.  At first, we wanted to go with something like this.  They're made of mercury glass and are very cool.  If we never wanted to move, I'd be going with these babies for sure.

But after talking with our real estate agent and a few people in our neighborhood, we've started to realize that our taste doesn't exactly line up with the locals.  If we ever want to sell our house for top dollar (and that's the goal) we need to make our bigger purchases buyer friendly.  Our HOAs do lawn service, which attracts retired/elderly couples with dogs and mercury glass just wasn't going to cut it.  While flipping through the Pottery Barn catalog, we came upon these...

...but realized we weren't comfortable with clear glass shades or bare cords.  A little too casual.  Sooo, after much deliberation, we ended up with these (except in oil rubbed bronze)...

Restoration Hardware wins again!

The pendant is oil-rubbed bronze (not polished silver like in the picture), so we've decided to go in that direction with the rest of the kitchen, including the knobs and a new faucet.  We already bought the knobs and are LOVING them. 

What do you think?

PS If you ever need to update your kitchen cabinets with new knobs and pulls, this little contraption is genius!!  It's $4 at Lowe's/Home Depot and it is simply a template for where to drill the holes.  Love love loved it.