Rutbo Pendant Lights

My dining room is nearing the final stages of design.  The shutter wall has been complete now for a couple months and the new chandeliers are finally in place and functional!  We chose two of Ikea's Rutbo Pendant Lights.  

The down rods on these lights are clear plastic coated cords.  To add a bit of color and sophistication to the pendant, I covered the cord in a tube of light blue silk.  Basically I cut a long strip of fabric and sewed the wrong sides together.

Then using a safety pin attached to one end, I pulled it through itself and threaded the cord through the fabric tube before assembling the cord to the base of the pendant.  This made a dramatic difference in the overall appearance of the lights.  We've had these lights for nearly six months now, sitting in a box on the floor of the dinning room.  When we pulled them out a couple weeks ago for installation I had a moment where I truly doubted our choice.  They looked Ikea cheap and I was concerned about sawing two holes in our ceiling and then finding we didn't like the look!  The fabric tube definitely dressed them up and now I really love them.

We placed the lights 39 inches from their bottom to the top of the table and the centers of the lights 41 inches apart.  This lets us see each other's faces when standing in the room.  What do you think?

On another note, three-point-o started school today.  Twice a week from 9-12:30!  The house is so quiet, for a moment I freaked out and thought I forgot him in the car.