(My personal kitchen - I hung that chandelier just fine thank-you)

So HGTV contacted me a few weeks ago regarding their show on the “Top 10 Amazing Kitchens” and wondered if I had anything to contribute. I have designed many kitchens but my biggest love affair currently is with my own (it’s very special) and so why not contribute my current passion to the pot of many kitchens and see what happens. I decided to take some new kitchen photos and submit them to the show. I’ll keep you posted on what happens.

The other day as I was getting ready to snap some shots, I suddenly had a design hit–take the chandelier from the hacienda outside and hang it above the breakfast table. With Fall here and Winter on its way, I thought yes! what a wonderful way to cozy that area in. I loved the idea. I looked up at the 11 ft. ceiling and was determined to hang that piece without any help. I said to myself, “I can do this!”

I took the chandelier, got in my car and drove to the local hardware store and asked the guy who was working there (a young, modern type) to recommend the hardware I needed. To my surprise, he tried to dissuade me from hanging it, suggesting that I probably wouldn’t be able to find a stud (no pun intended) in the ceiling or that if the roof leaked it would loosen the grip and it might fall on me. Yeah, he was trying to scare me but I immediately recognized his fear factor tactic and it wasn’t working.

I simply asked if he wouldn’t mind directing me to the aisle where the hooks were located. He escorted me there and as I browsed, he finally suggested that my husband or boyfriend help me with this project. That was pretty shocking. There I was, standing in the hardware store, chandelier in one hand, experiencing sexism in the other–something I had not felt in many years. After all, more single women these days are homeowners with statistics rising across the nation (and the world) and we have firmly showed that we are just as capable as anyone else of remodeling our own spaces. Hello!

I let him know firmly but gently that I did not have a husband or boyfriend, nor did I need one to help me hang this chandelier. He proceeded to say, “Well aren’t you renting?”, suggesting that my landlord help me. Boy this guy really didn’t think I could do it. “Nope,” I said, “I own my home.” Now it was his turn to be totally shocked.

I took that moment to kindly educate him on the wonderful world of women and home ownership. I then went home, found my stud and hung my chandelier very successfully.

Have you ever had an experience like that? I’d love to hear your story.