Lighting

It's been awhile (a long while) and no promises but I decided I needed to start recording these updates on a regular basis again. We'll see how that actually goes...

I've done a few updates to the lighting since I last posted including getting a new fixture for the front entry and moving that fixture to the back entry which made a huge difference.


That being said there is still a long ways to go. I despise boob lights. Could there really not have been a better choice then these jokers?

Capital Lighting

They are builder grade and due to us having a very limited budget while building these lovelies were scattered throughout our house. Now that we are becoming a little more settled (still a LONG way from being comfortable though) I'm starting to become ready to switch them out for more up-to-date fixtures with a bit more character. Although this house started as a 5-7 year house for us, we're already at 4 years and have no plans to even being moving anytime soon....although I did recently list us on Zillow at a make-me-move price about $75,000 over the last estimate of our house. That's why it's classified as "Make Me Move" right?

Here are some updates I'd like to get to eventually. I keep lots of records on my Pinterest boards now but that doesn't record where we've been & the path along the way :).

KITCHEN:
1. It's so dang dark in here, I want to put in some under cabinet lighting operated on a switch.

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2. Again, speaking of the darkness, I'd like to add a semi-flush mount fixture in the center of the room. I loved this one but apparently Ballard doesn't carry it anymore.

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3. I really like the look of little pendants hanging down over the sink. I don't know if this would end up being too busy & I don't know about having to have pretty bulbs but I like this one.

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LAUNDRY ROOM:

This just has your standard boob light which does a good enough job of lighting up the room but I'd like a little more character. Something along these lines but less expensive & smaller.

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STAIRS:

The lights we currently have are good enough but not really my style. I'd like something low-profile but with style, like this, but that emits a bit more than just a "warm glow."

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TIM'S CLOSET:

Poor guy has a straight-up florescent fixture, ugly as can be & awful colored lighting no matter the bulb. I'd like to get him something that gives better light for him & isn't ugly (for me).

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UPSTAIRS BEDROOMS, BONUS ROOM & MASTER BEDROOM:

I know some people don't like ceiling fans but around here the mugginess just sits on you like a wet blanket and without the extra airflow from ceiling fans in the bedroom it just gets to be a bit stifling. That being said, I'd like to have ceiling fans that are attractive and add to the room rather than detract. The upstairs rooms & bonus room currently only have lights in them & we have an ugly ceiling fan with a light kit so I'd like to replace all four with something like this, but not $400 each, yikes!

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FAMILY ROOM:

We currently have 4 can lights & a fan in the den but although the plan was originally to add a light kit to the fan I think I'd rather just replace it. If I couldn't convince Tim to get rid of the fan altogether I'd likely just get the same as what is in the bedrooms but I think some negotiating with putting the fan in the bonus room just might let me get away with getting rid of that one. In that case I think I want a rustic looking chandelier which I haven't seen any of that really interest me just yet.

HALLWAY:

Our upstairs hallway just has can lighting (smart!) but our downstairs hallway still has a boob light. I think that I'd like to replace it with the flush-mount that matches all of our other pieces.

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HALF BATH & OFFICE:

I can't remember if the half-bath has a vanity light fixture or if it has a ceiling mount. I could swear to you that it is a ceiling mount though. I have some big plans for this room (at least for now) which a large light would compete with too much so I think I want something pretty, but low-profile.

The office has the most basic flush-mount imaginable right now with no character at all but I'd like to replace it with this very simple flush-mount that does not look like a boob. (side-note: I'd also consider this for the Laundry Room & for the Hallway).

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MASTER BATH & GUEST BATH:

This is our current fixture in our master bathroom & I'm pretty sure its the same but with a different number of lights for the guest bathroom:

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Nothing really bad about it, but nothing particularly interesting either. I also want to frame in our mirror & put a built-in cabinet between our sinks for more storage so we will need two separate fixtures for that to work. 

For our master bath, I'd like something a little quirky & am willing to spend a bit more since I will be using it/seeing it multiple times each day. Something like this could be fun.

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For the guest bathroom I think I'd end up waiting to see if our first child ends up being a little girl or a little boy because I love both of these (although they'd both be too small).

Little Girl:

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Little Boy (in antique brass):

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Ultimately I think we can all learn a lesson from this...boob lights are not a necessity and even builder basic could transition into something much more attractive such as this. :)

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Updates (Downstairs) - pictures & details to follow!

Front Entry
- Got a rug (HomeDecorators.com)
- Got a new light (Ballard Designs)
- Got a table (Craigslist - $35)
- Got some art (by friends)
- Made some curtains (I did it)

Dining Room
- Got rid of the table & chairs (sold on Craigslist)
- Got a hutch/china cabinet (Ballard Designs)

Hallway
- Got rugs (West Elm)
- Got art (frame gallery fm Target, others custom framed)

Office
- Painted (mixed a few random colors together)
- Built desk & shelf (I did it)
- Built in corkboard (I did it)

Back Entry
- Replaced light (from front entry)
- Got a vase... (that empty area was killing me - Neiman Marcus)

Family Room
- Got a TV (& surround sound - thanks lightning storm - Jeff Lynch)
- Got some art (custom framed & donated by Grandma)
- Got tables (Rug & Home)
- Got couches (Hand me downs, sold the others on Craigslist)
- Got lamp (local antique store)
- Got pillows (Pottery Barn)

Kitchen
- Curtains (shower curtain from Pottery Barn, spray painted rod from West Elm)
- Art (spray painted EAT from Hobby Lobby, frames from Pottery Barn)
- Under cabinet storage (Lowe's)
- iPad mount (gift from brother & sister-in-law)
- Barstools (hand-me-downs)
- Rug (Pottery Barn)
- Trash Can (Bed, Bath & Beyond)
- Added spice rack to lower cabinet (Lowe's)

Pantry
- New shelving configuration (I did it)

Master Bedroom
- Quilt (Pottery Barn)
- New Dog Bed (I did it)
- New buffet (Local antique store refinished by me)
- Bedskirt (Pottery Barn)
- Art (by me)
- New TV (Best Buy Black Friday purchase)
- Bedside lamps (Pottery Barn)

Master Bathroom
- New rugs (Pottery Barn)
- New towels (Belk)
- Updated gallery wall (by me)
- Reconfigured Tim's Closet (by me)
- Reconfigured My Closet (by me)
- New toilet plunger (ooh fancy... - Lowe's)

Half (Guest) Bath
- Storage Cabinet (Pottery Barn)

Laundry Room
- Air Register (Lowe's)
- Art (Ballard Designs)
- Drying Rack (Ballard Designs)
- Rug (Ballard Designs)

Self-Control of the Remote Control

The Family Room. I saw these definitions and had to add it in because at our house there is a conversation about constant channel flipping that happens every night after Tim has selected 5 shows to watch in a period of 10 minutes.

REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
a. female...A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
b. male...A device for scanning through all 175 channels every 2 1/2 minutes.

Remember that infamous porthole I discussed here and here. Well you FINALLY get to check it out. My friend Andrea told me it doesn't look as bad in person but I have a hard time believing that especially with Tim's smart little comments when it was first put up (i.e. walking in the room saying "Ahoy matey" and saluting me...thanks babe!). Regardless it was on clearance, non-returnable and such a pain to put up that its staying there until we upgrade the TV.

Tim's mom passed down the rug to us, the couches are from Tim's apartment in college as was the coffee table turned console table and the coffee table was given to us by our friends/builders when it wouldn't fit into their new home.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Get a new rug- I already found one I like from Pottery Barn and its already all sold out. Any surprises? No? Good. My next search will be for the Taylor Rug with its milky chocolate brown and soft blue tones.

2. Get a new couch - I want a sectional. I love laying down to watch a movie as does Tim and a sectional would allow both of us to do so without either of us having to literally get the short end of the stick and curl up on the loveseat or the chair. Surprise! Its brown.

3. Get a new coffee table - I'd love to get a round tufted leather ottoman, in my traditional brown of course. Ethan Allen has a great looking one that actually seems to be fairly reasonable (although its in the cheapest cloth the offer so it may not be so reasonable with the leather).

4. Get some side chairs - I found this one when my cousin Amy & I were out shopping one day and after we went to so many stores I have absolutely no clue where I saw it but everything about it is what I want except the feet but those have to be easy to change out, right? It had a low-profile but was incredibly plush, had the soft blues I adore and has arms so you really can relax and lean back without falling off the side without being too large.

5. Get a side table - I've loved this one since I first laid my eyes on it over at Pottery Barn. Its the oil-rubbed bronze that I've put throughout the rest of the house and the shape is so incredibly similar to our light fixtures. They are meant to be together.

6. Add in some built-ins - I want some display cases and some places to hide and store some of our DVDs and such. We will build these after expanding the wall out and will have them come up right below the windows to either side of the fireplace.

7. Get a new TV & surround sound - Tim is convinced he "needs" an incredibly large TV. In fact the size he wants is so large that we have to expand the wall around the fireplace a little. It turns out we didn't plan well by not having a cable and power hook-up so we will have to open that wall up anyways so expanding it out about 6 inches on each side won't be too big of a pain to do. If you noticed the random wires handing from the ceiling, those would be where we pre-wired for surround sound and got too lazy to do anything after until we have speakers, etc. Oops!

8. Build a new mantle - Our mantle holds quite a bit of significance to me. Tim and our builder did a great job building it for us and it looks incredible. Unfortunately we will have to pull it down to expand the wall in order to get Tim the TV he wants so badly. We will most likely go with something simple and traditional, similar to the below.

9. Get some curtains - Because those really seem to help finish off a room so well. I think these light blue stripes are so pretty but have a bit of a masculine touch to them for Tim as well.

10. Add a light kit to the fan - I don't want anything special, just something similar to what we have in the bedroom in order to add a little extra light. Its not dark by any means but gets a little dim at night and I don't have any plans to add in lamps anytime soon.


11. Add some art to the back wall? - I don't know if I should add something and if so what that should be. I'm still waiting for inspiration to strike. I guess I will go sleep on it now.