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.

source

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.

source

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.

source

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.

source

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."

source

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).

source

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!

source

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.

source

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).

source

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:

source

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.

source

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:

source

Little Boy (in antique brass):

source

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. :)

source

Movin' on Up

So I've changed my mind. It happens a lot. I've decided that the Family Wall I talked about previously in Hallway...well because its easy is going to go up the stairs. (I'll do an update on that for my new & improved plan soon.)

I might make this feature on one wall, maybe on both. I'm still undecided on that point but this will be a long term project as we need a family first. I don't really want an homage to Tim & Jenny heading up the wall and I'm thinking that there aren't a lot of people who would. Maybe my mom, but probably not, ha!

Anywho, back to the real world. Above is a picture of our stairs. There isn't too much you can say about them but there are 2 things beyond the Family Wall(s) that I want to update on these.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Replace the carpet with wooden stairs - When we built the house we couldn't afford to pay for the nice risers as well and to be honest I wondered if it was really worth all of the money. After my repeated struggles in trying to vacuum those bad boys I have decided that they really are worth it and oh so much more. Its become Tim's chore for 2 reasons, for some reason he likes to vacuum and he is much more coordinated and doesn't get the cord all wrapped around him and almost fall down the stairs multiple times. I mean not that anything like that has happened to me or anything. 

2. Replace the sconces -  Don't get me wrong, I think these are great and I'm completely happy with them. I just have one problem, I saw some sconces that I have a huge crush on. Its not that I love the others any less, I'm just completely and utterly infatuated with the new guys. I haven't done a search to try to find out who carries these but I'm hoping that someone has them in an oil-rubbed bronze with some fabulous natural linen shades. 

3. Create a family wall - As I said at the beginning of the post, the stairs are robbing this idea from the hallway, sorry guy. But this time with a spin. I want to find some pretty old keys, get some pictures of some of our ancestors and have a plate framed that Tim's grandmother gave to us just before we were married. I believe it was her grandmother's and came with her from Sweden (although I could be completely mistaken and just have made all of that up - I do know that it has something to do with Sweden, is from one of Tim's grandmother's ancestors and it means a lot to us). I also want to get some of my Gigi's (my great-grandma) handkerchiefs framed and hang them up there. I guess I could put up a picture or two of Tim & I and of course I have to a a silhouette of our sweet furry little friend. Hmm, looks like I may actually have more for this project than I thought I did originally...