My house… having a moment. <3 Artwork purchased at Society6.
Lighting
It’s up and it’s glooorious! We promise, these pictures do its beauty and size no justice :) Here’s a close-up of the texture when lit up:
Now, we’re going to have to tackle another project that I had tried to ignore:
The OTHER woman pendant light is going to find a new home in the basement/garage whenever we get around to taking it down (read: soon). For now, we’ll simply stand in front of it and pretend its not there. Yea, that’s what we’ll do.
Earlier this month we had Mother’s Day brunch at Yong’s mother’s house. The event was so pleasant that it was decided that we’d have scheduled lunches every so often. It was, also, decided we’d be next to host. The get together isn’t for another month or so but it put the pressure on for getting our dining room in tip top shape.
We’ve had plans to get a new dining table and chairs all along (our current set came from Yong’s old bachelor pad via Craigslist). I’ve been dreaming of a new lighting fixture to hang over the table more than anything. I always knew I wanted something that would make a statement. We like statements around here. Statement lighting, statement necklaces, STATEMENTS! Can’t get enough. When Lonny‘s latest issue hit.. um, e-newstands? I saw a beauty that would haunt my dreams. A gorgeous petaled round chandelier spoke to me in the sweetest voice, its price however? Not so sweet. What happens naturally when my wallet&common sense just refuse to cooperate? I plan some sort of DIY, of course. It all began with a plan to try and recreate the petaled dreamy globe I saw in Lonny.
The Maskros (giant dandelion looking one) was my first choice. However, the petals are made of paper and both Yong and I are anti-staring directly into a bulb people. We wanted something softer, more diffused. So we went with the biggest version of the Fillsta (the swirly looking one with the 12 on it). But I still had to figure out how to make it my own. After sitting on the project for a day (very unlike me when I have all the elements I need on hand) and then we took a trip to Home Depot. Purchased some water-based spray texture (the stuff that makes popcorn ceilings) and got to work. I would’ve opted for a heavier spray but Yong preferred the fine texture. So we compromised, accidentally since I was going for fine and ended up with something closer to medium.
I sprayed all 12 pieces and let them dry overnight and a day (while we were at work). Soon as I came home, I sprayed the base and cord black so that they’d tie into the orbit lamps.
Yong took care of removing the old light fixture, which unfortunately left gunk behind. I’m hoping a little soapy water and a sponge will clean most of that up. Since after 5 or 6 different tries I’ve yet to find a match for our ceiling color.
Anyway, onto results…
What’s that you say? It hangs a little low? Like below the dining table low? Oh. Yea, we noticed that too. We purchased a wire rope chain and thimble kit to use as a pseudo swag kit since the junction box for the light isn’t in the ideal location for us. You can’t tell from this picture but it basically hangs just in front of the buffet table in the back. Okay then! We’ll show you the results tomorrow.
I thought I’d let the pictures of these beauties speak for themselves. I’d been eyeing these Nate Berkus™ for HSN Orbit Table Lamps for a while. Normally when I love something so much I jump on it and purchase right away. But I’ve been practicing restraint and learning to know the difference between love at first sight and simple home decor lust (yea, I just made that up). But as I, and I’m sure you have as well, have read over and over again in every Home Decor magazine/website… if you love something, buy it. Eventually you’ll find a place for it. Sounds like a hoarder’s mantra but every awesome designer/decorator can’t be wrong! So this past Saturday I finally pulled the trigger, figuratively of course. I almost threw a fit when I saw the expected delivery date of May 17th. I know, 10 calendar days wouldn’t be the end of the world but this in world of instant gratification it seemed like an eternity. Luckily, they shipped quickly on Monday and from right here in California. Which meant only one thing, overnight shipping for the price of ground.
Ah, life’s little victories.
P.S. We inherited that buffet table (which I’m sure you’ve seen before). I’ll be sanding that baby down and staining/treating it with some teak oil ala Morgan. Once I find that pesky oil that seems to be sold out everywhere. Hmph. Also, that A/C unit will find a new home in Mom’s room before the SoCal summer heat attacks us in a few weeks.
So one thing I really wanted to tackle was my mom’s closet (which we share). After flipping through the December issue of Lonny Mag, I found myself drooling over Anthony Gianacakos’ tiny new york apartment. Especially his closet (see pg. 104), which was small but so well done. I had to scratch the Ikea bookcase he placed in there but kept the basic elements: dark paint, bald wooden dowel and pendant lamp. I originally planned to use something more whimsical for lighting like a chandelier. But my budget wouldn’t allow it. Thus I decided to use a simple Ikea lamp shade and cord set (which comes with hardware for hanging, yay!).
I’ve decided to color coordinate our clothing by category (we’ll see how long that lasts, lol) and i’ll be organizing my shoes down below with a couple of these (boxes be gone!).
Shelf restricts some lighting (and makes it look two-toned in photographs) but I’m very happy with the result. I keep going back to look at it. Now.. on to the rest of the room.
I may have a slight obsession with lighting in general. I feel it can make or break any space and it can directly influence how you feel within that space. Lately, my obsession has had a concentration on pendant lighting. Living in an apartment now doesn’t allow me to work with anything that requires to be hardwired. But that will soon change! Some of these are a bit much for the space we’ll be working with, but they’re pretty to look at anyway.
Asparagus Lamp; $158
BÖJA Lamp; $59.99
