modern thrifter
I love beautiful things and thoughtful design. I also live in one of the most expensive cities in the country, and our family lives off a single income so that I can be at home with our kids. Patience and persistence have been the key to finding stylish things on a tight budget.
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11 posts tagged lighting
![[ STAIRWELL LIGHTING ]
One by one it seems as though the ikea light fixtures that the previous owner had installed in our house have failed. First it was the wire track lighting in the bathrooms and kitchen, then each of the upstairs bedroom track lights went bad. We had planned to replace them all for aesthetic reasons anyway, but the the fact that they were shorting out made me nervous enough that I didn’t really want to wait for the transformer on the stairwell track light to go bad before getting rid of it.
The tricky thing about swapping the light fixture was that the junction box was located at the bottom of the stairs. You can see it here in this photo:
The previous owners then ran the wires up the wall and to the ceiling at the top of the stairwell.
Our plan was to tap into the wiring at the switch, located at the top of the stairs, and run a new wire up inside the wall to the ceiling. Since there is no gap between the tongue and groove ceilings and the roof, metal raceway would need to be run along the ceiling to carry the wires out to the new pendant.
Here’s the great part—we had seen the David Trubridge wood pendants in several magazines, but knew they were out of our price range. But remember me mentioning a great find at the Velocity sale? I happily scooped this Trubridge Floral pendant for half-price right after walking through the door.
Patrick prefers the Coral version to the Floral one, but for the price, he’s not complaining. Personally, I don’t mind adding a bit of floral to the house. There aren’t that many things in our decor that are overtly feminine, and I think this is still a far cry from doilies and ruffled bedskirts.
I’m guessing there are safer ways to reach the ceiling in a stairwell, but the project was completed with no major incidents.
One of my favorite things about the fixture is the beautiful shadows it casts on the walls. Also, the exposed bulb has a nice soft glow and doesn’t glare. The mood at the top of the stairs is exactly what I was hoping for, but we knew we’d need a bit more light at the bottom, so we opted for a single can light where the old fixture had been.
There are lots of other plans for the stairwell—next up will be the window trim—but it already feels so much more simple and pretty.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0cn9iLmS71qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ STAIRWELL LIGHTING ]
One by one it seems as though the ikea light fixtures that the previous owner had installed in our house have failed. First it was the wire track lighting in the bathrooms and kitchen, then each of the upstairs bedroom track lights went bad. We had planned to replace them all for aesthetic reasons anyway, but the the fact that they were shorting out made me nervous enough that I didn’t really want to wait for the transformer on the stairwell track light to go bad before getting rid of it.
The tricky thing about swapping the light fixture was that the junction box was located at the bottom of the stairs. You can see it here in this photo:
The previous owners then ran the wires up the wall and to the ceiling at the top of the stairwell.
Our plan was to tap into the wiring at the switch, located at the top of the stairs, and run a new wire up inside the wall to the ceiling. Since there is no gap between the tongue and groove ceilings and the roof, metal raceway would need to be run along the ceiling to carry the wires out to the new pendant.
Here’s the great part—we had seen the David Trubridge wood pendants in several magazines, but knew they were out of our price range. But remember me mentioning a great find at the Velocity sale? I happily scooped this Trubridge Floral pendant for half-price right after walking through the door.
Patrick prefers the Coral version to the Floral one, but for the price, he’s not complaining. Personally, I don’t mind adding a bit of floral to the house. There aren’t that many things in our decor that are overtly feminine, and I think this is still a far cry from doilies and ruffled bedskirts.
I’m guessing there are safer ways to reach the ceiling in a stairwell, but the project was completed with no major incidents.
One of my favorite things about the fixture is the beautiful shadows it casts on the walls. Also, the exposed bulb has a nice soft glow and doesn’t glare. The mood at the top of the stairs is exactly what I was hoping for, but we knew we’d need a bit more light at the bottom, so we opted for a single can light where the old fixture had been.
There are lots of other plans for the stairwell—next up will be the window trim—but it already feels so much more simple and pretty.
![[ WHITE FLOORS… FINALLY! ]
After a lot of sanding, two coats of a special adhesion primer, three coats of industrial floor paint, and two weeks of drying time without furniture, we finally have our living and dining rooms back. I wish we could have painted the bedrooms, too, but it was just too much to tackle at once. So far, the white hasn’t been any more difficult to keep clean than the awful espresso color, and it lightened up our sun deprived rooms more than I could have hoped for.
I know the rug doesn’t look that bad in the photos, but in person, the contrast of the cream wool with the bright white floor is terrible. It makes the rug look so much dingier than it really is, though I’ll admit there are a few small coffee stains. We knew that we’d probably need to replace it when the floors were finished, so we’ve ordered a few sample tiles from Flor and I’m going to Ikea this week to check on a few other options.
Did you happen to notice the new lamp? It was actually our combination Christmas gift to each other, but was on back order until July. We didn’t get around to ordering it from Blu Dot until April, but our procrastination paid off because by entering their Swap Meet contest, they sent us a 20% off coupon just a few weeks before we placed the order.
I’m way behind on my summer house projects, but of all the things that I wanted to cross off my list, this one was the biggest priority. I don’t think I could have handled another drizzly winter with those dark, depressing floors.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpnac7qtm71qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ WHITE FLOORS… FINALLY! ]
After a lot of sanding, two coats of a special adhesion primer, three coats of industrial floor paint, and two weeks of drying time without furniture, we finally have our living and dining rooms back. I wish we could have painted the bedrooms, too, but it was just too much to tackle at once. So far, the white hasn’t been any more difficult to keep clean than the awful espresso color, and it lightened up our sun deprived rooms more than I could have hoped for.
I know the rug doesn’t look that bad in the photos, but in person, the contrast of the cream wool with the bright white floor is terrible. It makes the rug look so much dingier than it really is, though I’ll admit there are a few small coffee stains. We knew that we’d probably need to replace it when the floors were finished, so we’ve ordered a few sample tiles from Flor and I’m going to Ikea this week to check on a few other options.
Did you happen to notice the new lamp? It was actually our combination Christmas gift to each other, but was on back order until July. We didn’t get around to ordering it from Blu Dot until April, but our procrastination paid off because by entering their Swap Meet contest, they sent us a 20% off coupon just a few weeks before we placed the order.
I’m way behind on my summer house projects, but of all the things that I wanted to cross off my list, this one was the biggest priority. I don’t think I could have handled another drizzly winter with those dark, depressing floors.
![[ SCRAP LIGHT ]
Well, this is getting embarrassing. We brought home another lamp last week. I know, it’s getting a little out of control around here, but hear me out. We were given this one for free. Patrick had a meeting with a couple of guys about some freelance work, and it just so happens that one of them, Jonathan, has a quasi-shared studio with Graypants, the creators of this fantastic cardboard—yes, cardboard—lamp.
Patrick made a comment about how incredible the lamps were, and Jonathan offered to give this lamp to us. I’m assuming there was a brief look of disbelief on Patrick’s face, followed quickly by an enthusiastic yes, please.
Take a look at how Graypants handcrafts each of these lamps from recycled cardboard:
Intro to Graypants from Zeek Earl on Vimeo.
The chrome ball lamp has now been moved to the other side of the bed, though with the hanging candle holders, it’s starting to look a little too… ballsy over there, so I’m betting this won’t be a permanent setup (like anything is permanent in our house).
I can’t get over the great texture that the cardboard creates and the unique shadows that are cast by the light. Here’s a HUGE thank you to Jonathan and the guys over at Graypants for the awesomeness that is this lamp.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnbxyzm83u1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ SCRAP LIGHT ]
Well, this is getting embarrassing. We brought home another lamp last week. I know, it’s getting a little out of control around here, but hear me out. We were given this one for free. Patrick had a meeting with a couple of guys about some freelance work, and it just so happens that one of them, Jonathan, has a quasi-shared studio with Graypants, the creators of this fantastic cardboard—yes, cardboard—lamp.
Patrick made a comment about how incredible the lamps were, and Jonathan offered to give this lamp to us. I’m assuming there was a brief look of disbelief on Patrick’s face, followed quickly by an enthusiastic yes, please.
Take a look at how Graypants handcrafts each of these lamps from recycled cardboard:
Intro to Graypants from Zeek Earl on Vimeo.
The chrome ball lamp has now been moved to the other side of the bed, though with the hanging candle holders, it’s starting to look a little too… ballsy over there, so I’m betting this won’t be a permanent setup (like anything is permanent in our house).
I can’t get over the great texture that the cardboard creates and the unique shadows that are cast by the light. Here’s a HUGE thank you to Jonathan and the guys over at Graypants for the awesomeness that is this lamp.
![[ ANOTHER LAMP ]
I’d like to say that clocks are my only weakness, but if you looked around my house, or um, in my closets, you’d discover that I have a lamp problem, too. What can I say, I just couldn’t help bringing home this shiny little number. I think my fondness for it comes from my adoration of the Arco lamp, which I will probably never own. This is just my little $8 Goodwill mini version.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lme3tgGMci1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ ANOTHER LAMP ]
I’d like to say that clocks are my only weakness, but if you looked around my house, or um, in my closets, you’d discover that I have a lamp problem, too. What can I say, I just couldn’t help bringing home this shiny little number. I think my fondness for it comes from my adoration of the Arco lamp, which I will probably never own. This is just my little $8 Goodwill mini version.
![[ LIGHTING SWAP ]
Last weekend I found out, via Twitter, that Velocity Art & Design was having a warehouse sale. We had planned to spend the weekend prepping our floors for our painting project, but after seeing a photo on twitter of the sale lighting selection, we abandoned our plans and made a mad dash downtown.
Thankfully, there were two Nelson Bubble Lamps left in the size that we’ve been looking for, and they were both 40% off. Unfortunately, we were beaten to them by literally thirty seconds. There was a nice couple who grabbed both lamps, debating over which shape they preferred. After some eavesdropping, I concluded that they were only planning to purchase one, so quickly asked them if they would hand their rejected lamp to me when they made their decision. I admit, I never let the two of them out of my sight, just in case they forgot. After much deliberation, they decided to go with the “Apple” shape, and we happily snatched up the classic ball shape.
40% off a Nelson lamp is still nothing to sneeze at, and we typically wouldn’t throw this much cash at one item, but I still had all of my proceeds from the sale of my dining set. Since the chair hunt seems to be going nowhere, we decided to use those funds for the lamp, and wait a little longer for chairs.
Here’s the thing about the discounted lamps… they didn’t come with the canopy/mounting hardware. For us, though, it wasn’t a big deal. We knew we wanted to switch the ceiling mount from the kitchen into the dining room, because it was custom built for our house and was the right size for the beam over our table. We just needed to find a new canopy for the kitchen ball pendant.
A quick trip to the ReStore resulted in the perfect white metal canopy for a whopping $1.50. Patrick made the switch over the weekend, and was able to raise the kitchen light in the process. I’ve been annoyed with that light since we moved in because it was originally hanging at nearly eye level. Sorry for the terrible before and after photos. I never remember to get a good “before” shot until we’re half-way through a project, so the one on the left was all I could find… and the photo on the right, well, let’s just say I was too lazy to get out the good camera, so I settled for an iPhone photo.
In other good news, Velocity has announced plans to open an outlet store at their warehouse. It sounds like it will be open once a week and by appointment. I’ll update you when I hear more details, or you can watch for news on their blog.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm5hxmbwHZ1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ LIGHTING SWAP ]
Last weekend I found out, via Twitter, that Velocity Art & Design was having a warehouse sale. We had planned to spend the weekend prepping our floors for our painting project, but after seeing a photo on twitter of the sale lighting selection, we abandoned our plans and made a mad dash downtown.
Thankfully, there were two Nelson Bubble Lamps left in the size that we’ve been looking for, and they were both 40% off. Unfortunately, we were beaten to them by literally thirty seconds. There was a nice couple who grabbed both lamps, debating over which shape they preferred. After some eavesdropping, I concluded that they were only planning to purchase one, so quickly asked them if they would hand their rejected lamp to me when they made their decision. I admit, I never let the two of them out of my sight, just in case they forgot. After much deliberation, they decided to go with the “Apple” shape, and we happily snatched up the classic ball shape.
40% off a Nelson lamp is still nothing to sneeze at, and we typically wouldn’t throw this much cash at one item, but I still had all of my proceeds from the sale of my dining set. Since the chair hunt seems to be going nowhere, we decided to use those funds for the lamp, and wait a little longer for chairs.
Here’s the thing about the discounted lamps… they didn’t come with the canopy/mounting hardware. For us, though, it wasn’t a big deal. We knew we wanted to switch the ceiling mount from the kitchen into the dining room, because it was custom built for our house and was the right size for the beam over our table. We just needed to find a new canopy for the kitchen ball pendant.
A quick trip to the ReStore resulted in the perfect white metal canopy for a whopping $1.50. Patrick made the switch over the weekend, and was able to raise the kitchen light in the process. I’ve been annoyed with that light since we moved in because it was originally hanging at nearly eye level. Sorry for the terrible before and after photos. I never remember to get a good “before” shot until we’re half-way through a project, so the one on the left was all I could find… and the photo on the right, well, let’s just say I was too lazy to get out the good camera, so I settled for an iPhone photo.
In other good news, Velocity has announced plans to open an outlet store at their warehouse. It sounds like it will be open once a week and by appointment. I’ll update you when I hear more details, or you can watch for news on their blog.
![[ VACATION FINDS ]
It’s been a tradition for the last few years that when we take a trip somewhere, we try to squeeze in at least one stop at a local thrift store. On our latest trip to Montana, we discovered that the little thrift store in my hometown has a new owner. Since taking the reigns, he has managed to clean and organize the shop, and it is actually now possible to walk through the aisles. This might not sound like much of a feat, but take a look at the photos from the last time we were there. The other good news is that he is motivated to get rid of merchandise and completely willing to give a deal.
Here is a short list of the things we found:
Leather duffel bag set, $10. These are super soft and great quality.
Vintage Lamp, $1. I bought this to sell, in hopes of making a little extra money to put toward our chair fund.
Vintage Newspapers, $1 each. We picked up four of these, but gifted two of them to friends.
After our trip to Montana, we drove to Portland to spend a few days unwinding before returning to our normal responsibilities at home. We had a wonderful stay at a guest cottage, owned by the lovely mother of Katy (The Non-Consumer Advocate).
There just so happened to be a garage sale across the street from the cottage one morning, and here’s what we found there:
Vintage Suitcases, 10¢ each. I use these to store sewing and craft supplies.
Box of tights for Tula, $3. There were about 12 Hanna Andersson tights in various patterns.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm0v5trysm1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ VACATION FINDS ]
It’s been a tradition for the last few years that when we take a trip somewhere, we try to squeeze in at least one stop at a local thrift store. On our latest trip to Montana, we discovered that the little thrift store in my hometown has a new owner. Since taking the reigns, he has managed to clean and organize the shop, and it is actually now possible to walk through the aisles. This might not sound like much of a feat, but take a look at the photos from the last time we were there. The other good news is that he is motivated to get rid of merchandise and completely willing to give a deal.
Here is a short list of the things we found:
- Leather duffel bag set, $10. These are super soft and great quality.
- Vintage Lamp, $1. I bought this to sell, in hopes of making a little extra money to put toward our chair fund.
- Vintage Newspapers, $1 each. We picked up four of these, but gifted two of them to friends.
After our trip to Montana, we drove to Portland to spend a few days unwinding before returning to our normal responsibilities at home. We had a wonderful stay at a guest cottage, owned by the lovely mother of Katy (The Non-Consumer Advocate).
There just so happened to be a garage sale across the street from the cottage one morning, and here’s what we found there:
- Vintage Suitcases, 10¢ each. I use these to store sewing and craft supplies.
- Box of tights for Tula, $3. There were about 12 Hanna Andersson tights in various patterns.
![[ BULKHEAD LIGHTS ]
It’s not often that we find a modern looking home improvement product that is cheaper than the basic options available. Apparently bulkheads are one of the exceptions. We’ve been wanting to change out the lighting in our hallway for a while, and explored a few different options before finally settling on the bulkheads. At just $12 each, it was a quick and inexpensive improvement.
We are glad to finally be rid of the horrible Ikea sconces that provided minimal light in our dark hallway:](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljqf0zRwJq1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ BULKHEAD LIGHTS ]
It’s not often that we find a modern looking home improvement product that is cheaper than the basic options available. Apparently bulkheads are one of the exceptions. We’ve been wanting to change out the lighting in our hallway for a while, and explored a few different options before finally settling on the bulkheads. At just $12 each, it was a quick and inexpensive improvement.
We are glad to finally be rid of the horrible Ikea sconces that provided minimal light in our dark hallway:
![[ LAMP IDENTITY ]
This morning, while waiting for my eyes to dilate at the eye doctor, I thumbed through the January issue of Sunset Magazine. There was an article on a beautiful and down-to-earth home (unlike most featured in Dwell), that had a picture of the same lamp I picked up a month ago at Goodwill. I figured they would probably skip over the source of the lamp, but to my surprise, it was right in the caption: West Elm.
I knew the lamp wasn’t vintage—the cord and socket are dead giveaways—but I couldn’t peg it as Ikea, either. Not that it really matters where it came from, because I love it regardless, but it’s nice to have a reference point. West Elm is no longer selling the lamp, but judging by their current selection, it was probably originally priced between $100–$175. I paid $6, so I’d say that’s a pretty nice discount.
Photo by Thomas J. Story](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li7ybfKgw11qc7v1bo1_400.jpg)
[ LAMP IDENTITY ]
This morning, while waiting for my eyes to dilate at the eye doctor, I thumbed through the January issue of Sunset Magazine. There was an article on a beautiful and down-to-earth home (unlike most featured in Dwell), that had a picture of the same lamp I picked up a month ago at Goodwill. I figured they would probably skip over the source of the lamp, but to my surprise, it was right in the caption: West Elm.
I knew the lamp wasn’t vintage—the cord and socket are dead giveaways—but I couldn’t peg it as Ikea, either. Not that it really matters where it came from, because I love it regardless, but it’s nice to have a reference point. West Elm is no longer selling the lamp, but judging by their current selection, it was probably originally priced between $100–$175. I paid $6, so I’d say that’s a pretty nice discount.
Photo by Thomas J. Story
![[ THE CURRENT LIGHTS ]
Earlier this week I posted my dream lights, but I thought it would be appropriate to share what our lights actually look like right now. This post is not intended to be a whiny complaint, but I feel like I post a lot of “prettied up” photos of our home, and I want to show that our place, like most homes, is a work in progress. The house was built in 1976, and I’m guessing that I would have loved most of the original lighting. The one light that the previous owners left is a simple white globe pendant that hangs in our kitchen. Every other fixture was replaced with a new light from Ikea. A friend of mine is in the process of remodeling her 70s Montana ranch house, and take a look at some of the lights that she has.
Admittedly, there are some pretty big challenges when it comes to the actual installation of hardwire lights in our house. Because there isn’t any attic space—it’s just wood tongue and groove, particle board insulation, and then roofing material—we can’t run wires in the upstairs ceiling. The exceptions are two hardwired boxes in the kitchen ceiling and one over the dining space, but when we had our roof replaced recently, it made the job more complicated, and the roofers had to avoid using any screws over that section of the house.
We had four of these track lights, one in the middle of the kitchen, one between the kitchen and dining room, and one in each of the upstairs bathrooms. They’ve all stopped working. The problem is their cheap tranformers. The seem to short out, sometimes blowing the fuse, sometimes not. One even nearly started our house on fire. We’ve tried replacing the fuses, but they still won’t work. Ikea isn’t selling them anymore, but I’ve been meaning to take the ones we’ve saved back to the store to tell them of the fire hazard. It seems like they should issue a recall.
We also have these track lights in both upstairs bedrooms. They look like they belong in a bachelor pad. That’s not all the track lighting we have, either. Are you jealous yet?
These are the lights that are in the stairwell. The wiring is in the ceiling at the bottom landing of the stairs, so they ran the wires up and around the corner. My hope is to someday hang a big Nelson Cigar Bubble Lamp in the stairwell, but I’m not sure how we’ll deal with the wiring issue. We may have to run some external conduit along the edge of the ceiling.
Remember the wall sconces we bought at the ReStore? They will replace these awkward ones in our hallway that blind us with their halogen bulbs every time we walk out of our bedroom door. The little halogen bulbs drive me crazy, too. At one point after we first moved in, we had 37 halogen bulbs in use. I consider that a little excessive.
This is the pendant in over our dining table. It’s not horrible, it’s just not really my taste, and the itty bitty halogen bulbs are about $4 each. That wouldn’t be that bad except the one at the far right keeps burning out. I’m guessing there must be something wrong with the wiring to that light. The next time it burns out, I’m not going to replace it.
Downstairs isn’t much better. We have this halogen light in the family room, and these are the beautiful florescent lights in the downstairs bathroom. We can’t afford to tackle all of the lighting at once, and my hope is combine some vintage lights with some updated modern lights, but that will take time.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lb090yIiOL1qc7v1bo1_r1_400.jpg)
[ THE CURRENT LIGHTS ]
Earlier this week I posted my dream lights, but I thought it would be appropriate to share what our lights actually look like right now. This post is not intended to be a whiny complaint, but I feel like I post a lot of “prettied up” photos of our home, and I want to show that our place, like most homes, is a work in progress. The house was built in 1976, and I’m guessing that I would have loved most of the original lighting. The one light that the previous owners left is a simple white globe pendant that hangs in our kitchen. Every other fixture was replaced with a new light from Ikea. A friend of mine is in the process of remodeling her 70s Montana ranch house, and take a look at some of the lights that she has.
Admittedly, there are some pretty big challenges when it comes to the actual installation of hardwire lights in our house. Because there isn’t any attic space—it’s just wood tongue and groove, particle board insulation, and then roofing material—we can’t run wires in the upstairs ceiling. The exceptions are two hardwired boxes in the kitchen ceiling and one over the dining space, but when we had our roof replaced recently, it made the job more complicated, and the roofers had to avoid using any screws over that section of the house.
We had four of these track lights, one in the middle of the kitchen, one between the kitchen and dining room, and one in each of the upstairs bathrooms. They’ve all stopped working. The problem is their cheap tranformers. The seem to short out, sometimes blowing the fuse, sometimes not. One even nearly started our house on fire. We’ve tried replacing the fuses, but they still won’t work. Ikea isn’t selling them anymore, but I’ve been meaning to take the ones we’ve saved back to the store to tell them of the fire hazard. It seems like they should issue a recall.
We also have these track lights in both upstairs bedrooms. They look like they belong in a bachelor pad. That’s not all the track lighting we have, either. Are you jealous yet?
These are the lights that are in the stairwell. The wiring is in the ceiling at the bottom landing of the stairs, so they ran the wires up and around the corner. My hope is to someday hang a big Nelson Cigar Bubble Lamp in the stairwell, but I’m not sure how we’ll deal with the wiring issue. We may have to run some external conduit along the edge of the ceiling.
Remember the wall sconces we bought at the ReStore? They will replace these awkward ones in our hallway that blind us with their halogen bulbs every time we walk out of our bedroom door. The little halogen bulbs drive me crazy, too. At one point after we first moved in, we had 37 halogen bulbs in use. I consider that a little excessive.
This is the pendant in over our dining table. It’s not horrible, it’s just not really my taste, and the itty bitty halogen bulbs are about $4 each. That wouldn’t be that bad except the one at the far right keeps burning out. I’m guessing there must be something wrong with the wiring to that light. The next time it burns out, I’m not going to replace it.
Downstairs isn’t much better. We have this halogen light in the family room, and these are the beautiful florescent lights in the downstairs bathroom. We can’t afford to tackle all of the lighting at once, and my hope is combine some vintage lights with some updated modern lights, but that will take time.
![[ LIGHT IT UP ]
I love fall. It’s hands down my favorite season. What I don’t like, though, are the shorter days that come with it. Since our house doesn’t get much natural light (most of our windows face north and we’re surrounded by towering trees), and several of our light fixtures have stopped working, I find myself daydreaming about fancy new lights.
If I could go out today and buy the lights I want, I would pick up a few modern classics like the Nelson Bubble lights and the Arco floor lamp. I’d also get several of these gorgeous Tom Dixon mirrored pendants. They are sadly way out of my budget (and will be for the foreseeable future). Instead, I imitated the look with these inexpensive candle holders. Really, though, we need to figure out how to light up our house better, or I might end up with a case of S.A.D. Since we just finished putting on a new roof, I think it’s time to move the lights to the top of the home improvement list. Of course, I will be scouring Craigslist and the thrift store for new lights, and I have a 20% off coupon for the ReStore which might come in handy. I might just save up for one bubble light to go over our dining table—they are just so pretty.
Top Photos by Matthew Williams for Dwell “Composite Index,” Feb. 2010.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lauzcsixHq1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ LIGHT IT UP ]
I love fall. It’s hands down my favorite season. What I don’t like, though, are the shorter days that come with it. Since our house doesn’t get much natural light (most of our windows face north and we’re surrounded by towering trees), and several of our light fixtures have stopped working, I find myself daydreaming about fancy new lights.
If I could go out today and buy the lights I want, I would pick up a few modern classics like the Nelson Bubble lights and the Arco floor lamp. I’d also get several of these gorgeous Tom Dixon mirrored pendants. They are sadly way out of my budget (and will be for the foreseeable future). Instead, I imitated the look with these inexpensive candle holders. Really, though, we need to figure out how to light up our house better, or I might end up with a case of S.A.D. Since we just finished putting on a new roof, I think it’s time to move the lights to the top of the home improvement list.
Of course, I will be scouring Craigslist and the thrift store for new lights, and I have a 20% off coupon for the ReStore which might come in handy. I might just save up for one bubble light to go over our dining table—they are just so pretty.
Top Photos by Matthew Williams for Dwell “Composite Index,” Feb. 2010.
