Not Everything Has to Make a Statement

I have been working on the details.  But I find myself resisting the otherwise natural urge to make a statement at every turn, starting with the lighting.  Strangely, I want the lighting to feel more organic.  Lighting that is functional, of course but really looks like it is of the cottage as it would have been 80 years ago.

There is one exception, of course:

Found and restored, this is a family piece that have a place of honor in this old home.

Found and restored, this is a family piece that will have a place of honor in this old home.

The one statement fixture in the house will be a chandelier (pictured above) that has been at every house my family has lived in as long as I can remember.  I asked my mother if I could have it for the renovation, giving it a place of honor in the house.  It will be hung over the lovely nine foot, antique, French bistro table in the front room.   It will be one of the first things you see when you walk in the house and I can’t wait to hang it.

My Uncle Jack found this chandelier many, many, many moons ago.  He recently told me the story on Facebook, of how he found and restored it:

“OMG , do I remember it ? I’m so glad you are using it . You will appreciate the history of how it was saved from the dumpster . A friend at work told me of an elderly aunt ( 86 ) that had died and the family had scavenged everything they wanted from her ten room home . He offered to humor my reputation as a junk collector and take me to see if there was anything I wanted . Yes …I’ll take that old player grand piano, the 1500s leather bound prayer book , and lots more . Now , I was eyeing that chandelier in the dining room but there were lots of prisms missing . In the entry was another smaller one in the same condition . I took both down , counted the prisms ,and was still a few short to complete this one . Rooting through boxes , drawers , and such ,I found prisms from the basement to the attic . Just enough ! I took them all off , soaked the 100 years of grime in bleach water , and scrubbed each one . It has survived many years with your Mom , now you can enjoy it for many more . I’m so happy for you.”

So thanks to Uncle Jack and his dogged determination and mom for letting me hang it in the house, I have a wonderful statement piece to hang in what will be a lovely home.

Here are some pictures of the chandelier and other fixtures that I will be using throughout the house.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Ceiling fixture with simple silk shade.

Ceiling fixture with simple silk shade.

Adjustable arm wall sconce in antique brass finish.

Adjustable arm wall sconce in antique brass finish.

Clear shade with antique brass fixture.

Clear shade with antique brass fixture.

 

An vintage gooseneck lamp with a Victorian crystal bead bulb cover with an accordion closure.  These bulb covers with the accordion closure are very hard to find, but I found two.

An vintage gooseneck lamp with a Victorian crystal bead bulb cover with an accordion closure. These bulb covers with the accordion closure are very hard to find, but I found two.

They don't make things like this anymore.  The bulb cover has great weight to it because the beads are glass.  The accordion closure is what makes the pair I found a rare and unique find.

They don’t make things like this anymore. The bulb cover has great weight to it because the beads are glass. The accordion closure is what makes the pair I found a rare and unique find.

Simple pendant lamps for the kitchen.  Exposed twisted cord, antique brass finish and a beautiful Sheffield milk glass shade.  Just lovely.

Simple pendant lamps for the kitchen. Exposed twisted cord, antique brass finish and a beautiful Sheffield milk glass shade. Just lovely.

Floating Holiday Centerpiece

A recurring theme in my blog is always about making things easier.  Around the holidays, I try to work with what I have so I got the idea to hang mercury glass ornaments of varying sizes from my dining room chandelier with vintage seam binding.  Cut at different lengths, the vintage seam binding helps hold the ornaments at different heights and gives the “floating” centerpiece great visual interest.

The light itself is an oversized single burlap drum shade from Potter Barn.  It has this great fabric ledge on the inside that turned out to be a great place to tuck twinkling string lights that show through the burlap to give this great softened twinkling holiday light effect.  To make this happen, I found a screw in lightbulb socket with a plug and just screwed it into the extisting bulb socket, added the normal lightbulb and plugged in the twinkle lights.

The result is this great floating centerpiece with a soft, holiday lighting effect.  A simple project that has maximum impact to the entire room.

I hope you find some inspirtation for your house for the holidays!

Always,

xoxo

Cindy

bells,berries,celebrations,Christmas,Christmas decorations,Christmastime,cropped images,cropped pictures,decorations,holidays,hollies,holly leaves,plants,PNG,special occasions,transparent backgrounds

German Glass Glitter and Mercury Ornaments.

Pretty Twinkling Lights tucked on the fabric ledge.

Lightbulb Socket found at any home store.

DIY Pendant Lights

Completed Lamp.

Completed Lamp.

 

Lighting had always been an issue in my kitchen but since the renovation had a strict budget…I had to be very creative.  I needed some lighting over the new peninsula and the solution seemed to be to swag the lighting over from the only ceiling junction box in the kitchen.

All the pendant lights that I looked at, even the simpler designs were budget busters…so I resorted to making my own when I came upon some hurricane globes at Michael’s.  The shape of the globes really spoke to me and I already had an idea to use some rustic, vintage, scalloped tart pans as an embellishment to hide the wiring.

Including the globe, lamp parts and wiring, each of these lamps came in at about $11 each.  I also spent $10 on a special drill bit that was used to drill the hole in the bottom of the globe.

If you want to try a project like this on your own, one thing to look for are glass vessels that don’t have super thick bases.  Thicker bases can take 30 minutes or so to drill through and they can fry your glass drill bits. If you find a beautiful glass vase or vessel that has a thick base that you simply must use…take it to the closest glass shop. They will usually drill the hole for you at a cost of $15 – $25 per hole.   It can get a bit pricey…so just a fair warning from the voice of experience!

xoxo.

Cindy, Samantha and Lillie.

As a post script, I am submitting this article for consideration for a feature in Cottages & Bungalos.  Stop by the blog when you have some time, there are some terrific entries already:

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