Friday Night Lights

"And God said let there be light"!  That's how I felt when we turned on the new backyard lights for the first time! It was magical!  Now that we're into fall, with shorter daylight hours, I'm very happy they are extending the use of our pool deck.  

HOWEVER....there's one problem in this picture.  Thank God I have smart, kind friends. And thank God I post lots of pictures to Facebook.  When my friend Lonnie saw this picture he sent me a private message. In the kindest way he pointed out that I had an electrical wire running right over our pool.  And in the kindest way he pointed out that electrical and water do not mix.  Anyone else would have said "hey dumb ass do you plan on electrocuting your kids"?   And he was the one and only person to point out this grave mistake despite the picture getting quite a few "likes".  So I am very grateful to Lonnie.  Since then we've repositioned the lights at a safe distance around the pool, not over it. I like the configuration in this picture better but aesthetics must take a back seat in this situation!  

I learned a few things while doing this project, besides fully understanding the fatal combo of water and electricity.  Here are a few tips if you are looking to string your own lights. 

1. First these lights are called "carni" or "carnival lights", "globe lights" or "bistro lights".
2. I bought my lights on sale at Target. I didn't know exactly where I wanted them or how many sets I'd need so I didn't plan this entirely through.  After I bought 6 sets of lights and had them somewhat in place I read the fine print on a sticker attached to one of the globes. It said these are not intended for long time external use, 90 days max.  So, I would suggest buying permanent, exterior lights from a place like this.  They have lights meant to stay outside and they have them in varying lengths. The Target lights only allow you to string 2 sets back to back so you are limited in how far you can go from an outlet. 
3. If you are stringing a big section like what I did you need galvanized steel cable to hang the lights from.  You'll need this kind of kit or you can get your cable custom cut at the hardware store with the hooks and adapters that best suit your needs.  You have to consider what your lights will do in a windstorm. You don't want glass globes cracking all over your patio floor. 

I'm so happy to have these lights up. They really make the backyard feel special. If you've been tempted I say go for it!  And for the record, Friday Night Lights is one of my all time favorite TV shows.  Love Coach Eric Taylor!

The Living Room Sconce Fix

I'm having one of those moments when I'm antsy about the things that have not been fixed or the projects I haven't started around the house.  Looking through this blog helps me feel better when I can't tackle something right away.  I always realize we've come farther than I thought...considering our circumstances. 

I discovered there were a few projects I finished but never posted.  For the time being writing about what I have finished will make me feel better about all the things I haven't.  

The living room had these uglier than ugly sconces since the day we moved in.  For some reason Dave and I decided it was something we could leave for later.  But every month those suckers bugged me more and more.  The other factor is that we are planning on tearing down the wall where those sconces live.  It would be pointless to spend money on beautiful lighting fixtures when they would only be temporary. 

Image from The Brick House

 

I was inspired by a post both on The Brick House and on Remodelista.  They had a cost effective, easy, DIY solution to sconces.  I thought this was the perfect solution.  Problem was that neither the simple light fixture or the bulb were found at the usual Home Depot or Lowes.  I had to adventure out to industrial lighting supply stores to find what I needed. I have to admit I love these kind of adventures and I love taking our 3 year old daughter with me.  It's of course harder with her but I love that she learns so much from these "non typical" stores.  

The bulbs cast a nice soft light.  It's perfect for this room. 

 

On the flip side, when these guy guys see a mom, with a toddler, pull up in a Volvo they think I must be lost.  Some are dismissive and rude. Others are impressed by my efforts and thankfully most are quite helpful and teach me the lingo and the lay of the land in these HUGE warehouses.  I also found a killer, Mid Century out door sconce for $5 at one of the places.  Man! What a score.  Even Dave was impressed.  I still haven't figured out where to put it.  

My project turned out great.  Each sconce was less than $5 so for $10 I fixed the ugliest problem (except for the couch) in our living room!  Funny thing: someone who use to come by always had a passive and rude comment about the ugly sconces. Then they didn't even notice once they were changed out!  Lovely huh?

Here is the semi-before picture. I remembered to take a picture when I was half way through changing the fixtures. 

Here you can see the door behind the wall we plan to tear down. In there are another two rooms. I'd like to open up the entire space. It would allow us to have the current living room for entertaining, the room on the other side of the wall would be the tv room and the room past it would be the play/craft room.  And, true to the home's original design we would get our cross ventilation back with windows on both the front and back of the house. 

Freebie Lamp

A few weeks ago I was driving home through our neighborhood when I saw stuff on a front lawn with a "free" sign.  I drove by slowly and then had to go back for this big bertha.  I debated grabbing it.  I have no idea if it works. I have no place for it. It'll be a good while before I find her the perfect spot.  

On the flip side how could I resist such a cool lamp...even if its dirty and without a shade!  When we got home P kept telling Dave "It was freeee! It was freeee!". Dear God please don't let my daughter grow up to be a dumpster diver because of the bad example I'm setting.  Big Bertha came with instructions and exact dimension for a shade.  She obviously came from a kind home so I must "make her shine"!

Bedroom Sconces

I'm starting my search of bedroom lighting. The dresser has been my motivation.  It needs to be in good company.   Eventually we'll get a new bed, a platform bed, so it'll be lower than what we have now.  I'd like the bed side tables to come out of the wall like CB2's Sleepy Hollow nightstand 

or something along the lines of the Century Nightstand from CB2. 

Because of the limited table space and our need to have books and drinks near us in bed, I'd like the light fixtures to come out of the wall instead of a lamp taking up precious space.  


The Tolomeo Classic Wall lamp seems like an obvious choice but I feel it's too obvious.  It's what I expect to see in a great hotel but not a great home, although the light is great all around. 


I'd love something like this:

And this bring us to the issue of the wall sconce on the opposite wall.  The sconce that will go over our dresser.   I'm pretty sure the scones by the bed will be in some sort of silver metal so I'm not sure if I want to coordinate all the lighting or do something in white or color. These are my selects so far. 

The Kelvin W Wall Lamp by Flos

 

from Remodelista

The Boi Sconce by David Weeks

from Remodelista

The Bullet Sconce by Hip Haven

from Remodelista




and my two  granddaddy favorites of all, the Nelson Cigar Wall Sconce from Room and Board

and the Arne Jacobsen wall sconce

Dining Room Lighting

From the day we first set foot in this house my husband and I have hated the sconces that came with the place.  It was item number one to change on our list.  The kitchen light got replaced because my dad did it.  The rest have stayed the same for fear of touching anything electrical.  


Yesterday Hubby took the Pea to Travel Town in the afternoon and I decided to get brave.  I finally changed the dining room light fixture!  It was pretty easy to do. The fear in my head was larger than the task by far.  


The hanging lamp is the Ikea 365 Brasa.  It will do for now.  Inexpensive, but more our style.  My dream dining room lamp is the Artichoke pendant by Louis Poulsen.   I saw them in wood in Houston's Restaurant in Pasadena and they look beautiful!  However, priced at anywhere from $3,500 - $14,000 I don't think I'm going to ever have an original or a repo.  Only if I got as lucky as I did yesterday with the dresser could I have one.   

The Ikea lamp makes me happy.  I love that the light now falls on the table. When we eat I don't have to turn on any other light in the living room or kitchen.  The one above is perfect. The big struggle was figuring out where to hang it.  Hanging it from the beams wouldn't make it center to the table. Hanging it from the other part of the ceiling would require setting in a cross beam that in my opinion would look ugly.  I compromised. It's off center from this angle but not from the perspective of the living room.  I'm ok with that.