We finally got our hands on the Chase Ceiling Mount I had wanted for the library, and we’ve already installed it! Brandon did most of the work while I held Eleanor and read the instructions to him.
It’s so much better than the light that was there before.
It’s understated, but it’s a perfect compliment to the room.
The popcorn has given way to a smooth, flat ceiling, thanks to Brandon’s hard work. As I mentioned before, the ceiling did not contain asbestos (always check before removing because many popcorn ceilings do), so we felt comfortable trying to remove it. It came down easily enough in just a few hours (he sprayed it with water and scraped it off), but smoothing the resulting mess took a little longer. He did a rough sanding (60 grit) first, wiped all of the dust away with a damp cloth, smoothed over all of the imperfections with joint compound, and then sanded everything again (220 grit).
I’m the more handy one out of the two of us and I felt bad that I couldn’t help, but we didn’t think it was a safe job for a pregnant lady. Oh yeah, I’m also a wee bit of a perfectionist… It was really hard to not go in there and obsessively sand and smooth and do things myself. After priming and painting though, the ceiling looks really good.
The new light looks great, though we did have to run out and grab a ceiling medallion. I’m not really a fan of them, but Brandon had a hard time smoothing out the ceiling near the light, and the medallion was an easy solution to hide the remaining popcorn texture. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll leave it white or if I’ll paint it the same color as the rest of the ceiling.
Now, I know people get a bit nervous when dealing with electrical projects (we do too), but changing a light fixture is EASY. We’ve done it six times so far in this house (in the living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, studio, and nursery). You just make sure the power is off, take down the old fixture, connect like wires to like wires, attach the ground wire to the little green screw on the mounting bar, and then attach the new fixture.
We decided to keep the room the same color (Wheat Bread by Behr), but it needed a second coat of paint. Really, it’s always needed that second coat, but I think I was too tired when working on the guest room before and I just figured ‘good enough’ (which is so uncharacteristic of me). It has bugged me ever since. So now we’ve painted the ceiling and walls, and even did some touch up work on the trim, and the guest room is officially ready to be switched over to a nursery.
People ask all the time about the lamps in my living room, but they’re no longer available. I bought them years ago from Crate & Barrel, and they were made by Robert Abbey.
Now, I know these aren’t the same (pale pink vs. white, different silhouette), but they are fairly similar. Feel free to ignore or embrace the fact that they are Mary-Kate and Ashley brand.
(Mary-Kate and Ashley accent lamp and table lamp available at Target.)
I tried out a few lamps with Photoshop to see which one I liked best, but I’m still not sure.
Here’s the office with the new lamp:
Here’s the same lamp, but with a white shade:
I bought a new lamp from Pier 1 yesterday. I’m not sure if it’s actually called “Chili” (I think that’s just the color), but it wasn’t on the website and I don’t remember what the name was on the tag.
I’m not 100% sure about it yet. Keep it? Return it?
It would be for my office. I love the lamp that I have in there now, but the power switch is somewhat broken and now it hurts my wrist to turn it off.
I’ve been thinking about getting the Lights Up! Nikki Table Lamp:
That one is $185 though, and the lamp that I bought was only $75. Still, I’d rather spend the extra money and get the lamp I really want instead of skimping and getting one that’s only so-so. The problem is that I’m not sure which one I want…
I finally found a kitchen light. Huzzah!
I went to Hortons in La Grange. I told the person that helped me (Michael) that I was looking for a flush mount or semi-flush mount light that could take three light bulbs and wouldn’t look out of place in our 1920 home. He showed me several choices in the store and pointed out more options in a catalog that could be ordered. The one that I chose was in stock (yay!), so I bought it and took it home.
And it looks a little something like this:
It’s nothing amazing, but that’s OK. It’s a simple, good-looking light that isn’t a period piece, but it isn’t ultra mod either. And it can take three 100 watt bulbs, which is great (since it will be the only ceiling light).
Now I just need to make a decision about the under-cabinet lighting… fluorescent, halogen, or xenon? I’m leaning toward the xenon fixtures. The light is adjustable (high/low), and not as hot as halogen. Plus it’s easier to wire (no need for a tranformer box). The downside is the cost ($300 for xenon vs. $100 for halogen). Eh, I’ll figure it out.
