Making it Lovely

Tag: Lighting

  • Sputnik Inspired Lighting

    Sputnik Inspired Lighting

    A reader recently requested a guide to lighting — specifically, a guide to mixing lighting throughout a home so that it all works together. I started to put together one of my “Let’s” posts, but there were so many styles that I wanted to get to and I couldn’t fit them all in without it getting crazy! So I’ve decided to split the post into a miniseries of lighting roundups, and I’ll show how to mix and match them at the end.

    First up are the Sputnik inspired chandeliers. The fifth one here isn’t a perfect fit with the others, but it’s so amazing that I had to include it anyway (and I think it’s at home with the rest).

    1. Modern Amber Bubble Chandelier, $565

    2. Small Sputnik Chandelier, $259

    3. Satellite Chandelier, $1325

    4. Sputnik Chandelier, $359

    5. Modo Chandelier (3-Sided), $3800

  • Changes in the Living Room

    Changes in the Living Room

    I had written earlier this year about how the living room had stayed fairly consistent over the last five years. I still like the room, but I had been feeling the need to shake things up a bit. So I’ve been making some changes.

    I got my hipster Chia pets. (Local friends, Carriage Flower Shop here in Oak Park has them.)

    I sold the orange chair (fare thee well, sweet orange chair!), and I have the floral chair floor sample that I repaired in its place. I was able to almost pay for the new chair with the old, and the chair paired with a floor lamp makes a nice reading corner.

    You may recognize the pillows in the room from yesterday’s post. I should point out that August gave me that red/orange pillow for my birthday last week. Didn’t he do a great job picking it out? I suspect Brandon helped him, but good job all around.

    The rocking chair is upstairs (because I am lazy sometimes and don’t like to cart it upstairs and back down for August’s monthly photo), so we brought back the other Eames chair and the elephant. It is possible that I have too much of an affinity for Eames furniture, but they’re classic investment pieces that I don’t tire of. Plus they’re sentimental for us. We got the LCW when we were married, the rocking chair when we were expecting, and the elephant for our first Christmas as new parents.

    There are still some things I’d like to do in the living room. I took down the silhouette quilt above the sofa. It was funny to have that many heads in one space now that the busts are on the side tables! So we need some different art. Or a mirror? Not sure.

    I’d also like to switch out the side table next to the floral chair. It’s cute, but the spindle doesn’t play well with the floor lamp behind it and something chunkier would look better. Oh, and I keep putting it off but I need to paint the trim white. I’m always too busy, but I don’t think there will be a time when I’m not busy, so I really should just force myself to tackle it.

    What else? Maybe one more pillow. Maybe different curtains (maybe). Not much… the room if feeling pretty good now.

  • Living Room Floor Lamp

    Living Room Floor Lamp

    This little corner of the living room is looking so nice.

    I found a floor lamp to light up my life.

    I’ll take better pictures soon (these are from my phone), but yes. I found a floor lamp. A little brass, a little bronze, and a little more expensive than I would have liked, but it’s really nice.

    Adding a light to that corner makes the whole room feel better! I should have done it years ago. And I took the down the print that was hanging there. I’m not sure if I’ll replace it with something else yet. The blank wall seems strange, but that could just take a little getting used to.

  • In Search of a Brass Floor Lamp

    In Search of a Brass Floor Lamp

    I’ve turned my attention to this corner of the living room. It needs a little something-something.

    The previous chair had been great, but the crazy multi-colored floral is where my taste lies these days. I still plan to paint the trim white, it’s probably time to switch out the art, and the chair needs a pillow too. I’ve moved the dress form down to the basement, so I need something else with some height there. The living room doesn’t get enough light for a house plant (thanks to the front porch and a large tree out front), but it’s an ideal spot to add another lamp to the room. The only problem is that there is no outlet there. I think we can run a cord along the trim, maybe along the other side so it’s less noticeable, and it will be fine.

    I’m thinking brass might be the way to go.


    1, 2, 3

    That second one above would be perfect, but it’s expensive. I’ve not had any luck in vintage/thrifted yet, and I haven’t seen anything else in the stores that’s terribly exciting. I’m kind of into this one too, but it’s still pricey. Maybe by the time I get around to finishing the trim, the right lamp will have come along? Maybe.

    p.s. Interested in the orange Astrid chair from Anthropologie? It’s in great shape and it’s for sale. Email me. Sold!

  • Jayne Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp

    Jayne Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp

    I was doing some research for a roundup over at Babble (15 of my favorite colorful and modern lamps!), when I came across the Jayne Ceramic Lamp. I’ve had this lamp in brown since 2006, and I was so excited to see that it’s still available. Here it is in our old apartment:

    buffet

    And here it is in the library, shortly after we moved in to this house:

    Upstairs

    And it’s still in the library now:

    The Library

    I bought mine at CB2 all those years ago, but the lamp is now available right here.

  • Anemone Light

    Anemone Light

    I like this take on the classic Sputnik lighting fixture. It’s a little mod, a little grandma, and a little crazy. Good combo, Jonathan Adler.