light

Rope and Ribbon Pendant

Published on March 21, 2013March 21, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Well, the guest room has a new light fixture. Surprise, it’s not on this list, though I was leaning toward numbers two and five. But I remembered I had a lamp shade I kept when our lamps broke. I unscrewed the glass cover and hung the shade from the old light, just to get an idea of how it looked.

Too small, and I didn’t like the slightly tapered shape. I took a drum shade off a lamp in the basement, replacing it with the tapered shade. Whaddya know, they were perfect for each other.

Knowing I liked the look and size, I started working on the wiring and hanging. Inspired by this cord cover up, I got out an Ikea cord kit (I had on hand) and cotton/poly rope from Home Depot (for 3 bucks).

A knot at the bottom, close to the socket to start. Then I wrapped the cord like a friendship bracelet. Behind the cord, then through the hole from the front. Not only does this wrap cover the cord, it makes a neat swirl knot design.

Ben hung the light last night using a basic ceiling canopy. The plain shade was boring, so I taped two pieces of wood veneer around the top and bottom.

Everything looked too monotone, so I stole pillows from other rooms to test accent colors. I loved the punch of green this one added. Imagine yellow walls with the dark blue headboard and shots of bright green. Yes, please!

Which prompted me to dig in my ribbon box, coming out with kelly green.

Exactly what I want. Fun, colorful, and lively. Green has a way of perking up any space. To evenly distribute the lively green I want to make another storage box. Luckily the navy set will work perfectly in the main bathroom.

Because I had most of the supplies already, the light cost me $3 for the rope. Score. And you know I can’t resist a DIY. Double score. What do you think of the changes?

Semi Flush

Published on March 15, 2013March 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode23 Comments

In addition to looking for a not too green or orange yellow paint, I’m searching for the Goldilocks of semi flush lights for the guest room. Here are my top six:1. Kenroy Home Whistler

2. Livex Park Ridge

3. Possini Double Organza

4. Galaxy Chadwick

5. Designers Fountain Cordova

6. Soho Polished Chrome

All have diffused light with a close to the ceiling drop. Some are more simple. But I’m not sure which I like best. Or if any of these are the one. Care to cast your vote? Or nominate a different light? Of course there’s always a DIY option.

The Sky Is Falling

Published on August 13, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode23 Comments

Wow, it’s crazy how much we can get done on the house now without the roof demanding so much attention. We’re currently between big projects, having just finished the roof and waiting for our windows to arrive. Which gave Ben some time to tackle a few, slightly smaller projects, including installing the Sky Tube in the bathroom.

After some debating from everyone (you included!) we landed on centering it over the tub width wise, and centered over the shower curtain depth wise. Ben started by tracing and cutting most of the outline of the light. Before cutting it completely through, dumping a pile of insulation on our heads, be climbed up in the attic and moved the offending insulation. From there, Sam cut the rest of the sheet rock left, and installed the bottom glass part of the light, screwing it into the joists above.

Ben attached the flexible duct work to the cover he had already installed while roofing and we were ready to rock. And on an overcast, rainy day, this bathroom saw its first shred of natural light in existence.

Monumental, right? Haha.

When the clouds parted and the sun popped out, our bathroom lit up, too.

Of course I had to hop in the shower to see what it was like with the curtain closed. Look at all that light, without any electricity.

Ben was right, I’m glad we decided to center it over the tub.

Not only does the sky tube give great light to the tub area, but the rest of the bathroom as well. The vanity area is light and bright.

Trust me when I say the change is dramatic. Actually, why don’t you take a look at the before and after:

Light, bright, airy, and not at all yellow toned. Ahh, I see the light.

How was your weekend? Did you spend some time crossing things off the honey do list? Or relax knowing fall is around the corner?

You Light Up My Life

Published on June 12, 2012March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Over the weekend, we enjoyed windy, gloomy weather. No work on the roof, but Ben did some work inside. On Saturday, we ran our usual errands, Ben washed windows, and cut the left over slab of Bubinga to fit the entertainment center. Sunday, we had high temps in the 60’s, so we took a trip to Home Depot to get various electrical supplies. Cooler days are better for attic work and we took advantage of it. First, Ben ran wires for the theater speakers.

Speakers will flank the front living room window for a true theater-like experience. The wires run from the outside wall, through the attic, and down the wall behind the entertainment center.

While he was up there, he moved the cable from the temporary place to the same box behind the tv.

Though unfinished, that is better than this:

You may have noticed the sconces are gone, too. Ben pulled the wires completely out because we’ll never have sconces there. Now we’ve got patching to do.

That’s all great, but I was most excited for the pendants in the main bathroom. While painting the small linen closet, I realized just how dark that bathroom was.

Step out of the dark ages, we have created light! Finding lights Ben and I could agree on wasn’t the easiest part of this bathroom reno.

We knew we wanted chrome pendants with hidden bulbs. Of course the options are nearly limitless, but we also wanted something around the $50 or less price point. One of our original choices were industrial chrome pendants for $48 each from Lowes. Currently, the bathroom doesn’t have a ray of natural light. We will add a Sky Tube, but Ben and I worried the downward direction of the lights wouldn’t fill up the bathroom.

Luckily, using only one rod kept the pendants high enough, giving off more light than I thought.

And we love the look.

The style of this pendant is very similar to this one from Home Depot. Twenty dollars less each, and I like the style of the Lowes option better.

We’ve got some trim installed, but more to do. Then filling, sanding, priming, and painting. And grouting the tub, installing the toilet, getting the sink functional, adding functional items like hooks and such. But we’re getting there. I’m getting some of the finishing touches ready. And you caught a peek at the shower curtain that inspired my revised plan. Mood board to come soon.

What did you do over the weekend? Have you found a cheaper version of something that you liked more than the expensive option? That’s always fun for me. Usually I gravitate toward the more expensive items.

Pinterest Challenge: Bird Cage

Published on November 2, 2011October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

YHL and Bower Power offered up another season of Pinterest Challenge.

And we knew just what we wanted to share. The bird-cage pendant I made over a month ago but didn’t hang until yesterday.

I already had all the necessary supplies on hand, too. For this project, we used a white ceiling canopy, a cord kit from Ikea (thanks Lizzy for sending it to me!), wire cutters, a pretty light bulb (a large clear vanity bulb was the best I could find locally), and the bird shade. Why didn’t this happen sooner?

It was as simple as cutting and connecting wires. Because we’ve been so busy working on the kitchen, we didn’t install this until last night.

Hence the dark photos. We’ll add more soon. I like the quirkiness the fixture adds to the space, too.

The low watt round bulb is more than enough overall light, but it is still delicate. For some darn reason though I can’t get the stinkin’ thing to hang straight. Ugh. I’ll have to fiddle around with it more.