Light of My Life

We finished the dining room almost two years ago, but something kept nagging me. You can see it photobombing my dining room before shot with the faded-safety-vest orange walls.

It's the basic, "traditional style" light fixture. I suppose it is an ok fixture- provides light, probably pretty cheap too. But it didn't seem to be the right style for the room, or this house.

So I've wanted to find a light that would update the room with something simple and solid, like a bungalow. However, I lacked any opinion whatsoever. I would look at light after light and each looked fine, hideous or ok. Nothing wowed me.

Until this morning, when I was shopping for shingles. I wanted to take a quick peak at lighting, just in case there would be a good deal on something for my parents' house. I didn't know I was about the meet the first light I would get excited about.

I thought this light looked very cool, but why was it just sitting on the shelf, with no box? Shouldn't it be hanging, or in some sort of packaging? I moved in for a closer look.

Then I saw it- the deal maker.

YES! And yes, this deal is available near you: 8-Light Dark Oil-Rubbed Bronze Chandelier

I asked a store associate if there was anything wrong with the light, and he assured me there wasn't. He kindly took it to the front of the store for me, so I could continue on to ...

... what was I looking for? Oh yea, shingles.

I've never replaced a hardwired light fixture, and I admit I was intimidated. But I turned off the power, grabbed heavy rubber gloves and rubber sandals, and learned as I went. I pretty much just looked for things that would slide apart and untwist. The old light came down easily.

The new light had a five foot long chain and is 2-feet long already. That's way too much chain for our 9-foot ceilings. I had to figure out how to adjust the chain. 

The links on either end open up, but there's no way to easily adjust the length of the chair. I measured the distance I wanted the fixture from the ceiling, then measured the chain. I inserted one screw driver on either side of the link I figured should come off, and slowly increased pressure, until it twisted open.

I took the adjustable link from the end, and added it to the new, shorter chain.

 I'm saving the remaining four feet of chain just in case I decide we need to take the fixture when we build our next house.

I removed the plate at the base of the chain by removing this washer, and wrapped the extra cord inside the housing.

The light did have one small blemish- something black left a mark on the etched glass shade.

About 60 seconds with a Magic Eraser got me this far?:

So here it is- the new light!

Hope you don't mind all these pictures. I am very excited about this light!

2011 Forecast

In October 2010, this post described our progress, relating to a list posted earlier in the year (here: 2010 Forecast). We had barely touched the list! Our good intentions meant very little once the home improvement ball was rolling.

Last summer, the City sent us, along with our neighbors, a letter explaining the City's plan to replace our sewer. Good news, right? Did I mention that replacing our fully functional sewer connection will be at our cost? It isn't how we'd hoped to spend that chunk of money, but there is no way around it, so we have to bite the bullet.

This impacted our 2010 list, and will also play into our 2011 list. We can't very well build a retaining wall when it might be damaged by work in the street, and possibly in our yard. So that project has been simmering on the back burner, for a while. I just said simmering, didn't I? More like ice cold. Bummer.

Fortunately, the NE Portland Bungalow still has plenty of home improvement projects to chose from. Here is our pipe dream proposed "To Do" list for the remaining three quarters of 2011:

1.) The exterior:

-remove the poured concrete patio/sidewalk and replace with pavers

-fix the gutters and dig french drains

-prune the out of control fig tree

-remove old plants, till/level the yard, and replant grass

-build a shed for the grill, mower and other lawn care tools

The backyard has seen (and will see) better days:

Here's a peak at the monster fig tree:

There is a lot to say about this tree, and it could have an entire post just for itself. Maybe it will someday.

2.) The current TV room:

-remove wall paper, strip paint, repaint

-repair plaster

-remove door to bathroom and frame in wall instead

The current TV room:

The room is currently egg-salad-yellow paint over wallpaper, has about 5 layers of paint on trim, and has plenty of damaged plaster (not to mention holes in the plaster from insulating the room). This project should be very similar to the dining room project, and will hopefully go much faster.

(at this point, we'll play Musical Rooms, moving our bed to that room)

3.) The current bedroom:

-repair plaster (no wallpaper- woohoo!!)

-strip paint, repaint

-restore sash windows

The current bedroom:

This picture was taken during the insulation project, in November 2009. Clearly, this room will need lots of plaster repair. Fortunately, there is no wall paper to strip, but there are sash windows to restore. I'm excited for that experience, but intimidated by the unknown.

4.) And everyone's favorite category, miscellaneous:

-if we're ever really feeling ambitious, strip some paint off the fire place brick

If anyone has any good tips or stories relating to french drains, restoring sash windows, landscaping or anything else, please do share- advice might be just want the doctor ordered!

Spray Painting Lamps: Before and After

DIY inspiration struck again.

In a quest to graduate from furniture and accessories left over form our college years, I've been hungrily searching for lamps to replace these:

Collectively, I think I spent about $20 for both lamps and the missing shade. Please note: these lamps look better in this picture than in person.

When I have to shop for something, for the first time, I find that I lack any opinion and end up spending months pre-shopping before I feel prepared to purchase. Drapes? Shopped for about 22 months. Rugs? 6 months. Dishes? HA!

With visions of what the current-TV-room/future-office will look like in a few months (after removing wallpaper and repainting), I started getting excited, and feeling inspired. I wanted dark lamps with a clean, casual look.

The lamps pictured above were destined for the "donate" pile, as I started pre-shopping. I was looking for a dark base (to match the drapery rods I picked) and mica shade- in bloth a floor lamp and a table lamp. Most of what I found came in around $40 per lamp- ouch.

At Target, I was inspired to check out the lamps and shades that could be mixed and matched. This shade caught my eye:

I realized that I might be able to add new shades to my old lamps. Two shades were around $35 together (one large, and one medium). I couldn't find the exact shades on the Target website, but they are from Target's "Home" line.

At home, I found the shades did not fit *perfectly* on the lamps, and wobbled a bit. I made shims by wrapping strips of foil around the base of the shade, for a better fit:

A quick sanding, a few coats of spray paint, and the lamps were ready for their new shades. The brown spray paint did not come out as dark as I wanted, so I may repaint them, later. But for now:

Doesn't the little lamp remind you a child wearing a big hat? Not the most amazing lamps I've ever seen, but they will work for now. If I replace them, later, I will probably keep these shades, though.