lighting – The Artesian Project

Last week I mentioned that light fixtures are like jewelry for your home and can sometimes be an affordable fix to an otherwise dull space. Well, here is your step guide on how to take a cheap-o light fixture and make it look mighty ex$pen$ive (© Ke$ha).

1. Find your chandelier. I found a brass chandelier on Craig’s List for $20. Chances are, there is already one in your house/your parents’ basement.

2. Set your chandelier in a box that can support it during the painting process. It should be able to slightly rest on the sides and not touch the bottom so you can paint all the angles without sticking to the box. Then either use painter’s tape on the candlesticks or remove them completely and tape up the sockets so that no paint seeps into the electrical parts. Then give the fixture a quick wipe down with soap and water to remove any old dirt, dust, etc. so you have a clean surface.

3. After drying the soap and water off, prime the fixture. I used Rustoleum Ultra White Primer. Rustoleum is great on metal surfaces and comes in a spray can, so it is super easy to use. You can find this at your local Home Depot for about $4. Once your first coat is dry, flip over the fixture to hit the areas that were previously on the box and another areas you may have missed. BE CAREFUL: remember the method “less is more.” If you overspray, you run the risk of having hard to see drip marks harden onto your fixture. Have a rag handy to wipe up drips.

4. Time to add your color! I chose a light teal color as this light was going to be a focal point in my family’s beach house. I would also recommend using a Rustoleum product in this step. Spay the first side, let dry, then flip to spray the bottom and let dry. And again, remember: less is more. You may want to add a very light coat of spray polyurethane to make sure it is sealed.

5. Step 5 is the last – and optional – step. Adding some BLING. Since this fixture would be in a cottage, I wanted to add some shabby chic-ness to it with some crystals. I found a lamp supply dealer online who happened to be in my neighborhood. I bought varying size prisms for each tier and a string of garland to drape around the center. The tricky part was attaching these pretty babies to the light. After some serious brainstorming, I ended up using very thin earring hoops from Hobby Lobby. They were the perfect finishing touch to this beachy glam chandelier.

Et voila! You have a custom chandelier in the wheelhouse of $30.

Anyone else catch that Charlie Brown Christmas reference? No? Anyways…

My recent task for the new digs has been to select the lighting fixtures for the house. To some, this could be a really easy task: “Sure, I went to Home Depot and got 5 of these and 3 of those,” but unfortunately for me, I really, really, really like lights. I’m the girl taking pictures of chandeliers instead of listening to the tour (see above – Notre Dame Paris). I have been pouring over these lights for weeks; even woke up in the middle of the night last week and my first conscious thought was pendants. Sad, I know.

To me, light fixtures are like jewelery for your home. An easy (and sometimes affordable) way to add a touch of glam or surprise where it could have been dull. So we walked through the entire floor plan with our contractor and, sure enough, I signed us up for megaload of these “moments,” which can really add up.

So, here’s the plan:

1. Prioritize your light fixtures. You probably do not need to spend as much on your basement bathroom fixtures as you would in, let’s say, the powder room that will be used everyday by you and by your guests. Put quality fixtures where they will be used most. I put our kitchen counter pendants, powder room, and dining chandelier at the top of my list. Don’t worry, you can still get some great looking fixtures for less dollas for the rest of the house (Shades of Light is a great place to start).

2. Create a pinterest board (or what have you) so you know what you want to purchase when the time comes. Feel free to take a peek at my Lighting board on Pinterest for some ideas.

3. Be ready to strike when the iron’s hot. Know when those fixtures are going on sale. Join email lists, do some serious browsing, and ask around. Knowledge is power when it comes to getting yourself the best price: Crest Lighting, who I pass to and from the L everyday, offers a 20% discount for new constructions. I knew Restoration Hardware had an upcoming lighting sale (30% off – and still going!) and I asked one of their designers if this was the best price I would be getting or if I should wait for another sale – they will be honest with you.

So although our house will not be ready for quite some time (grrr), we are now ready with some quality kitchen pendants that are just right and powder room sconces that scream Parisian Bistro – oooh lala! Excited to show you how these look in the finished product. Christmas came early in the Wagner house 🙂

Tag: lighting

(make a chandelier look expensive on the cheap)

(lights, please?)