On a dining room lighting choice.
So, this is going to be a decorating post. I know. Very out of character. Bear with me. . .
My tastes veer toward antique, junk, found objects, metal, rust, peeling paint. This fit in pretty fine when Todd and I were in our first house in EAV.
I loved that house.
Then we got knocked up and had to move to a bigger house.
Furniture still worked. Schools didn’t.
And now we are in a great school, but in something i never thought i would own. A split-level. And my furniture? It still works, but I am finding that I need to mix it with more modern elements to keep it from looking incongruous with its surroundings.
So, I am getting a new piece of furniture, an old pie safe, from my in-laws. It is beautiful, and I will post a photo when it moves in, and give the whole scoop on its history. (I know. You are just riveted now, aren’t you?) It will go in the dining room. My dining room, with its farm table, beat up junk store chairs, and weird Pop objects: old iron, churn, huge antique crocks. Old photos on the walls.
I decided I wanted to repaint the den and dining room, to brighten the area. I love the color that we picked, but it is turning out to be too dark in those rooms (the den and dining area are connected). The dining room only has one window. I figured while I repainted, I would also use that as an excuse to get rid of the dining room light. It is the exact same fixture my grandparents had in THEIR house in Warner Robins. Need I say more? That bitch needs to go.
I started looking at fixtures. Realized the more traditional fixtures were going to make my dining room look like a Cracker Barrel. Decided what I really wanted was something more funky. Lighter, airier, brighter, less heavy.
This is new for me. I found myself looking at fixtures I would never have looked at before. I got Todd on board. We are in agreement. And now I’ve narrowed them down to a few I like.
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- #1
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- #2
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- #3
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- We are thinking about knocking out the windows and putting doors to a screened porch. (Which will add to darkness, but i want one.)
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- Stairs up to BRs. Stairs down to basement. Thinking i should repaint this room too, since they are adjoining.
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- Quint and Scully stay, as do couch, door on wall, drawing in frame.
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- Will probably paint dining room door white to brighten room.
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- Red hutch in back is going. Mirror on wall is going. Keeping the armillary sphere. Armoire is going somewhere else – too overpowering in this space.
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- See what I mean? Small. No light. (Let’s concentrate on the dining area for now – yes, Kitchen’s Grandma wallpaper is going from kitchen. Baby steps.)
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- Walls will be painted white/off-white. Junk in left back corner will be gone. Hutch in back right corner will be gone. Table and chairs stay. See how dark it is?
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- This thing is gone. Have to lighten things up in here.
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- Good example of stuff i like – repurposed wooden table, vintage enamel bowl with red trim.
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- Love the purples and greens. My favorite colors. Wish I could wear two patterns like this and not look like a sofa or a crazy bag lady.
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- She loves my camera.
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- #4
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- #5
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- #6
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- #7
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- #8
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- #9
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- #10
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- #11
I always have trouble pulling the trigger on decisions like this, though. I have a favorite. Todd has a favorite.
Which is your favorite?
Update: Added photos of dining room and adjoining living room.
Tags: Dining Room, Home, Lighting, Renovations
When I saw the title of this post the first thing I thought was that you had a funny story about difficulty with the trigger pull on some kind of firearm and would go on to talk about gender roles, the homoeroticism of machismo, and the sweet sense of satisfaction when firing a fully automatic rifle. But then it was about chandeliers, so I like the top row, middle, the one on black.
LOL! Jason, that woulda probably been more my style. And perhaps a bit more interesting.
Thanks for the vote.
Yeah, I had you pegged for the antique-y chandelier. I would have liked the one like your grandparents had, though.
My choice is top left.
If that is too girly for Todd, I vote for the one at bottom left (with the silver bands).
I vote for the middle one in the third row down. It’s clean, classic, modern, yet slightly retro.
Todd doesn’t care about the girlie-ness. Steph, you want me to keep the fixture for you?
And I do like antiquey stuff, but the house is not that style at all, so I am trying to bridge the gap, kwim?
Thanks, Becky!
So, there are 11 choices. . . so far, I have:
1 = 1
2 = 3
3 = 4
4 = 2
5 = 3
6 = 11
7 = 1
8 = 5
9 = 2
10 = 7
11 = 2
Funny that someone voted for every one. . . keep’em coming. This is fun.
I like 3, 4, 6, and 10- not 11. Erin did 11, and it just didn’t look great.
that’s my choices.
I am thinking 3. Is it a globe? I would like it better if it was a globe of sticks with a light inside. Really, a stick chandelier with tiny led lights would be best. Find one of those.
No, Nat, it is a half-dome. Are you serious about the stick chandelier with the led lights? They have those.
I like 3 and 6. 3 and 6!
I like #8 – classic with a little whimsy
If it were me, I would seriously take into consideration how easy it is to clean after the dust collects on it.
Also, I LOVED our screen porch in Atlanta. It was worth every penny. I made them paint all the wood work white to keep it bright inside. If you want to see some pictures, I can post a link.
Oh, all is well in Alaska, where we now own a split-level. Ugh. But, we are slowly, very slowly, settling in.
Can I see the stick/twig? Depends. I take back my vote though. I am not getting a feel for any of these. But I think it is because I can’t imagine the dimensions. I am worried they aren’t big enough.
Idk, I just like the rustic but rustic elegant. Not country cheez. I have a hard time with modern. I like the more natural/organic stuff or it has to be old and kitchy, make sense?
No, makes perfect sense, Nat. About the dimensions – you are worried the space isn’t big enough for those fixtures, or the fixtures are too small for the space??
i like 5 and 9. i have one thats close to 11 but the light it puts off is weird so wwe don’t use it much.
What about A href=”http://www.yourfunnystuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/penis-chandelier.jpg”>this one?
Funny, zach.
Thanks, Scottie. Good to have some more male perspective. . .
Send me a pic of yours if you get a chance.
What fun – love the things you’re doing. I love your house too. I too go for antique and junk-store things. Who knew!?
I like #5 the best- reminds me of the lighting that wasin the dining room of our old bungalow in NC. Have you ever visited deepfriedkudzu.com? Great blog re: southern cooking and dining, retro and junk finds, etc. I love it – got the reccommendation from my aunt. Great recipes – sorry to jack your thread. 😉
I like #5, 6, 9 and 10. I’m also thinking for the purpose of resale. There are some cool, funky ones (such as #2) but in 2 yrs, wil you still like? Can any of these have different shades replaced in case you wnat to change up the look. there are some wickedly cool papers and fabric out there.