The Most Awesome Light Fixture EVER!!...

The other day I went with bossman to a clients house to take some measurements and what oh what do I see??

But the most beautiful Mid-Century Modern light fixture everrrr!!

How awesome is this thing!? I've never seen one like it. The light came from our client's in-laws house.

Here's a shot looking up at it... SO nice!

What do y'all think?? It adds the right "cool/glam" to the traditional New Orleans style house...

I'm in love!

Futon Is Ordered!... YES I said FUTON!

Never would I think #1 I'd order a FUTON and #2 I'd be excited about it. We all know they are hideous creatures that belong in college apartments... but sometimes a broke girl needs a stylish one to complete her furnished rental!

Why a futon you may ask? Because I need this rental to potentially sleep 4. Sleeping 4 = MORE MONEY Honey BooBoo Child! Take a second and watch her and you'll know what I'm talkin' about:

I digress...

Here's what my futon looks like:

I'm making sure anything that goes in this apartment will easily go with the rest of the house - So that I can switch around things and when we're ready to live in the whole house everything will make sense together.  White, black, camel, golds with pops of color is what I'm talkin' about!

One of these bad boys will go on both sides of the sofa - but with white shades. We carry these lamps at work and I LOVE them!! They are great for houses with high ceilings - they stand 80" tall. Very dramatic.

Below is an idea of what I will be doing - this is a condo we finished a couple months ago.

The rug will be the sisal in my living room and I'm moving 2 marble tables over as the coffee tables. I guess it's a good thing I have been collecting more furniture than my house can fit!

Cool Light Fixture...

Just came across this clever idea for a light fixture - a balloon!! Why didn't I think of this?!

I'd love to use these in a nursery/kids room!

Found them HERE.

Hall Light is UP & LIT!

Rember my awesome light I bought?? Well, just wanted to quickly show you it up and lit with the proper bulbs!

Not bad for FIVE DOLLA!! HOLLA!!

Finally working on the Bathroom!....

I hate our bathroom. Actually, I hated our bathroom now I'm able to tolerate it. And soon I think I'll actually like it.

I randomly decided to write about this so I just have pictures from my camera phone to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with:

There were these awful upper cabinets over the claw foot tub along one wall and another set of cabinets on the opposite wall where the toilet and vanity are. They looked like kitchen cabinets chillin' in a bathroom!?

And the best part is they were completely not functional! They were mounted so high you could not even reach them - and we're TALL - I'm 5'11" and The Hubs is 6'4"!

The good news is that my brother has since ripped these uglies out (sorry no after pic at the moment!) and I can finally finish priming and painting the bathroom! (I think this will be my 12th room I'm painting?!)

SO, Big Bro is also moving the vanity light up a good two feet so I can fit this guy in as the mirror!

Isn't he gorgeous?! Very New Orleans of me if I don't say so myself ;) He's 4' tall and oh so fabulous! Got him for $100 on Magazine Street (I sold 2 mirrors on Craigslist in order to get him). I'm debating on keeping him gold or spraying him white...

Like this:

And installing a more modern sconce above it... like this but turned sideways...

Sutton Double Wall Sconce vie Restoration Hardware

Here are some inspiration photos via Pinterest as far as what I'm thinking...

I like the idea of the bathroom below but it also drives me crazy how there are two sinks and the mirror is centered between them! I'd rather a rectangular mirror turned so it covers both sinks. And lucky me I have 12' ceilings to work with, looks like this bathroom is 8'??

Below is one of my all-time favorite bathrooms. THAT  MIRROR!! I don't have that kinda budget but this is just FAB!

Hopefully at least the mirror and lighting will be finished this weekend so I can show you the improvements! What do you think - keep mirror gold? (it's a reproduction so it's not like I'd be ruining some antiqued gold mirror) or paint it white? Oh and the bathroom will be painted BM Decorator's White...

Let me know what ya thinkin'!

New Lighting Is Up!!

Remember my $5 light fixture score from Habitat?? Well.... it's up!! My lovely brother happened to be over this weekend and he oh so nicely offered to change out the light. :)

I love watching him do things like that - it demystifies how complicated I think lighting or construction is - he removed the old light and installed the new one in literally 5 minutes! An electrician would of cost at least $50!!

Anyhoot - here's what the hallway looks like now:

It is a little off center from when we built the wall on right side of the hall but I'm not complaining! And I don't have the globe light bulbs I want for it yet but I wanted to share what it looks like up.

And I love the contrast of the French starburst with the mid-century modern light...

I would of preferred the fixture in my kitchen but we need a light with a fan in there to help circulate air during the hot New Orleans summers!

Oh, and below is a picture I dug up of the light that was there! When our sheet rock was sprayed the contractor covered the light to protect it and we would up keeping the plastic wrap around it because we hated it so much! Ha!

And there ya have it! Slooooowly, yet surely, things are getting done around this ole' beaut!  ;)

Latest Lighting SCORE!....

I found this awesome midcentury modern looking brass chandelier at my local Habitat for Humanity salvage store for $5!! YUP. FIVE DOLLARS! I know it's not as snazzy as some other ones but for $5 I'm not complaining...

I need to remove the clips and will more than likely gets bulbs similar to this:



Here are some I dug up that kinda look like mine... BUT both of these guys go for over $3,000!!! I'll take my $5 guy please! :)

I'm not sure where he will go yet but I knew I had to get it!

Sconce Lovin'!...

Today at work I've been searching through probably THOUSANDS of different wall sconces for a job we are doing... just wanted to share some fun ones that caught my eye!

Found HERE.

Found HERE.

Now I know this one below is nothing new, but I LOVE it!

Found HERE.

One of the rooms is getting Greek Key wallpaper, I love the lines in this one against the pattern of Greek Key...

Found HERE.

This is one of my favorite pendants... I know this one has been featured a lot but let's face it, I'm in New Orleans - where it takes 10 years for any trend to hit this city! So this would be oh so unique and different! ;)

via Thomas O'Brien

These next two are totally out there and I'm wondering what Bossman will say about them but I think they're cool!

This first one is made from driftwood, I wish there were two of them but just the one is very interesting... Love the colors of the wood.



Bossman also mentioned he pictured some sort of antler sconce for one of the rooms - came across this guy:

Which I think could definitely go too "cabin chic" (not the look we're going for!) but I think done with the right furniture and accessories it could really look cool - I'd change out that bulb to an Edison bulb though.

So there ya have it! Boo's favorite sconces of the day!!

How about y'all out there, any favorite lighting resources when on a (somewhat) budget!?

Crazy Cool Lamp...

We just got a new shipment in at the Shop and I wanted to show y'all this really cool lamp that came in! It's made from an old telephone pole!! How cool!? I love how creative people are getting with furniture & accessories...

It's got a great weathered look and talk about a conversation piece!

The artist must of drilled a hole for the wiring to go through...

Speaking of wiring, the lamp has a retro fabric cord that I love! It would be fun to make even a simple pendant light with an Edison bulb with a bright fabric cord for a punch of color.

Braided cable + Edison bulb = FABULOSO!

One of these days I'll attempt a lighting project... I did some half ass project in design school but nothing worth mentioning. Do any of y'all do lighting?!



Kitchen Lighting...

I am investigating new lighting options for our kitchen and I am really leaning towards something unconventional and industrial. I came across the lighting designer Lindsey Adelman and it was love at first click! Here are some of my favorites:

I just LOVE them all! They are so sculptural and much more exciting than your average light.

And to my wonderful surprise the designer offers a complete how to for the light featured above!! She says it winds up costing about $125. Click below.

You Make It 

I also found this version below on Etsy and it's pretty affordable - $250 - but then you have $30 for shipping. And not to mention those Edison bulbs go for $10 - $12 a pop! 

Now the question is, would I want to make my own version?! I can get my craft on but lighting is a whole other animal that I've toyed with tackling for years now... luckily between The Hubs (former Industrial Designer), Lovely Father (Electrical Engineer) and my Pop (Electrician) I think they will be able to walk me through it!

Oh and by the way, here's another shot of the Kitchen (but I can't find one that showcases the blegh chandelier there now)

Looks kinda like this:

Totally NOT me!

So any thoughts on the wackadoo choice I'm leaning towards?? I wonder if I'll have the patience to make one?! Patience is something I'm lacking...

- BOO