lighting | So Pretty is as Pretty Does.

Oct 10

Turkish de Light

Last month, my husband and I took a couple of weeks and traveled through parts of Europe that we’d been itching to see since before college graduation. After quite a bit of planning, we created an itinerary that hopped along the southern coast, starting in Istanbul and winding up in Barcelona. Our time in Istanbul was gorgeous, vibrant, entirely different from our cultural norm, and wildly inspirational. As a souvenir, we had a Turkish mosaic pendant shipped back to the US and this weekend we completed our first mini-project inspired by our trip by installing our new light in a room that desperately needed a fixture update.

$600 Makeover {Kitchen}

When my husband and I bought our house two years ago, we knew that we were going to completely renovate the kitchen. But, because our house is quite a fixer-upper, we didn’t know when a kitchen renovation was going to take place. In the interim, we had to do something to make it livable. With a budget set at $600, we picked the most important and economical features to fix. This meant that appliances, counter tops and cabinets were off the list. But, we made a substantial visual impact by changing paint, fixtures, lighting, and flooring. And, we made a substantial functional impact by creating a work space from a previously unused area.

Lighting Inspiration

I’ve been looking for new lighting for my bedroom, and living room and guest room…pretty much everywhere in the house. Here are some lamps and fixtures that absolutely inspire.

{Shirley Fintz lamp from West Elm}

Latest lighting endeavor

When we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we realized that most of the charm of a bungalow two years from its centurion mark was missing. The decorative trim was gone, the floors were covered in carpeting, and most everything that can be replaced was replaced with builder-grade items. So, we’ve been on a mission to bring back some of the charm to this house. We’re trying to stay true to the period for more permanent things like trim and moulding, but with other less permanent things, like chandeliers, we’re having some fun. My newest project is this bubble chandelier:

You can find the instructions for the entire project here, Ready Made’s Glass Act. I think it’s going to work well in my smallish dining room, where I didn’t want something big and visually heavy, but I still wanted a chandelier. Plus, it reminds me of champagne, and that can’t be a bad thing!