Lighting that just looks better!

While you patiently wait (HA!) for pictures of our painted house, I thought I'd share a little (ok, not as little as we originally anticipated, but smaller than the painting of the house. That counts, right?) project that Ryan and I conquered last week. He was off for Veteran's Day, so I took advantage. :) If you have been to our house, you may have noticed the not-so-pretty (and we found out, not so lightweight either...UGH!) chandelier that lit our dining room. We have replaced about a gazillion light bulbs in this thing since we moved in (and if you remember this, we've only been here about 5 months!). The owners said it was antique. If you know me, you know I LOVE antiques, but this one has not been in my realm of like since the day we moved in.


What I would REALLY love is something like this chandelier from Pottery Barn, but that pricetag would NEVER fit our budget, not even if he was a doctor. A light fixture is NOT worth that much! So, I've been on the hunt for something...anything, really. I just didn't want this thing up any longer!

Here comes the story of my $10 light fixture! While out yardsaling a couple months ago there was a light in a box marked FREE! My favorite price. I figured if I couldn't use it that I could give it away for free to someone else. It was worth the grab! This is what I found:


Yep, it's a contractor grade light fixture with absolutely NO character. Nothing that a little bit of paint and rewiring can't fix! This is what we did to it:

My wanna-be electrician. He's gonna be a pro when I'm done with him! :) I think the tongue trick helped.

All the bits and pieces. We only had one little nut left when we were done. Have NO idea where it goes, but who cares! The thing works and looks great!


My funny little guy! He had to try the light on too. Too bad he doesn't have the tongue out like Daddy.


The finished product! What do you think?!