MY NEW LIGHT

My precious moments of spare time are often spent doing the following things:  reading blogs, online shopping, and perusing Pinterest.  And usually these things have something in common - the overall design and decor of my house.  I love to see other people's homes.  I love to read about projects that I could do, or get ideas for paint colors, or daydream about getting new light fixtures.  I realize that might not be how everyone chooses to spend their free time, but I can't help it.  I just like design (and light fixtures).

Usually, all of the ideas that I get from looking at all of the online eye candy is out of my price range. Especially now, when all we can really focus on is finishing our basement and paying for our adoption, it's really really out of my price range.  But every once in awhile, something sneaks in on my radar at just the right price, and that is why I was able to snatch up this new light.  And boy, am I glad I did.

Among the many many people with unique and beautiful homes that I like to drool over is one gal from the blog Under the Sycamore.  I really love her whole space.  She has such an eye for vintage and color while still maintaining a (mostly) calm feel.  She curated a collection for Joss and Main, which I'm sure I've talked about before.  (Click here if you aren't a member yet - don't worry it's free.)  Well, I happened to catch it with nothing particular in mind to buy.  I just wanted to see what kinds of things she picked out.  But very quickly this baby caught my eye.  And well!  I was smitten.

I quickly asked Byron if he liked it.  He did.  I jumped on it.  And for a really great deal, we upgraded yet another feature of our home from builder basic.  The best part?  For the price I paid, I was expecting a fixture and that's it.  I was expecting to have to buy a canopy from Lowe's that maybe didn't match perfectly, but you know what?  IT CAME WITH A MATCHING CANOPY!!!  I was stoked.  Well done, Joss and Main.

Byron installed it for me with relative ease.  The instructions confused us for just a bit, but we quickly figured it out.  We're so smart.  And now I just stare up at my new light fixture.

And I'd just like to say that of course, there ARE fingerprints on it already.  Oh well.  Also the photos are grainy because I work during the day and we are living in an eternal winter.

This room has traditionally been what we call my sewing room because, get this, it's where my sewing machine is.  The grand plan is for all my crafting supplies to move down to a corner of the basement and this room will become a bedroom. So for this girl who loves to decorate and design, this light fixture is just the beginning of a transformation.  Can you say moodboard?  My only question to you is this - we're tired of the blue.  What color would you paint the walls?  Can you believe I'm leaning toward white???

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Look what was installed yesterday.

I love it.  My husband loves it.  He actually told me that this room is really starting to develop some character!  Ah, so proud.  We do have quite a few rooms with "builder basic" qualities, but I have just known that it will take time to put our personalized touches on everything.  I don't think Byron has quite the same vision (or does quite the same research) that I do, but it really made me feel like I did something good when I saw how much he liked it.  My personal style dwells somewhere between girly and modern, so I'm glad when I can find something we both like.  The room is still just a basic shell - I just can't wait for it all to come together.
Speaking of coming together, here is another project that will soon be in the works.  I had previously purchased Byron a rocking chair from IKEA (that I can't seem to find online - maybe they don't make it anymore?).  It had been in our room, but I moved it into the nursery and I love it.  I am thinking about making cushion covers for it, so to test it out I just draped the test fabric around it.  Here is what it could potentially look like.

I think the scale of the chair looks super short in this picture, but I swear it's adult sized.  And the black pillow came with our living room couch, but it is the perfect size for the chair, and I think the pattern coordinates, too.  I envision this corner with a floor lamp, a side table, an ottoman, and a basket for toys and books.  I just have to get up the guts to cut the fabric and make the covers.  I've never done it before, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.
I am hoping for some progress on the dresser this weekend.  I know I keep bringing it up even though no work has started on it.  Byron has a pretty busy week this week, but I did hear him tell me it's one of his next projects in line.  As long as it gets done sometime in the next 11 or so weeks, I'm sure we'll be fine!