Let There Be Light

With the exception of a few recessed can lights and my dining room chandy, every single ceiling light fixture in my house needs to be replaced.

The current fixtures are mostly some variation of this:

Lowe's is selling them for four dollars. That's if you buy them individually. I have a feeling the person who built/rehabbed our house got a bunch of them for a lot less, and he put them everywhere. The kitchen. The hallways. The bedrooms.  Where he didn't install a ceiling fan (of equal value, of course), he tossed up these lights.

I don't like them.

The good news is that they are so bland that they almost fade away. At least that's what I'm hoping. The bad news is, well, take a look at the four dollar bargain bin light again, and you won't have to be told what the bad news is.

So along with my other projects, I'm on the hunt for lighting. I want crisp pieces that compliment my decor while adding a soft punch. I don't want them to overwhelm, or necessarily be a full on focal point. I just want them to be another layer, a finishing touch on each room.

I love lighting, and my house is filled with lamps, lamps and more lamps. Those are so easy: buy, screw in bulb, walk away. Ceiling fixtures require a little more effort (mainly by my husband, aka our house electrician). They require scheduling and installation. Therefore, the time between this post and the final installation of all the lights will be lengthy... but more now, I am content to peruse the options.

Considering for the halls:

I think this light from Lamps Plus is a beautiful, beautiful neutral. My husband is less than sold on them. I either have to work on him, or fall equally in love with other options. I haven't gotten him to give me any options yet, but I suspect he wants something more utilitarian, like this:

Frankly, that's so similar to my current four dollar specials, I could just spray paint their casings and have the same thing. Which actually is an option... perhaps an oil rubbed bronze paint? I'm not sure that will satisfy me.

I'm scrolling through Lamps Plus as I write this post, and all the lights I'm attracted to are along the same lines as the first one I posted. Round, a hint of color, sort of mid-century in feel.

Yep. Gonna have to work on the husband.