Let There Be Light!

One of the easier lipstick changes we've made to the house is replacing the existing light fixtures to give a more unified feeling. I'm cheap and always on the hunt for a bargain, but I also have very particular thoughts on what I like and unfortunately, the stuff I like is rarely a bargain. My family members are masters at finding slamming deals at thrift stores, sourcing out cool lamps, chairs, paintings, tables, and other various gems. I didn't inherit that gene, and am frequently left wistfully marveling at their finds. Add in John's teasing/mocking everytime we pass by a thrift or bargain store, and my inability to find something worthwhile, I just stopped going to them, and therefore miss out on oodles of cheap, quality furniture.

When we were first looking for a house, we were REALLY interested in a 1909 Craftsman in a transitional neighbourhood of Riverside. It was a block away from a historic residence, and three blocks away from a local hooker hangout. But it was charming and spacious and beautiful. One of John's karate friends offered to take a look over our offer/the bank's counter offer on the place, and mentioned that he knew of a vendor in Riverside that had a huge variety of period-specific building supplies (windows, door knobs, original flooring, etc). John and I tried to find the place, eager to scope out what it would take to restore the house to its original splendor. Try as we might, we weren't able to find it. But we did find Riverside's Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. Since discovering it, we take one lunch hour a week to stop by and look for bargain-priced treasures ranging from antiques, gently used, to brand-spanking new.

We've since bought several light fixtures to replace the:

* Classy 80s-style gold-toned pieces in the house* Tiny nickle pieces expected to light an entire room

* Euro-style energy-hogging halogens
* Ugly industrial sconces
* Bare bulbs
* And just plain darned un-appealing
Between the ReStore and deals at Costco and Amazon, we've been able to swap out almost all the lights in the house to only a few different styles with a unifying appearance.

The halogen pendants in the downstairs bathroom, kitchen, and the foyer were switched out for these ($30 each from ReStore)

For the sconces throughout the stairwell, and the upstairs office/bedroom and the laundry room, we put in these ($15 each at ReStore)
A new pendent in the dining room ($35 at Restore)

More light in the windowless upstairs on-suite bathroom ($15 each at Costco)

We added a ceiling fan to the AC-ventless living room by replacing an ugly gold-toned light (biggest splurge at $99 from Amazon)

The ceiling fan was an ordeal, so I'll post about that separately, later.

All in all, I'd say we've spent around $340.

Now all that's left is the puny industrial sconce in the master bedroom (1-bulb to light an enormous room!) and add another ceiling fan in the living room. Then we can tackle the outside lighting! Man, I feel accomplished.