If you need a chandelier...

I highly recommend this one from West Elm & Stray Dog:



It's is so, so cool and it's currently on sale with 20% off (today only!!) which brings the price below $200.

A pic of it I took in the store:



I am using this chandelier in a current project. Here is a little sneakity peek:



Also I wanted to let you guys know that my friend Meredith Jackson is having an AMAZING giveaway over at Little Green Notebook today!!



I've told you guys about her before.. she is the sweetest person and makes the most beautiful jewelry. True story - before meeting her I only wore my wedding rings and pearl studs. Now I wear dangly earrings every.single.day.

Next week I'm also going to be hosting a giveaway of hers! I love that girl. She just launched her beautiful new website, go check it out!

Finally, a new entry light!

Since the day we moved in, this is what has been hanging in our entry to greet our guests:



And yes, the canopy has been hanging like that for one year (we moved in Memorial Day weekend last year!!)

My MIL has suggested many times that I should just take it down, spray paint it and put it back up until I can get what I want. But I live in the camp of "I'm not going to do it until I can do it right" (I'm a stubborn Taurus, that's for sure).

Well this weekend we finally switched it out!! Hooray! And I looove it :)


Charlotte always like to be a part of the action.


( you can see the chairs I won from Blogfest in the background!! One came missing a leg, I'm just waiting for them to send another. Like how I rigged it? ha ha)



We were pretty proud that we installed the light ourselves.. something we never really have done before. (Although Matt did most of the work.. thanks Matt!!)



I've loved this pendant for a while. I used it in my very first full project:



I got mine from Worlds Away (to the trade). If you are interested in purchasing one, email me!

We also tried to install this IKEA pendant in our laundry room but it just didn't work out (we need more of a flush mount).



Too bad, it's SUCH a good looking light and the price is amazing. I'll just admire it from afar in Erika's kitchen.

Once we get a new light installed in the laundry room I'll do a full details + sources post!

A new lamp

I have been planning on getting this lamp in the blue/green color from Pottery Barn for our family room:



But the other day while at Home Goods I found another lamp that I was drawn to. I picked it up and took it home to try it out.

It's not normally a lamp I like.. I'm not usually a fan of the rounded "ball" type lamps, but like I said I was drawn to this. The colors went really well with the space, and I simply just liked it.







What do you guys think? I like the color and height.. I am just a bit hung up on the shape still. But I love the pottery glaze on it.. I feel like it really adds "warmth" to the space. Plus it was $59 vs the $99 of the PB lamp. I think it's a keeper! Much better than the old one (that you can see here if you are curious).

I also added a couple frames to the living room. I took them to a client, but they didn't work. I tried them out in my space so I decided to buy them for myself. This job is dangerous like that!! But again, it's little things like pretty frames that make a space feel like home.


I have a confession - we've been married for almost four years and I've never had a wedding picture of us out! So this is the very first one. I love this picture - it was the moment they announced us husband and wife and we were just so excited. It makes me smile to think about it. In the other frame I want to put a little picture of Char but haven't gotten to that yet.

Speaking of Char, you dog lovers will appreciate this. She is such a sweet girl and always follows me wherever I go - which is why you will see her in a lot of my pictures! She's also VERY LAZY. In the series of pictures above you can see her right after she got on the couch, and then the next picture as she laid down and is yawning. And I snapped this as I finished taking pictures of the lamps:



Lazy girl! :)

And yes, we let her on the furniture. Don't judge.

Casting Shadows

Yesterday my designer friend and I were talking about lights that cast cool shadows. I was telling her I really want one for my entry, so when people come over at night it's like "surprise!" as soon as they walk in.

Here is a great example from the latest Lonny:



Man I love that dining room!

For my own space, I'm thinking of using Morovian pendants:

[ Worlds Away ]

Check out this pierced dome pendant from Regina Andrew. Can you IMAGINE the shadows it would cast? It would be like a party every night.

[ Regina Andrew ]

There are always great pendants on eBay. Here are some current favorites...


Is this one cool or what? And it's only $150!





This one is WICKER and would fan-freaking-tastic in a beach house.


This light is from West Elm, but it would be sure to give off some cool shadows when lit at night:

Clear Bedside Lamps

In bedrooms, I really love using lighting you can see through. It adds "lightness" to the room and also brings in a bit of elegance. (Especially if you use crystal!) I decided to go this direction with our master bedroom.. a little more on that below.

First, here are some great rooms with glass or crystal bedside lamps:

[ zoldan interiors ]

[ lonny ]

[ lonny ]

[ Brittany Stiles ]

[ all images found via decorpad.com unless otherwise noted.]

There are a lot of great options out there for glass and crystal lighting.

If money were no object, I'd gladly take any pair of these from Circa Lighting:

$588

$483

$1,050

$525

Here are some great affordable options for those of us on a budget!

Robert Abbey - $160
[ to the trade, can be purchased through me ]

Overstock - $140

Crate & Barrel - $90

And last but not least, the extremely affordable option I chose for our master bedroom:


JCP - $64

I am so happy with my JCP lamp purchase. Here they are on our skirted nightstands:

In case you are wondering about the status of the master bedroom design, it's coming along slowly but surely. I got the glass tops back from my glass cutter (as you can see). I also got two accent pillows for the room. I still have a lot to accomplish, though:

- Paint wood on the settee and have reupholstered
- Find & paint dresser (hopefully this will be taken care of this coming weekend! I want an antique/vintage piece so timing is tbd on this one)
- Find mirror for above dresser
- Art for above the bed (I'm comissioning this piece!)
- Install hardware on the closet doors
- Accessories

I cannot wait for the room to be finished! As I bring in each piece it makes me excited for the end result. This will be the first "finished" room in our first house, so it's pretty sentimental for me.

Etsy Lighting

Etsy.com is definitely a go-to for jewelry and art, but have you thought about going there for lighting? I've been seeing some great pieces over there!

These little boudoir lamps are so pretty. They are frosted glass and painted green on the inside.. very unique.


This gold lamp is so.freaking.cool. I'd pair it with a black shade. If I wasn't on a spending freeze, I would buy it right now.


This light would be PERFECT in a nursery!!


You see schoolhouse lights a lot, but it's not often you see it in copper. That's what sets this one apart:


These are cool, especially for a covered porch.


So sweet.


Love the dripping glass, especially in black. Would be great in a bedroom.


One of my favorite colors right now is Army green, just like on this light (which was actually military issued).


This isn't vintage, but so awesome. Wouldn't it be great in a dining room?


Man, I could go on and on!

The great thing about Etsy (and eBay) is that you can find a completely unique light for the price of going to Lowe's or Home Depot and picking out one of their stock (or as I call it - builder style) chandeliers or pendants. Lighting is a great and often inexpensive way to add personality to your home (or rental!).