The Last Project of 2013

Lighting the way into the new year from the old!  Okay, that was cheesy.  Even I gagged.  Forget I said anything.

You know what I love?  Alabaster.  And alabaster glass.  Like this:

Preeeety.

And I loved it, for many years, over my kitchen sink:

But then I saw a whole bunch of stuff like this on Pinterest lately:

(via Down To Earth Style)

And then I got this FABULOUS gigantic, round light bulb from a friend of mine recently, and an idea was born:

It casts WAY more light into the entire room, since it's not shaded;  and the open feel of the basket (from my garden, with a fresh coat of black spray paint on it) makes the archway and kitchen area seem a bit bigger and airier, and doesn't block my view into the living room as much.

Is that bulb not epic?  Yeah, I have no idea what I'll do when it burns out, LOL.  But for now, I love this new fixture.  

It makes nifty shadows on the ceiling, too:

You know how I love that.


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A Very Girly Lamp

I believe I mentioned that I have several new lighting projects lined up;  here's the first:

Before 

This is an antique "oil lamp" style lamp that was given to me over the summer by a friend.

It has a pink milk glass body, a horrifically tarnished and somewhat rusted brass base, and a modern brass cup at the top that someone at one point used to replace whatever was there before.

The glass was in great shape; but the brass base was really, really gross.  I tried everything to clean it, from lemon juice to scary chemical cleaners.  I got it clean, but I couldn't restore the finish - and it was certainly never going to match the bright gold color of the modern cup at the top.

Spray paint to the rescue.

After

A thin coat of silver metallic-finish spray paint, light enough to allow some of the dark, tarnished brass to show through in the relief of the fluting and pierced feet;  and then a light dusting with a brilliant gold spray paint over that, to warm up the silver to almost a metallic-champagne color (since the silver paint by itself is very blue-gray, and not really silverish at all).

 I *love* the way it came out.

And I ADORE the little key-shaped switch.  Hee!

New super-girly bedside lamp!

And this light bulb, while VERY cool (and I WILL find a use for it), is nooooot working with this lamp base, LOL.  Bit ridiculous.  I don't have a shade that works at all;  but I'll figure something out, hehe.


Nice base, though.  ;)
















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Bob: Repairs & Updates

This is Bob:

Before & After

They're both Bob, actually.  Bob 1 and Bob 2.  You know how you have to have a name or something for a project when you're planning it out, or making lists of projects?


The shelf on the left got to be Bob the first time I fixed it up.  My father built it when I was like a year old (his name wasn't Bob), and eventually it got pretty rickety, and the style was weird - strange peaks jutting out from the top, and an angled crossbar from top to bottom across the back.  I took it apart and rebuilt it, and fixed up the stain job, back in...2006? 2005?  I don't remember.


A couple of years later I thought it would be pretty cool if I had a pair of them, so I built another one: Bob 2.


Bob 2 was getting a bit wobbledy recently, too (an accident last time I moved it stripped out some of the nails/screws on the bottom), so last night I took them both out to the garage, cleaned them up, painted just the front edges black, and then painted some fake gold "campaign furniture" hardware on the front at the joints.   I really love the way they came out!

After-After

It's subtle, but it's that little touch that these shelves really needed.

And this very small makeover was exactly what I needed this week,.  Kress is moving into his own place this week, and you know how moving can be.

Especially if you're as OCD about packing and stacking as I am, and you're not in charge of the packing and stacking, and are basically sitting still while moving is happening all around you, hehe.
                         ZOMG CHAOS.  

So anyway: shelf makeover! Ta-da!




That's Joe, my Gretsch 5125, in the corner.  I'm fostering it for a friend.  I'm going to have to get myself a practice amp so I can keep playing it after Kress moves all his PA stuff out.  








P.S. - I painted that desk lamp again, too.  Turns out I hated the way I did it the other week, after the first day.  This is boring, but at least it goes with my stuff.

While We're On the Subject Of Lighting...

...which won't last forever, I promise...

Let's talk about the new ginger jar lamp from the thrift store.  

The blue one is the new one.  The pink one is the one I talked about back in March when I stripped the paint out of the inside and painted it white.  It currently resides on my living room sofa table: 

Sweet Pea acting innocent after bumping the shade askew

They're the exact same lamp.  Literally the same lamp, same maker, just in two different colors.  I put the blue one on my bedside table for the time being; and I've been wondering what color to paint it (that blue is pretty, but, nuh-uh).   Then it dawned on me that I have a pair of matching lamps.  

Now I'm wondering: 

• Do I strip both and finish them to match, and use them in the living room as actual, proper, matched set? 
• If I do, what color do I paint them? What shades? 
• Since I'm going to be moving the sofa table to another room soon, if I make them a matched pair, then where will I put them? 
• Or should I leave the blue one in the bedroom and refinish it to go with that room?  (No, because it's too tall to reach the switch when I'm lying down)

Meanwhile, I've been testing out different colors on the inside of some scrap glass jars (jelly, mayo, etc.), and different finishes.  Lately I've been playing with a mercury glass effect with silver spray paint and water/vinegar.  

Pottery Barn

So there's this idea.

Lowe's

 ....Mercury glass with a fun blue shade?  Maybe a burlap, like in the top picture, but a teal burlap? 

Lowe's

Or teal lamps (I actually have spray paint this color), either with white shades (paper, linen?) or with the cute embroidered  Ikea shades like I have on the white ginger jar lamp right now?











Hm.


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