These Chandeliers are for the Birds

No, wait, make that "BY the birds". As in: if a crew of bowerbirds could be put to work in a lighting workshop, these are what I'm sure they would produce. (Not sure what I'm talking about? You are not alone, my friend. Talk to my family. See my last post and you'll know where this stream-of-consciousness nonsense was born)

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Imagine, if you will, that we (my visionary investors and I) have harnessed the work ethic and intense creativity of a dozen or so of these little birds. But don't worry, this is no sweatshop. They can live in the rafters of the workshop to ease their commute.They can even bring their families as we offer a benefits package that includes in-house daycare (do you have that at your job?), gym facilities (15 ft factory ceilings leave lots of room to stretch their wings) and a cafeteria fully-stocked with their favorite fruits, insects, flowers and nectars. We'll even play happy, soothing music during work hours (insert Snow White whistling while she works). Let's take a tour and check out the prototypes, shall we? . . .

First, a look at the work of the apprentice birds (top image). A simple pendant structure of interwoven twigs. Bower-like dome shape? Check. Intricate construction? Check. Bright shiny objects to finish it off? Check, sort of. Only one bulb.

As the apprentices hone their craft, their work advances. Larger branches are woven with dramatic flair into the upswept form of an avenue bower. Multiple candle bulbs are incorporated.

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Interwoven branches again but, this time, the birds have taken artistic license to add tiers. (Note to potential employees: Here at the Bird-Built Chandelier Factory, we appreciate and reward workplace innovation and initiative.)

In the faux department, we will be mindful that not all potential clients will appreciate the rustic look of actual twigs. The craftiest and most detail-oriented birds will learn to weld and bend metal. To some models, they will apply the shiny objects favored by the females of the species (true of birds and humans alike). Here, you see crystals and flower-shaped candle cups.

Would you like a bowerbird to come to your home and dress up your boring chandelier? You're in luck! Decorating services will be available. And, who knows? A perfectly decorated bowerbird chandelier might be just the thing that gets your home into a magazine.

In the wild, some bowerbirds line their bowers with a bed of moss. In the factory, moss becomes tiny-leaved, trailing ivy. A sprouting branch is the center support and candle cups resemble discarded seedpods. True artistry achievable only by the most experienced birds.

Finally, the work of a master craftsbird. The level of extravagant display to which all young apprentice birds aspire. Twigs, leaves, berries and fruit plus shiny bits of glass and metal. Bright colors and a multitude of collected objects. (If this one doesn't impress the ladies, nothing will.)

So, I'm off to write up a business plan. Investment opportunities are available. Contact me soon if you're interested. I have a feeling this might really take off.

(bird pun. get it?)

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All dumb jokes and ridiculousness aside, I discovered something really beautiful while compiling this post— the dreamy work of artist Tracey Barnes. She is based in Denver, Colorado and, as her website says, "melds the magnificent beauty and power of nature with the mystery of the human subconscious in her textured paintings, exquisite chandeliers and innovative interiors." Her paintings are magical and ethereal and her one-of-a-kind chandeliers are indeed works of art. This first example is called (by lucky coincidence) "Bower Bird Nest".

Next is the "Z Cuisine Chandelier" which hangs in the North Denver restaurant of the same name.


This one is my favorite. "Chandelier Sienna".


Would you use such a fanciful chandelier in your home?

Would you pay more for it if was built by birds?

(market research. it's important.)

Of course, none of the light fixtures here were made by birds. Top to bottom, image sources are: BoBo Intriguing Objects; Nancy Van Atta Associates; highcountry.com; Pottery Barn; Lime in the Coconut; Doris Sanders Ltd.; southernliving.com; traceybarnesart.com

More Light !

As I reminded you in my last post,"lighten up" is my resolution, my words to live by, my singular yet multi-faceted goal for 2010. I explained what those words mean to me in this post. To keep myself accountable, I'll give you an occasional update. Last post was about my lightened-up attitude (Hooray for Mary Poppins!). This one is about actual light.

First, a new lamp, above. From HomeGoods, a very simple brownish/bronzish candlestick to replace the squatty blue and white ginger jar that used to sit on this table. New lamp's taller, slender profile suits this corner better as the ceiling height here is about 11 feet. I should tell you too that this lamp came with a stark white drum shade. Nothing against drums—love them—but I hoped when I bought the lamp that this ivory silk bell I already had would fit and look good. It did and it does. I'll save the drum for a future project—it's the perfect type to wrap in decorative fabric or paper and convert to a pendant. Like these from shadesoflight.com :

Interested in more shade-swapping ideas?

Learn to play "lamp shade switcheroo" here.

. . .

Next, a bit of ambient light in the entry that I concocted myself using a wood lantern (from a crazy gigantic home decor store nearby that I'll give you a tour of soon) and the bulb from an old nightlight. I love the shadows it casts on the wall and that it lights up some of the details on the antique secretary. This area near the front door needs just a bit of light because ten or so feet further along the same wall is that new table lamp I just showed you.

In case you're wondering, here's how my lantern became a lamp: Lucky for me, the top comes off. But any lantern with a door like this one also has can be reached into for rigging. The nightlight bulb and socket are attached to a plug-in cord with a thumb switch already in place. The clips on the sides of the socket are what kept it in place inside the figural ceramic lamp that was discarded long ago. (was it a lighthouse? I think so.)


Here's a close-up of my masterful installation, below. See that paper clip bent open and wrapped around the base of the socket? Its other end is hanging from one of those little dowels around the cupola of the lantern. Yep, I'm pretty sure that's how the pros would do it too. Tucked up under the lantern's roof and with the cord twist-tied in place so it's less obvious, all you notice is the warm glow of light, not the hardware.


Last but definitely not least. . . a lighted coat closet! (how long have I lived in this house and only did this now?) I found this fluorescent fixture at Target. I had seen a similar one at Lowe's but the installation involved some sort of double-stick tape or maybe velcro. I could just see it falling on my head (or, better yet, my husband's—he'd love that) after one too many flips of the switch. The Target model came with mounting screws and keyholes cut into the back of the fixture which allows it to sit very securely flush against the wall. Those are the kinds of details that can make or break a project for me—and getting those details just right can make what seemed like a simple job take much longer than expected.


But all the trouble is worth it when, in the end, you get this :

Light!

. . . in our dark little hole of a coat closet. Which recently underwent a much-needed (and very successsful, I might add) makeover. More about that next time . . .

Let's Play "Lamp Shade Switcheroo"!

In this previous post, (that, judging by the comments, turned out to be more about Kitty than the lessons she taught!) I talked about buying an affordable lamp base that looks more high-end than it costs and then upgrading it further by replacing the shade.

A few days after that post published, I received an email about a local lamp store's sale. I looked around at their offerings and started imagining how I might mix and match them to get an even better lamp... or at least a lamp that I liked better than any of the sale items as is.

First, I was struck by the pretty shade on the lamp you see here, above. Light tan "faux silk" with applied gold foil leaves. The base, however, which is called "Deep Bronze Artichoke", is not especially appealing visually nor is it very artichoke-like. When I think "artichoke", I see lamps like these, below, from Stray Dog Designs and Regina Andrew at Macy's. Now those are artichokes!

So now the hunt begins! I've spent $79.95 for the first lamp and I'm off to find more sale lamps that can provide potential new bases for our foil leaves shade. I searched and searched all the pages and here, below, in my humble opinion, are the three best contenders.

Sorry about cutting off the corners of the shade on the center lamp! For some reason more complex than my photo-editing skills could deal with, I simply couldn't get that particular photo to share the same proportions as the others. In real life, the overall lamp is actually shorter than the other two by an inch or so. This is where I should say that I kept proportion and height in mind when searching for base candidates. They're all very similar in height to the original "artichoke" lamp. The shades on these three bases are also nearly identical in size to the foil leaves shade I'm replacing them with. That's important to remember when you're playing this game. Definitely swap only lamp shades of the same size. And the same shape too if you want to play it really safe. These shades are all in the shape known as "empire".

I'll admit, none of these lamps is overly objectionable. The third one is actually quite chic with its banded shade and glossy base (and you should see its big brother the floor lamp!). The first two though have very plain shades and I think they could benefit from a little jazzing up! So here are my new lamps:

This one, above, is my favorite. I'm calling this style "eco chic". The brown wood base is grooved giving it an interesting texture that nicely contrasts with the smooth shiny leaves on the shade and at the same time plays well with the slightly coarse weave of the fabric. I can picture it solo on an entry hall table or as one of a pair on either side of your organic cotton-dressed bed. Total price for this "new" lamp: 79.95 shade + 69.95 base = $149.90

Our second makeover, above. Again, I apologize for the weird cropping job! Please use your fantastic imagination to see the entire lamp base and how well the brass footing coordinates with the gold and tan on the shade. The pretty celadon color of the ceramic gourd base complements the golds above and below and makes me want to call this style "vintage modern"; the vintage elements being the celadon color, brass footing, and gourd shape. The gourd base can also be considered a modern element as this shape has re-emerged in today's interiors, and the bold graphics on the shade can also read quite modern. I'd like to see this one, all by itself, as part of a bohemian-vintage-eclectic living room. 79.95 shade + 143.93 base = $223.88.

Finally, I'm calling this one, above, "far east glam" and I want to see two of them on the sleek sideboard of a very dramatic dining room. The glossy black base has a stylized bamboo or pagoda feeling and the shine here supports the shiny foil on the shade. The gold and black color combo plus silk and shine on the shade lend even more glamour. This one's the best deal: 79.95 shade + 49.95 base = $129.90

Now that you've swapped shades and cleverly created a newer, better lamp more to your liking, what do you do with the leftover base and shade? If the base and shade fit together as they should, here are my suggestions:

1) Experiment with covering or painting the plain shade and create another "better" lamp--for free! (Eddie does that in this post. Take a look.)

2) Set it out at your next tag sale or take it to a local consignment shop and recover a little bit of the original cost. That makes the new fancy lamp you kept an even better deal!

3) If you, like I do, have any just-moved-out offspring, give the lamp to him or her. It may not be the best looking lamp on the planet, but hey, beggar's can't be choosers!

Please, let me know what you think of this idea. (Even if you think I've lost my mind!) And remember, if you decide to attempt such a "switcheroo", your lamp and base do not have to come from the same source. I only did that here for the sake of simplifying my exercise; one-stop-shopping is not something I usually advise. And if you've ever done this yourself, I want to know about that too! Thanks for playing!!

The "lampshade ladies" up top were found by happy accident during a google search. They appeared in several places so I can't really say with certainty who they are or where they're from. What I can say is they look like they know how to have fun! And that's welcome here any time.

Bright Idea

I've seen this a few times now and think it's an idea worth sharing: a fixture that makes it possible to replace a recessed can light with a pendant. You can easily update your lighting in a matter of minutes. All by yourself. Without the cost, or mess, of hiring a pro. Following, are the three I've seen in retail catalogs (that of course also have websites).

Ballard Designs offers this first version (below). If the recessed lights you want to replace are two or three in a straight line over a focal area like an island or down a hallway, this option would be an attractive way to add softer, more flattering light than is sometimes produced by overhead spots. The converter itself, with cord attached, is sold separately and is designed to accept any of Ballard's 10", 12" or 14" Drum or Empire shades. One of the product lines Ballard is best known for is their selection of fashionable, affordable shades for lamps of all styles and sizes. Provided your can fixture is in the right spot for this type of shade, you'll get a pretty, custom look for not a lot of cash.



Another catalog, Plow and Hearth, offers a glass pendant that's better-suited for wet areas than a fabric shade would be, such as over a kitchen or bar sink or bathroom vanity. And, like the fabric shades above, these would also look good two or three at a time over a peninsula or island that currently has cans over it. This fixture and its shade are sold as one unit and there are three shade finish choices: amber, alabaster or frosted ribbed glass. Just as easy to install as the Ballard option. In the photo below you can see it has the same screw-in style adapter and a dark ceiling canopy that matches the cord and covers the can.



The third option I've seen comes from a company called Improvements. Same screw-in installation as the previous examples. The selection I show here is more contemporary in appearance with chrome fittings and canopy. The flexible cord appears to be a silver color as well. Teardrop-shaped Italian glass shades are available in white or amber. There are a few other shade style options on their website and a fun feature that allows you to see "before" and "after" views of spaces that are given this simple lighting makeover.

All fixtures shown here come with cords that can be adjusted to a drop length of approximately 8 to 48 inches. Depending on which you choose, they accept bulbs of either 75 or 100 watts. And they're all super-affordable. Individual fixtures range in price from around $40 to $50, and at least one of the retailers offers a "buy two" price break. To complete their fixtures, Ballard's shades in the appropriate sizes are priced in the $30 to $50 range.

If you have a spot in your home that could benefit from a quick-fix like this one, take a look at ballarddesigns.com, plowandhearth.com or thecanconverter.com. It doesn't cost anything to look and barely more than that to buy!