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Our Basement Lights

Basement

My bad.  I meant to keep you informed of all the changeroonies in the basement but then I didn’t. 

Errg. I hate when I do that.

Forgive me?  Me so sorry.  Seriously though…I will try to give you all the basementy goodness in between all my regular halloweenie postings.  haha.  if you know me, you know what I’m laughing at.

Anyhoo.  Here’s our basement layout…the stars represent the new lighting that we installed in preparation for my sister’s wedding.

Remember these two scrollie bajobbies? 

They were taken from the recent upstairs kid’s bathroom makeover and the hallway between our master closets and turns out, they are like fraternal twins…not exact but if you are old, hard of seeing or a perv with a twin fetish, these look exactly the same.  

And seeing as how they were just hanging out in the workroom waiting for death to come upon them, I decided that we could use them and save a buck!  Enter ORB…aka: God’s gift to blogkind!

The finish was crazy bad. 

A few coats later, these hookers were real lookers 🙂

I’ve waited a long time to say that line…

Sorry about the crazy photos…it’s difficult to get a good photo when the light is on…but go figure, when it’s off, I’m kinda taking a photo in the dark 🙂

Don’t ask about them spots on the ceiling.  Our home’s previous owner (whom we call Napoleon) is one crazy dude.

Back to the layout – next up is the entertainment room. 

As you may remember, this room had lots of natural light as well as some pocket lights.  Those recessed lights made us wonder if we actually needed more light fixtures (there were two exposed electrical boxes and corresponding light switches).  After some extensive testing (we turned the lights on…then off…then on again.  it was very strenuous.), we decided that we didn’t need any more lights…just circulation.

The windows were the final call for it.  If Hotlanta lived up to its names, then we would definitely benefit from some additional airflow.  So Farmington 52 inch ceiling fans (note they have no lights) were installed. 

I kinda love the fact that they have reversible blades – and they were CHEAP.  I started them out on the lighter blades – to warm things up and to balance out that crazy orangey floor tiles.

In the backside of the house & the two bedrooms we were sorely lacking lights…

So we sprung for some boob lights.  THE SHAME.  

Yes, we, like Heidi Montag, fell victim to the NEW BOOB SYNDROME.  

Unlike our Barbie-a-fied friend, we got ours for cheap.  Twenty bones for two boobs.  That sounds gross and not like a home improvement sentence at all.   

Moving on.

In the bathroom, we also got a new light for over the vanity (more on that vanity news later).

I have a little issue though now.  I don’t love it.  I love the glass.  I love the fixture.  I just don’t love them together in this room.  So I think I may be exchanging the glass shades for something more opaque.  What do you think?

So there it is – all of our light updates in the basement so far.  Anyone else out there getting new fixtures or ceiling fans or anything lately?  Anyone getting new boobs?  🙂  Yup…just went there.

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Comments

  1. Katie, you are too funny!! I look like a loonie sitting in my college library laughing out loud! I didn’t get any new light fixtures, but I did just paint my bedroom!

  2. I would definitely go with frosted glass on that vanity light. But you’re right about the clear, it looks cool, just tough to find a spot for it. Those painted fixtures came out ridiculous. Looks like you bought them new.

  3. I have boob lights too! I was so sad the first time I read that boob lights were a no-no, but you have to admit that they are better than the old tray lights, so it’s still an upgrade!

  4. I’m always impressed by the number of anatomical references you fit into each post, but this one may be in the running for a record. And I never would have guessed you got a 2 for 20 deal on your boobs. The lights, I mean.

  6. I think the problem with the fixture is that you can see the plasticky bits that the bulbs screw into. Frosted glass would fix it up.

  7. I am a fan of that bathrrom vanity but I am not so fond of the glass either. Maybe you could do some kind of cheapment (cheap+treatment) to the glass to save it, either frost or colored stained gladd spry. I think milk glass would look good too.

  8. Wow…
    I think the problem with the vanity light might be the visible plastic part at the top where you screw in the lightbulb… If you found a way to prettify / hide that (maybe ORB!?) that light would be great I think… Good luck and greetings from Germany

  9. Frosted glass spray paint is cheap and super pretty when you follow the directions. You wouldn’t have to buy new glass covers and it would hide the ugly thing and diffuse the light to make it softer. Can’t go wrong with that. 🙂

  11. I hate to admit that I bought that same 2 pack of boob lights. But, if you’re buying one, you might as well buy the other 😉

  12. Katie, you are so hilarious! Who knew you could laugh so much on a post about lights? A faux mercury glass treatment could be pretty on your vanity light.

  13. I was reading your post and then I read your to-do list…props to you…you can cross off fixing the stone columns, right?! 🙂

  15. I think that bathroom light would look awesome with Edison bulbs. Brings a lil somethin somethin maybe.

  17. I think DIY mercury glass would be pretty on the lights in the vanity. I have been dying to try it since I pinned it on Pinterest!

  18. love the updated lights! random question – are you missing a lightbulb in the last picture? 🙂 also, it would be cool to try to paint the glass shades (kind of like painting mason jars!).

  19. OMG Katie! I was just at Lowes today and considering buying that same light fixture and seeded globes you bought for over your vanity! Glad I got to see it together now! Either I need to keep looking or figure something else out for the globes!! Thanks!!!!!!

  20. Maybe if you ORB’d the exposed white part inside the lights, you might like the look of the clear shades better. I had a light fixture like that once, but I don’t like exposed bulbs (it’s a thing of mine!) and switched out the shaded for opaque glass.

  22. I have been taking down all our 80’s brass fixtures and spray painting them with a matte black. They look amazing and only cost me 3 bucks!!

  24. In my old house, we did the same thing with the clear glass and honestly, it bugged me every time I looked at it since you could see the plastic part. Maybe you could do some glass etching? Like an ombre type design where it goes from opaque to clear at the bottom?

  27. We installed boob lights in our hallway, first thing we did after buying our house was take down the hanging brass lights. Wish I had known about ORB then, it would have made them look fantastic!

    Frosted shades with the vanity would look nice. The clear shows too much of the inner-workings of the light fixture like the white socket.

  28. People has such great comments I don’t really need to share my thoughts now. Although I did almost buy those shades for a simmilar fixture and had the same issues you have with it. You rock Katie, whatever you do will be great.

  29. Here is a CHEAP and easy fix for those clear shades…white “school glue”, yup I said school glue! I “painted” a couple of layers on the outside of a clear shade to make it opaque & it looks fabulous. It holds up really well, the fixture has been hanging in my kitchen for a few years now & I haven’t had any trouble with it flaking off.

  31. Can you really consider those boob lights if they don’t have the nipples?!? Or are they just hiding in that picture?

  32. I can’t believe how great your ORB painted lights turned out! How awesome! We have a couple boob lights at our house too. Just like you, we bought they based on price and they do the trick. The “hookers into lookers” line cracked me up! Thanks for the giggle KB!

  33. I saw on someone else’s blog that they used Mason jars for bulb covers… it was very cool. It would def work with your Country Living Mag vibe you’ve got going on…

  37. I have to agree with you on the light. Love the light, love the glass but not together. Didn’t John & Sherry have a similar problem a while back? Do whatever they did…lol. I can’t remember. Love your blog. Bower Power & YHL are my faves!

  39. Aaak! I love the light fixture. Keep the clear and just ORB the plastic part that the bulb screws into. Don’t fall victim to the ravaging outbreak of frosted glass syndrome.

  40. Didn’t Sherry have the same problem with the fixture in her guest bathroom?? As cool as the clear glass looks, you just see too much of the hardware and it can look a little… cheap. My vote is to either frost the glass using etching stuff or spray frost OR just punt the glass altogether and get some cool orb bulbs.

  41. Katie, you are hysterical! And you can make boob lights look good — that’s no small task.

    I’m choosing to believe that the spots on the ceiling are not from pendant lights, but rather from stripper poles. 😉 That’s much more consistent with the rest of what we know about Napoleon…so far.

  42. LOL You crack me up. But I totally love the ORB treatment on your old fixtures. They look brand new!

    I went for the $20 two boob lights in a couple places, as well. Until I read a blogger call them boob lights it’d never occured to me that that’s what they looked like. Now all I can SEE when I look at them are boobs. 😐 LOL

    I actually did a light switch out this weekend. Found a steal of deal on a pretty fixture at Home Depot and my uncle finally got-r-done, so to speak. It’s amazing how happy a light fixture can make a girl. 😉

  43. I agree about the light fixture. What if you broke out the painters tape and covered all of the glass part except for the top inch or so. Then orb the glass right there so you have a nice stripe around the top. Just an idea!

  44. I’m a little confused..I’m all for repurposing and being resourceful and frugal..But you live in a mansion, it’s not just some 2 bedroom ranch house…It’s a seriously BIG house and I’m confused why you always say you can’t afford things…I’v seen RHOA and your house is bigger than Nene’s and Phaedra’s who is a lawyer…Part of me thinks your trying to put on this cheap face to blend in with us common folk. What’s the deal?

  45. We are in the midst of finishing our basement and I couldn’t walk through the lighting aisle without thinking “boob” lights…..hence we went with these (for three different rooms). I am still a little hesitant to mix finishes from room to room, but I really liked the sconces and we can’t have ORB with a black granite vanity top (ok, well I say I can’t:)

    http://www.menards.com/main/lighting-fans/indoor-lights/flushmount/12-ceiling-light/p-1381259-c-6355.htm

    http://www.menards.com/main/lighting-fans/indoor-lights/bath-bars/monarch-3-light-vanity/p-1323855-c-6351.htm

    Living area:
    Recessed lights plus:
    http://www.menards.com/main/lighting-fans/indoor-lights/wall-lights/warren-1-light-wall-sconce/p-1662150-c-6362.htm

  46. haha…I guess we are house poor 🙂 Seriously though…we are. I would love to say that we could spring for fancy stuff but we have to save up like the rest of america.
    and the house was a foreclosure in the middle of nowhere, georgia so we did get it for a song. Both Nene and Phaedra live in the ritzy parts of atlanta…whereas we live about an hour and half away. I think the housing market is very different here than other parts of the country…we were recently in DC and saw a one bedroom condo for more than our house. INSANE.
    xo – kb

  47. Love love love the ORB on the lights.

    Also, happened to read the comments where someone was asking about whether or not you could afford certain things. I just wanted to say that even if you were rolling in the dough (though I completely understand feeling house poor and needing to save pennies, even if your house looks sweet) there is nothing wrong with choosing to save your money for things like kids’ college funds, investing, retirement, or something else that is your business and no one else’s and to instead save where you can on home improvement projects. Also, you are not only frugal, but you are not wasteful. I love the inspiration you give, and think that, even if I make it one day and don’t have to worry about money, I’ll still want to do things in a frugal way. I’m sure there are lots of people like that. Nothing wrong with saving pennies, re-using and re-purposing. Love your blog, Katie!

    Jenny
    http://www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com (Come visit if you ever have a moment!)

  48. I couldn’t agree with you more Jenny! And I only wish we were better at doing those things like saving, investing and being frugal…we constantly struggle with it because both Jer & I like to shop…but we can’t when we are still shelling out money for this house and the old one too 🙂
    Oh the joys of home ownership!
    xo – kb

  49. Love your boob job! 🙂 And it’s great to see you be wise with your money, no matter what size home you live in! It’s funny how people judge the “stuff” without understanding the circumstances. We bought a used Lexus a few years ago, paid less for it than my sister paid for her Kia, and yet we get comments all the time- sometimes makes me feel embarrassed to drive it.

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