Those of you who have followed me for a little while know that not only do I love fashion, but I also am a bit obsessed with home decor as well. When I rented, I used to rearrange my furniture at least once a month and was also constantly painting things like bookshelves or sewing something like pillows and curtains. Creating my own custom living space out of a cookie cutter apartment or old house was very important too me.
Now that I'm no longer renting, this has become even more important. The house I live in now has been a work in progress in some way or another since moving in 4 years ago. The carpet has been pulled up, the powder room completely renovated, tons of painting and more. Last year the kitchen was remodeled and while I am in love with the outcome, the process was really not so much fun. So instead of becoming overwhelmed with more big projects, I've stuck to some easier things, such as reupholstering kitchen chairs, as seen
here, replacing brass door knobs with silver and adding new/more shelves in my closets. My latest labor of love was installing a new chandelier in my dining room. Sadly, it's been on my to do list for a year and I just really never got around to it until this weekend. But I am thrilled with how it looks and thought I'd share it with you...
So this is what has been hanging in the dining room since we moved in and probably since the house was built in the 80's. It's much uglier in person. I was a little surprised that it wasn't upgraded when it went on the market for selling reasons but the house was previously owned by a bachelor who clearly wasn't so concerned with it. (Nor was he concerned about the carpeted bathroom...gross.)
Here's what it was replaced with. I can usually do something like this within an hour or so but the directions had NO WORDS! Just pictures. It didn't even label the pieces, so it became a guessing game as to how to attach everything and it took me a good part of the morning. Oh well.
Originally I thought I wanted a pendant light but this works out so much better because I think a pendant would have blocked the art on the wall...
This is just one of the many paintings my bf did. I had this one framed for him as a gift and we originally had it hanging in the living room but we recently acquired some new art and sort of did a complete flip of everything. I was surprised that it looks as lovely as it does on it's new blue wall, it's actually better than it's previous home.
This is how my dining room looks now. Well, from this angle anyway. (I now have a deep appreciation for those who photograph rooms for a living...it was hard!) The rug used to be in the same room as the painting but it just made much more sense to pull it into the dining room as well. To the left there is a counter/bar that you can see into the kitchen from and to the right are the sliding glass doors that lead to the porch and backyard.
The doors let in tons of beautiful light but it's also on the list of things that need to be replaced...which will sort of be a big project and it's out of my expertise. As is replacing the porch and landscaping the backyard...All on the to do list!
Ok, now I'm off to donate the old chandelier...I'm certain there's a bachelor out there who'd just love this in his home! (Not only do I shop at Goodwill but I also donate to them as well. It's a give/take relationship.)
J.
As it turns out, I love the cropped style, and it fits me quite well. I didn't wear it much last year but velvet seems to be making a come back for fall and I since I no longer have a dirty job (like last winter,) I think I'll get more use out of it. Except....
I hate the buttons! Some of the little gems have fallen out and I sort of think they make the jacket look cheap anyway.
Prep factor won! And so did I! For under $10 and 30 minutes, I have a new velvet jacket that I can't wait to wear!
I'm thinking skinny jeans, something in a stripe for the top, boots and fingerless gloves...I can't wait to wear it!
Blurry button close up.
