Lighting....

If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely HATE our foyer light.  It's hideous.  I've been DYING to get a new light! But since we're unsure if we're staying in this house or not, my hubby refuses to replace the light. He says it's not needed, and that our current light is fine (I disagree). 

I've mentioned wanting to make a light here, and I would still love to....but when? Who knows! Plus, I don't even know what all the electrical requirements are (I forwarded the email tutorial to my dad, so he knows what to get me some day....).  But then I came across this light in a flyer the other day from Bouclair Home (a new Homesense-esque place).  My hubby still claims we don't need it...but I WANT it....isn't it GORGEOUS?

Is it big enough to fill the space? I don't know....We have vaulted ceilings (probably about 12 ft tall in the foyer), but I think it would be PERFECT, don't you?

Foyer Light?

Bear with me a little while longer while I get through my crunch....I've been extremely busy (working late nights), trying to get caught up at work and haven't had much time to write any posts lately. I finally took a weekend to just relax, so I didn't have a chance to schedule anything...

But I did come across this DIY light, and thought it might be quicker (and cheaper!) than the other light I was going to make for our foyer (see here).  What do you think??

{image via Fabulous Design File}

Where do you find the time??

I have so many ideas for the house, but I just don't know where people find the time to do all their DIY projects....do you?  I suppose now that the holidays are over, I'll have a few more free weekends.  And with baseball season not starting 'til spring, I suppose I'll have more time during the week as well....just gotta do what I can after suppers!!  These are but a few ideas I've had for awhile now of what I want to do around the house....yes, there are only 2 ideas, but I have to start small, right? They're large enough projects as it is...not to mention, my hubby mentioned another project I could take on last night (painting my makeup desk -- an old computer desk --), but that wouldn't be able to happen 'til spring anyways (seeing as we don't have a garage and it's too cold to spray paint it outside!). 

First, I'm not a fan of our existing foyer light. It's gross. Hideous.  Builders standard. Bleh.  So, instead of spending a fortune on a new light fixture, why not make my own? Jen at Made by Girl did....and it's gorgeous!! I absolutely LOVE it. It's something that you don't see just anywhere.  And it cost her around $50....Maybe I've mentioned this before....I forget!!  Of course, mine would probably have to be a slightly smaller version (maybe around the 2ft diameter size....)

{image via Made by Girl}

{image via Made by Girl}

{image via Made by Girl}

{image via Made by Girl}

The other project I've wanted to take on for awhile has been to do a wallpaper feature wall in our master bedroom.  Unfortunately, my hubby is quite against it (and says that I must install it myself, as well as remove it if we don't like it....).  I recently came across another project that would be a little easier to recover if we didn't like it.... and, a little more price friendly as well.  I received A Little Lovely's newsletter last week, and in it she recapped her projects throughout the year.  She used a stencil to create a feature wall....isn't it amazing? Wouldn't it be perfect? And with all the paint we have downstairs, I'm sure I could do it for the mere cost of the stencil ($40 ish).... what do you think?  I even checked out the stencil site here and love the pattern she chose the best...

{images via A Little Lovely}

Anyone want to help me complete these projects?? :)

Merry Christmas!

This will probably be my last post until after the New Year...if I have time, I'll post over the holidays, but as you probably know, the holidays can be quite hectic!! I'm wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

On a side note, I went light shopping with my mom on Friday.  OMG I think I'm in love!! We checked out Best Plumbing and Lighting, where my mom scored this amazing light fixture for over her dining table for $250!! (the company that made this fixture went out of business, and they had to get rid of their floor model so people like us would stop asking for it!!).  Now, I have to say, it definitely wasn't listed for $250 (it never would've lasted!!) Luckily, she got it for almost 50% of the listed price, simply because of my connections in the home building industry (it definitely has its perks!).  We had to wait until Saturday to find out if it was ours or not, as it was actually on hold by someone else. She didn't come in to pick it up by the time they said they'd hold it until, so it became ours!! (Well, my mom's, but still....it's so gorgeous, I think it's mine too!!). Hopefully it'll be installed before the rest of the family arrive for Christmas!! Can't wait!!

I also picked up our backsplash last week, and I'm hoping my husband will have time to install it before Christmas too.... what do you think? Should change the whole look of the kitchen!!! I'm so excited to see it completed!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Lighting....and backsplash!

I really really wish we could put a new chandelier over our dining table. I saw this chandelier over my friend's table, and fell in love....

Then I saw this one as lighting in a Homesense months ago, and also fell in love....plus, I love damask!

Ah.....if only! But, alas, we need backsplash more than we need new lighting.... this is what I have my eye on, but they don't seem to offer a lot of color options, so who knows if it'll work with our new granite ("Kashmir White").

Glass Mini Strips from Julian Tile

Maybe we'll go with a simple subway tile (glass?) with a glass mini mosaic accent band?? Who knows!  We both liked the idea of stainless steel/metal backsplash behind the stove...maybe we'll try something like this:

Metal Glass series by Julian Tile

Who knows!! We're not ruling any options out. We'll look at everything, take some samples back to the house and see which one works the best! We're going backsplash hunting this weekend! Can't wait!!