So one of the things that can bring an impact to a room, for very inexpensive is a lighting fixture replacement. With a bit of paint and a new shade or sconce you can switch things up and make something that is inexpensive look lux for a few bucks. For example; this table lamp, I was in love when I bought the pair for $25 at a furniture store liquidation. Fast forward five years and I got tired of having to polish the lamps and hand wash the shade.
After a few coats of oil rubbed bronze paint and a new shade, the lamps make a bolder statement than the chrome and white shade look.
As you can see, looks much better and blends in with the cherry end table and blue palette that is in the room. I also used the oil rubbed bronze on many other items such as a few more fixtures and patio furniture. I was able to pick up quite a few fixtures from thrift stores and garage sales. Some were left in the house and I just up-cycled and repurposed them. In the dining room was a relic from the past in bronze (most of the lights were relics from the past) and glass.
As you can see, it is just there and does not really make the statement that I wanted. We replaced it with this light I was able to pick up from the thrift store for $15.
It was originally a oiled bronze color, but I repainted it to give it a fresh coat. I was able to find the sconces separately on another thrift store run for $3 a piece. All in all the fixture cost me $35. I am rounding up to include the $2 ceiling medallion that we picked up to cover up the hole in the ceiling since this fixture does not do a flush mount. When we were picking up the medallion I saw that fixtures like this cost anywhere from $90-$325 brand new. We took the original dining room light an placed it in the kitchen after a quick fix. Here is what was originally in the kitchen.
It made the whole kitchen dark and I hate cooking in the dark. I painted the old dining room fixture with the oil rubbed bronzed to keep the look uniform and discovered that I could turn the arms upwards. After new clear glass sconces that cost around $4 a piece, here is the new version of the old dining room light.
And so you don't have to scroll up here is the before again.
Night and day difference. We also put the kitchen light on a dimmer so I can adjust the lights as needed. Oh and we are painting the ceiling and adding medallions to most the chandlers, someday.... I did not stop there with the fixtures, you could say I was fixated upon fixtures for a while. In the bathroom we had the old 1980s looking vanity lights with the large bulbs.
I am not really a fan of bright harsh lighting and really wanted to put to use this vanity light I found with sconces at the thrift store for $10.
The picture is a bit dark, sorry, but you can see the lights give the room a different look even without changing out the mirror. I did not have to paint this fixture, so I was really glad about that. In the master bedroom there was this huge fan that I really did not want to sleep under. It would be like sleeping under a helicopter propeller. So we moved it downstairs to Josh's Man Cave. And it looks 10 times better down there and helps to circulate the heat upstairs when we have the wood stove going.
While we were changing out that fixture we also updated the fixture near the bar. I found these two pendant lights for $5 a piece and the sconces for $2 a piece, but so far have only been able to use one.
Prior to being there in the Man Cave and in the hallway was this lovely gem.
The hallway was replaced with a flush mount that we broke down and purchased from the home improvement store for $20 for two.
It also went into the guest room to replace this.
We placed a similar light like the dome in the hallway and guest room in Liam's room, but his is white. That one I was able to pick up at the thrift store for $2. But my favorite piece is the one that replaced the monster fan in our bedroom.
This one I got from a yard sale for $3 including the sconces. With our room being a combination of chocolate browns and slate blues with heavy mahogany furniture, having a bit of feminine whimsy helps. We also replaced the same boring old grandma light...
That was in our walk-in closet with a really cool, what started out as a hanging light, that I picked up for $6 from the thrift store.
Not only does it make the closet look a bit more modern, but it gives off better light. It is very easy to replace a lighting fixture, you might want to read up on it first before you start though. Luckily I have a husband who dabbled a bit as an electrician before enlisting and he has taught me quite a bit. If I can do it, trust me you can do it. Just make sure to switch the breakers before you start though. And even thought he has replaced just about every light fixture in this house, Josh does agree that it makes the whole house look better. So next time you are out there thrift shopping, don't hesitate to browse the lighting fixtures area. You might finds something that will change your whole room for less than you think.
Happy Re-Mollying!
Molly
