Let there be Light! - Part 2 Family Room - February 5, 2015

If there is any room in the house that is in much need of light, it's the family room. Right now, it's like a dungeon. What makes it worse is that our furnishings from our former home are dark brown, so the room looks too dark even during the day. Since our home remodeling projects do not give us the budget to buy new furnishings, we can only add overhead lighting to brighten up the space.

Instead of purchasing online like we did with the dining room light, we decided to go to Lowes to buy a ceiling fan with light. To be fair to my husband, the family room is going to be decorated in his style, which is more of an Asian feel mainly due to his Samurai collection. So, when we went to Lowes, he saw a ceiling fan with light that has three blades that look like Samurai swords. We decided to go for it and bought it.

When the electrician came to install the dining room chandelier and the ceiling fan, we encountered a problem. The Samurai ceiling fan was grounded. We found out after it has been installed and the electrician was testing it. It seems to be a manufacturing problem. We even saw an old Lowes receipt inside the box, indicating that the item had been returned before. The electrician did not bother to check if it is in good working condition because the fan was brand new and came in a sealed box. Fortunately for us, the electrician is someone we know, so after he uninstalled the Samurai fan, he agrees to come back to install the replacement.

Before heading back to Lowes, I looked at possible options on their website. We found some good contenders, but not as great as the one we're returning. My husband was thinking of getting the last remaining box that's in the store, hoping that we just had a bad one; however, I told him that it's too risky because it seems the box was re-sealed. Not only that, I don;t want that we end up with another bad one and inconvenience the electrician the second time.

Returning to Lowes, my husband went directly to customer service to get a refund while my daughter and I look for a replacement. We looked for something that looked similar to the Samurai sword, but to no avail. Just as when we were going to settle for another 3-blade ceiling fan with light, my daughter pointed out a ceiling fan that's unique and asked what I thought of that design. I liked it! I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before. She told me she had seen it the last time we were there, but never thought her dad or I would like it. So, the only challenge is if my husband would like it too.

A ceiling fan that doesn't look like a ceiling fan!

Wow! My husband gave his seal of approval, which was a pleasant surprise! At $229, this fan may be $80 more than the previous one, but wow, it has a better look than the other fan, but would still work with the decor while providing the functionality we're looking for,

Family room without the ceiling fan.

family room after installation of the ceiling fan

We love this ceiling fan! It gives enough ambient light and has 3-speed fan. 

Let there be Lights! - Part 1 - Dining Room - January 31, 2015

We paused for a moment in redecorating the second floor to address the lights and lack there of, downstairs. I'm posting this in two parts-- one for the dining room and one for the family room.

Our builder dining room light is too bulky for my taste. It's actually pretty and, I'm sure, many of you would argue that it was sufficient. However, beautiful as it may seem, I feel that we can do better to make our redesign of the first floor more cohesive.

I have a confession to make, I really love watching HGTV shows, especially The Property Brothers. I love that their sense of style works well with ours. Their design style is best described as clean, sleek and modern. Not uber modern, not too traditional-- just the perfect style. And...it works for both sexes. I love looking at their finished designs with bright and airy feel. Open concept is definitely the new way to go.

One of my favorite is their use of modern style of lighting, especially those drop lights that have drum shades and crystals dangling below-- the blings! They make the space look brighter and classier. So, I looked online and found a beautiful chrome finished chandelier to echo The property Brothers' style within the budget we can afford. Fortunately, Amazon has a couple of styles below $200 that my husband, daughter and I voted on.

Shown below are the photos as posted on Amazon:

Option 1-

OOFAY LIGHT® Modern Elegant 4 - Light Pendant Lights ,chandelier lgiht with Crystal Drops in round feather living room ,dining room , bedroom.

 The light consists of materials that are mostly crystals-- from the drum surround to the drops. It has an option of black or chrome finish. It costs $159.99 and comes with free shipping direct from the manufacturer. The review on this one is pretty high. Most of the reviewers love the crystals the provide that sparkly, bright glow. This option seems to gravitate towards traditional, although more modern in style, due to the abundance of crystals.

Option 2-

Modern 4 Light Round Crystal Chandelier Pendant Ceiling Fixture, Chrome Finish

Like option 1, this light comes with either black or chrome finish; however, it has a more modern look due to the combination of cloth and abstract metal design on the drum surround and use of crystals only on the drops. At $186.99, which includes prime shipping from Amazon, it is a great deal. This light fixture garnered high reviews from Amazon reviewers.

There were other options, but I decided to narrow down to these two designs to make the voting much easier for the three of us. I kept going back and forth between the two that is why I needed the help of my husband and daughter. They usually trust my choices, but it would be good to ask for their opinion as well. After all, it is not just for me, but for the family.

And the winner is...option 2!!! It did not take long for my husband and daughter to decide which one to choose. I showed both pictures and they just exclaimed their choice at the same time. I am glad they made that choice as I was leaning more towards option 2 myself!

We avoid doing electrical work, even if it's only replacing the light fixture. It may be simple to some, but not for the fain of hearts like my husband and I. We leave the electrical work to the professionals. Fortunately, we got some help from our fellow church members, who are electricians by trade. 

Here's the picture of the "old" chandelier. It may be sufficient, but lacking in bling and character. :)

Builder grade chandelier

Here are the pictures of our new dining room light that hangs above our dining table. I hope you all agree that we made the right choice. :)

Light fixture dimmed down. 

Beautiful even when not lit.

Once lit, it sparkles like a diamond!