Our house was built in 1986, so you know it has some sa–weet decor details! When we moved in 5 years ago, we took it from 1986 to maybe 2003…give or take a few years. But you know how it is when you buy a house…you hemorrhage money and spend your life at Home Depot and Ikea for the first 3 months. Then you burn out, and run out of money…so progress comes to a roaring halt. You bask in how great it looks, and make a list of the things you’ll get to over time.
“I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
Then next thing you know it’s been years and you’re still living with a dining room chandelier that practically has a mullet! So while I’d love to buy the most gorgeous light fixture that’s perfect for the room, I am not Scarlett and Mr. Sugarplum is not Rhett Butler, the richest man in town. (Although, I don’t have to wear clothes made from my old curtains, so I’m not complaining too much!) Here is the dining room the day we saw the house for the first time:
I told you it was bad!
For the first few years, I got crafty with a glue gun by adding ribbon to the shades and putting a bunch of berry crap in it:
A little better, but still pretty dated
Oh, and I also tried sponging it with black paint to give it a ‘rustic’ look
But that only made it look moldy?!
Finally I decided to strip it of all it’s gaudy layers, and just paint the blasted thing! Of course I didn’t take it down?!? I just covered everything in sheets, opened the doors, and went to town. Don’t be fooled, it was a hot mess. That black paint mist was going everywhere except on the chandelier and sheets! I kept having to shoo the kids out of the room for fear they’d end up looking like they worked the coal mines. After two coats, this is what I ended up with:
I chose Rustoleum’s Glossy Black spray paint. I was going for “elegance” since it’s the unused dining room.
I was sick to death of the little lamp shades, and they contributed to the dated feel…so I pitched them. Which meant I had to do something about the ridiculously unattractive sleeve thingies that cover the electrical part on each light. (yes, that’s the official name of them!) You can buy custom sleeve covers, but those things are $17 FOR TWO! I needed TWELVE! That’s $102 (I went ahead and did the math for you), plus tax and shipping. I could find a new light fixture for that! So I was forced to get crafty again. A couple of sheets of scrapbook paper, some spray mount (and some scotch tape for the stubborn ones that wouldn’t stick!), and I ended up with this:
cuuuuuuuuuute!
I’ll probably get more adventurous with the paper, and that’s the beauty of it…for the cost of 2 sheets of paper I can customize my light!
Don’t look at my silver, I KNOW it needs polishing!
Would the room look better with a new fixture? Probably. But for $7 in paint and paper, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The color addict in me is screaming for me to repaint it a fun color, but I’m exercising restraint for now.
What do you think? Have we at least brought it into the 21st century?
