Antique light fixtures to me are like shoes to other women. I collect them. It’s easy enough because they don’t take up much space. I have my practical fixtures and my dressy ones. Ya know.

Ninety percent of the time they need to be rewired. And eighty percent of that time, it’s ok. But sometimes a fixture becomes a pain in the arse and it’s always the one I realllllly want to use in a certain spot.

Case in hand is this chandelier I just HAD TO put in the kitchen. It had old cloth wire that I cut and tried to pull out when I spray painted. Didn’t come out. My husband managed to get a few strands out but the new wire just wasn’t going through.

What to do?

Well, I’d love to know what a real lighting person would have done but this scrappy DIY crew (Hubby and Moi) drilled holes close enough to the socket and ran wire on the outside of the arms. The wires were painted the same black and voila (!)…you can’t see them. FYI, the photo below was taken during the process, not after we painted. Just making sure you know that.

Anyone got an easier way?

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It’s true. I have an addiction to light fixtures. I buy light fixtures like women buy shoes. They go with many designs, they are easy to carry and they won’t make you look fat. Plus, if it’s a bargain, who can resist?

Granted, I’m pretty sure I had enough lighting to cover the whole house, but I picked up three more fixtures yesterday at Vaccaro’s. Although the entire renovation is a potpourri of salvaged styles, the lighting is decidedly tole. I suppose I’m trying to achieve a kitsch bungalow look. I did buy some deco sconces and gothic chandeliers for good measure. Can’t be too consistent! It would get boring.

All lights need to be cleaned, painted and rewired. What fun would it be if I couldn’t work on them?

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Soda Can Pull Tabs. Mauricio Affonso

No wire hangers! They’re plastic. $ 425 from Aaron Brand Design

Chair legs on fiberglass. Dana Depew

Tupperware Jello Mold. $35 from Boots n Guss

Tricycle Wheel. $35 from Washburn Art

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Get your kids involved with your DIY projects! Why shouldn’t they help out? Playhouse Design Competition For Kids over at Choochicoos. Deadline April 25th.

Things you should know about wetlands on your property. Living Well in Westchester talks about building additions while protecting the natural habitat.

You MUST watch this video on Materialicious. It’s about 5 minutes long and will make you all teary eyed. Dan Phillips built his home out of 85% recycled material and helps others realize the dream of home ownership. All they need is a credit history and a job. Could be minimum wage. They must help build their own recycled home, but experience is not mandatory. This is in Texas, of all places.

Here’s another cool video, this one from Brownstoner. Coney Island in the 40’s. My parents would take me here when I was a kid in the 60’s and this video put a smile on my face. Some of these things still existed in the 70’s. Unless my warped mind is remembering something completely different. Laughing Lady/Fun House? Was that Coney Island?

The Brooklyn Blogfest is May 8th at the Brooklyn Lyceum! Mark your calendars. So you can remind me to go. Non-bloggers are welcome also. Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn will keep us posted as the plans progress. Last year’s Blogfest was sponsored by Partida Tequila and there were margaritas galore. They’ve yet to find a sponsor for 2008. Hello Stoli?

The Kitchen Designer posts her top 10 secrets of lighting design. “Lighting is jewelry.” Yes! I totally agree. But you can live without jewelry. You can’t live without lights. Unless your own of them kooks who doesn’t like modern conveniences.

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Of all my antique addictions, light fixtures hit me the hardest. They are small and easy to carry and I can work on them in any room in my house. So, I keep buying them and then they sit around getting even more tarnished than they were when I purchased them.

I’m starting to work on a few fixtures now. Of course the “bargains” are always missing pieces. Stuff you can’t find at Home Depot. Finding replacement parts for vintage items would be insanely difficult without the internet.

Below is a list of suppliers. Prices and items may vary only a bit, but you have to hit every option if you’re looking for a unique piece. Always good to take measurements and snap a photo to email. They know their inventory better than you and it will shave hours off of your search.

Happy hunting!

Antique Lamp Supply
My Lamp Parts
Antique Hardware
Paxton Hardware
House of Antique Hardware
Old House Lights
Antique Lamp Company
The Bulb Collector

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When you think of it, few things are more important than lighting a room. What good is your $10,000 rug if you can’t see the colors? Professional lighting designers exist for a reason. It’s not easy to properly balance light in a room while trying to maintain the ideal design with fixtures. I should know….as I photographer, I can light a room in my sleep, but I’ve never bothered to do it properly.

A few fairly simple ways to get the most out of light sources:

Natural Light. This paranoid NYer keeps the shades drawn all the time because she feels people are peeking in. I don’t care if I’m on the 23rd floor or in the woods. People are watching. There are shades and curtains that allow light to enter while maintaining privacy. To be honest, I can’t tell you which works best as we’re constantly renovating and the window dressing du jour in Brooklyn is contractor bags. (Great for privacy, by the way) Good window treatment article.

Balance. Overhead lighting is usually one light in the middle of the room, unless you have recessed or track lights. Adding lamps and sconces to darker areas will help set the balance. Accent lighting on artwork and task lights for work spaces are often overlooked when people light rooms.

Ambiance. During the day while I’m working, I want my room well lit. In the evening, when I relax, I need a softer light. Dimmers are a wonderful thing. Cloth or paper shades diffuse light, giving a softer tone. Lights that point up not only deflect negative energy (Feng Shui) but don’t create dark shadows.

Bulbs. There are so many choices in compact fluorescents now! When they first came out, they were all one size. You couldn’t use them with dimmers or 3 way switches. Now you have options. Make sure you are buying the correct bulbs if your lights are on dimmers. If you have bare bulb fixtures, CF bulbs do come in different shapes. Daylight bulbs are also available, with a cooler tone. I purchased boxes of CF bulbs on Ebay. Ikea is also a good source for bulbs of different shapes and sizes.

Relaxation Expert
HGTV
American Lighting Association
International Association of Lighting Designers

The post Let There Be Light appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Is it some big secret that Ikea has cool lighting at great prices? I got sconces for my hallway for five bucks a pop and flush bathroom lights for $12.00.

Check it out…..

Fugly Nip Light from Home Depot: $49.00

$ 9.99 “Pult

$ 39.99 “Tostarp”

$ 39.99 “Horby”

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Disclaimer: We’re not responsible if you fry yourself. This is a summary of what to do. Please click on links for expert advice.

So, you bought yourself an inexpensive, lovely old chandelier from a salvage joint and now you find out that lighting places charge $25 per arm to rewire. Wasn’t that much of a bargain after all, huh? Don’t stress. Rewiring isn’t rocket science.

Tools and Materials You May Need

• Needle-nose pliers
• Screwdrivers (small as well as regular size)
• Lamp wire (Comes in different colors. Keep the fixture color in mind when purchasing.)
• Wire cutter
• Wire stripper
• Wire nuts
• Electrical tape
• Continuity tester
• Sockets (Type depends on fixture. Some antique fixtures may take irregular sockets that need to be special ordered.)
  

Just Do It

Sit down with your fixture. Take a deep breath. Relax.

Carefully disassemble. Don’t break your irreplaceable glass shades and don’t lose your screws! The fixture may be held together by the finial or screws. To get at the wiring, gently disconnect the sockets from their caps by squeezing or pressing. If you think you might want to use these, test them with a continuity tester. I usually just go for new sockets to be safe. Make sure you don’t take the whole thing apart without remembering where each cord was connected. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s a good idea to take this a step at a time.

Replace the old wiring with new lamp cord. For a single-socket fixture, work from the socket up to the mount. For multi socket, feed the cord from above. First mount the socket cap to the fixture, then do the wiring. Connect wires to the socket terminals, route each socket’s cord back through the cap into the fixture. Leave at least 6 inches of wire out of tube and then snap the socket in place. Strip the wires where all cords meet up with the main cord in the body of fixture, then splice with wire nut.

Check with tester before plugging it in. Both for safety and sanity. You don’t want to install fixture only to find out it doesn’t work. D’uh!

How To Resources

Corner Hardware
HGTV
EHow
How Stuff Works

Supplies and Expert Advice

Antique Lamp Supply
Paxton Hardware
Aurora Lampworks
Lamp Doctor
Rt 9 Lamp and Light

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