9.7.13

Fracken Lamps


Before I launch into today's post, I want to say that it was great to see so many members of my Crestwood family last night.  There wasn't much time to visit but perhaps we'll get a proper reunion soon. 

I also hope everyone managed to get home safely and stay dry from the flooding in Toronto last night.  We discovered that we may need to re-shingle our roof soon... oh joy!  We had some minor water coming through the ceiling upstairs but our basement was (thankfully) dry!  How did you fare?  Better than this guy, I hope!  (I'm sort of waiting for someone to make this a meme.)  Did any of you find that the harsh and prolonged rain exposed weaknesses in your house?

So, let's move on to today's post:  I am obsessed with scissor or accordion wall mounted lights.  I just love them!  I see vintage models on Etsy and eBay (like the lamp above) all the time, but a pair is rare to find.  The pair below had me swooning but $795 for a pair of bedside lamps is too rich for my blood!

Corey hated our bulky bedside lamps at the condo, (shown below) which were the wrong scale for the space.  I promised him that I would get rid of the bulky lamps in our new house so he could have wall mounted lamps.  You'll notice that, while I like decor and visually pleasing pieces, Corey prefers streamlined and practical.  We often compromise and meet in the middle.


For a long time, I was convinced we would make our own accordion style lamps like this one (below) from Ikea Hackers:

 
I had even planned our little DIY by choosing to make it by combining the Ikea Hektar Lamp and the Ikea Frack MirrorHence the title of this post, which I began composing when this was still my plan.
  
There are great examples of similar projects all over the internet.  If you're interested, here's a good one.

We were 90% sure we were going to make these Ikea hack lamps (Okay, I was actually 99% certain.) ... until one day in May, when we stepped into Lowes and I took a quick trip down the lamp aisle.  We found these babies for $25 each and we both fell in love (or in serious like) instantly!


While I love a good DIY project, I am not a glutton for punishment.  (Corey says that's debatable...)A DIY only makes sense if it's actually cheaper or better than buying the real deal. 

In this case, we sacrificed my scissor arms for these fabulous wannabe Restoration Hardware lamps.  Honestly, can you see a big difference between our lamps and these Atelier Sconces (below) from Restoration Hardware? 

 
 ... Meh, the shape is slightly different but they're the same style and the price difference is about $175 each!

Anyway, I was excited not to have to DIY the lamps but, as I thought more and more about wall colour, I decided that the antique nickle finish wouldn't "pop" against the walls I had in mind.

I have something special in mind for our bedroom walls (Something fun!) and, by now you're probably noticing that I like gold and brass accents...

So I busted out my spray paint and painted both lights gold:


I love them!  What do you think?  I can't wait to paint the walls now.  It's funny how so many of our projects end up so different from my initial vision but I actually think these are perfect.

But, like everything in our house, we needed to wait until we actually had the time to complete the project.  While Corey and I tried to complete our living room bookshelves amidst our busy work schedules, these babies sat in a box at the back of the closet for weeks.

Well last night, like many Torontonians, I spent hours trying to find my way home through half flooded streets.  Imagine my surprise to find that Corey had installed my bedside light, a switch and a new outlet below my nightstand!  Now I can read in bed without waking him!  He even took a "during picture" for me to post:  (Cue the "awww" sounds!)


We need to touch up the hole around the switch with a little plaster and Corey still needs to finish his own side but here's a peek at my new light:


It's not my accordion lamp but I think I like it just as much.  The head pivots so I can still adjust the light and I think I love that it's pretty compact.  I think it's finally time for me to start really unpacking my books.  I've been missing them!  What are you reading this summer?
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