“Of course, but that’s an upgrade.”
“You have to get it from our vendor partner.”
” It’s not within your allowance.”
Fond memories of our house building days.
I understand profit. I’m all for it. Like when bloggers offer affiliate links to products that cost the same either way, but they make a few pennies because they referred you? Sure, I’m all in! (There are NO affiliate links in this post, btw.)
But when I have to pay an extra $100 for the same light I can buy at Home Depot. Uh, no thanks. I’ll do it myself.
So when we built this house more than a decade ago, we put our allowances toward the bigger ticket necessities; for the rest, we put the least expensive fixtures we could get.
Gorgeous fixtures like these, which are sold, NOT ironically, in TWO packs:
Do they look like something else to you? From day one, we called them “boob lights.”
Turns out I am not that clever. Pretty much everyone calls them that. (If you have them and didn’t know, sorry if I wrecked it for you.)
I have them all over the house.
They’re something we intended to replace when “we got around to it.”
Thirteen years later….
Since they’re everywhere, I’m replacing them as I go…but the ones I wanted to ditch the most were in –you guessed it–the back hallway.
It IS the entrance that’s most used by anyone who comes here, and while nothing says “welcome” like breasts (okay, THAT crossed the line), they needed to go.
When I peruse the light selection at the big box stores, I gravitate towards sparkly, and/or modern, and/or traditional. (Or actually, anything with a lightbulb…we’ve discussed my light obsession before.)
For this loooong hallway, I wanted something functional that maybe cast a pretty shadow here and there AND, lest we forget, was not expensive…because I am very, ahem, cheap frugal.
I discovered EXACTLY what I wanted three years ago, on a road trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Bethlehem is a lovely little town settled in the late 1700s by missionaries of the Moravian Church. We’ve travelled there each of the last three years for our son’s cross-country races. With a name like “Bethlehem,” WHO would be surprised that it calls itself “Christmas City, USA.”
(Oh, and if you’ve ever heard of “Bethlehem Steel” that’s a whole other bag of interesting and historical donuts. And a very cool tour.)
Anywho…every where you go in Bethlehem, you’ll find interpretations of the Moravian star. From these simplest of versions (which would be a fun alternative for my back hall at Christmas):
to the more complex:
Once upon a time these fascinating rhombicuboctahedrons were originally constructed as a geometry exercise. However, one-dimensional people like me pointed and said, “ooh, a star” and, lo: a decorative accessory and Pottery Barn staple was born. (Click here for a more detailed and accurate telling of the tale.)
But isn’t this lovely?
There are SOOOO many beautiful options from which to choose…
Some have mirrored glass, mercury-style glass, colored, frosted; pendants, flush, semi flush …and there are just as many size options. The size thing would’ve proved a conundrum until–by great luck–a blogger I follow read my mind from afar and suggested in a recent post that a 12″ light is best for most hallways.
Check out this shiny beauty I found at Shades of Light (SOL):
Let’s see: I need four at $349 a pop = NO.
Plus, it was too large. Yes. I’ll pretend THAT was the obstacle.
But even SOL‘s 12″ version is priced at $262, which left me, well…a different SOL. Frugal, remember?!
And then, as if I had WISHED upon a star, my days of internet searching found these:
And cue the choral music, because (as of this writing) they are a closeout item on Wayfair.com for…
UNDER $60. Jack. Pot. Happy Anniversary to ME!
They arrived within two days and are looovely (and are actually larger than advertised at 13″ diameter… and I think I wouldn’t have wanted them any smaller).
Time to put on my DIY electrician cap…
(Oh, this sounds safe.)
I turned off the breakers and took down the boob lights. The new lights had a lot of extra chain and wire attached, so I trimmed them to a more manageable size. I also marked the ribbed wire with tape to make sure I connected things properly.
Then, I attached the house’s white wire to the light’s ribbed wire; the black to the plain; and the neutral to the neutral. Capped and taped ’em. I also cut down the generous chain to just one link. (Time saver: for the first couple of lights, I switched out the hanging plate with the new one provided…then discovered I could skip that step and just use the one that supported the old light. It worked just fine.)
I kept the bag over the fixture while handling them to avoid fingerprints…which became a continued challenge when it was time to find the hidden opening to insert the lightbulb. Might’ve been a better idea to figure that out before hanging them.
I love a good game of hide and seek, but “find the hidden opening that’s RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU” was an interesting challenge.
Finally, bulbs installed, breakers back on, I was ready to turn on the lights. SO. VERY. Excited!
They did indeed cast a beautiful shadow on the ceiling. Lots of visual interest.
I started with LED Edison-style bulbs in the lights, but swapped them out for incandescents…. I’m just not fully on board with the LED thing yet. LEDs are definitely much improved, but the light just doesn’t feel right to me. The cast is cold.
Then, seeing as I hadn’t yet electrocuted myself, I decided to turn off the breakers again and swap out the wall switches for dimmers so I could enjoy the shadows without burning full wattage light.
(NOTE: If you like convenience of LED bulbs, you need special dimmers for those; also, the LED bulbs themselves need to be dimmable. Saved you some frustration there!)
Now I can also enjoy these Moravian Stars with more of a nightlight effect:
Oh and there was one other happy surprise: I didn’t expect that these lights would be just as pretty off, but when the glass catches any little light from nearby windows, it becomes very reflective and sparkly. So, they’re pretty when they’re off as well.
So NOW I can finally say my back hall makeover is complete. Then again, don’t you think the hallway would look even better with crown molding?
If you give a mouse a cookie….
In the interim, I’m kind of excited to see how these lights will look in a few days when I start hanging my Christmas ceiling. I think they’ll look like large ornaments!
So proud of you to hook these up yourself. Electricity scares me. Or that’s my excuse, anyway. What a fabulous find on those star lights or starlights. I am afraid we have the boob lights and they were an upgrade from what I had in my first house!! When my daughter was updating her house to sell it, those lights were the first thing she switched out. I didn’t understand the impact unique light fixtures could make but do now. Love how your fixtures cast such an interesting pattern onto the ceiling. Your entry is just lovely.
Thanks, Leslie! I totally get the electricity fear…my dad was often careless about the breakers when he did work in my parents’ house. He had a couple of verrrry close calls, but never seemed to learn from the experience. I worry most about fires. My brother is an electrician and I definitely confirmed my work with him when he was over for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.
The thing about the basic lights is they do the job WELL…ie, bring light. Something to be said for that! I read a few articles on lighting recently and they showed photos of how different lights cast different shadows…like some of the shaded or sparkly ones do… My star lights are definitely less wattage…which will have me installing a light inside my broom closet. Plusses and minuses. 🙂
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Grateful for your friendship!
LOL…I did residential lighting for 20 years and we used the tech term for theses light: Udder(as in a cow’s). Your new fixtures are perfect. BTW what wattage do they take ? Good choice
Hi, Jodie! Don’t know what happened to my original reply…I swear this site has gremlins.
Anywho… I still have those lights all over…above my bed…in our closets, upstairs hallway. I think that’s the real reason I don’t like them. They’re plenty functional, but they’re all over…i.e., no variety.
I love the shadows on the ceiling, which I can’t see anymore since I jus covered it with grapevines again 🙃.
Did you get your picture ledges?
Just bought them but let’s not count how long it’ll be before they go up on the wall…LOL
XOOX
Hi, Lesley!
You were a lighting professional?! How cool! I’m sure I’ll be asking you questions in the future, haha.
The max wattage for the lights is 60, so that’s what I bought. They’re a little dimmer than the udders (a MUCH more refined term, btw), but I also have a table lamp to augment.
I really do love looking at light fixtures…my favorite department in the home stores!
Thanks!
Nice post, nice lights. Especially likeed reading about Bethlehem. Used to live in Philadelphia, till 3 years ago, then moved to New Mexico. Ever hear of Catasauqua? Near Bethlehem and where my dad was from. Btw on IG, I made the mushroom frittata and you’re coming for coffee! Where do you live?
Hi, Vee!
Since I live just outside of Buffalo, NY, I’m afraid it’ll have to be a virtual coffee. But that frittata definitely looked worth the trip…(not to mention your delightful company!). Those mushrooms were calling my name.
I’ve not heard of Catasauqua…but it sent me on a fact finding mission to learn about it…discovered that it’s the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
Are you liking NM? My daughter visited there and said it was a beautiful place!
Hi Em, Thinking I need to make another frittata soon!
Didn’t know that about Catasauqua , near. Wish dad were here to tell him!
Love, love, love New Mexico! The friendly people, the climate, the mountains. We have a great view of the Sandias from our back porch. If you ever visit, let me know! Although it’s cold here, 19 this morning, it is a different cold due to lack of humidity!
So stay warm, don’t hurt yourself shoveling snow and Happy Thanksgiving!
Vee
I love your lights – and your posts are charming. Thanks for sharing.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Thank you, Iris! I haven’t forgotten about your Tim’s btw…I’ll send it out next week!
I swear, now I know ahead of time not to drink water while reading your posts. Because like I say EVERY TIME, you crack me up. No, I had never heard them called boob lights. And I’m pretty sure I had one in my first house. And you know my expertise on home decorating is almost non existant. SO I kinda liked it.
Needless to say I ADORE the new lights oh, so much. Doesn’t Wayfair have some amazing prices and things?? That’s where we purchased our yellow chair from (great grammar, eh?)
And you’re going to laugh because Rob was thinking we might need crown molding in our living/dining room. I’ll let you go first and then tell us how to do it cheaply (um, I mean frugally) and easily.
XOXO
Jodie
PS…Going to Ikea tomorrow and have those picture shelves on my list….
Hi, Jodie! Don’t know what happened to my original reply…I swear this site has gremlins.
Anywho… I still have those lights all over…above my bed…in our closets, upstairs hallway. I think that’s the real reason I don’t like them. They’re plenty functional, but they’re all over…i.e., no variety.
I love the shadows on the ceiling, which I can’t see anymore since I jus covered it with grapevines again 🙃.
Did you get your picture ledges?
I love these lights…. think our whole old neighborhood homes had boob lights! this was a great way to add lots of detail and sparkle!
Thanks, Patti. Sparkle was the plan!
Btw…I never thought of apple and banana together in a bread. I’m going to have to put your recipe on my to do list! (I think my son is bringing your Galette to Friendsgiving.)
Love the lights, crown molding would look awesome. I’m trying to get my husband to put it into our new home. Baby steps with him I plant the seed then he says , “I have an idea let put crown molding up” it takes awhile but it work for me, lol
Happy Thanksgiving to you and you remarkable Family.
I need to learn how to sow those kinds of seeds, Cynthia! I’m thinking of that old Flintstone episode where Wilma talks to Fred while he sleeps….”Wilma needs a mink coat.”
That technique seems to boomerang here, haha. Mr. just asked me if I think I could install hardwood flooring in the front rooms! Then again he has ZERO time these days.
But I am DEFinitely getting more and more interested in trying the molding. We have it in our front rooms and it looks so much more finished.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving in your new home!!! Thank you for visiting and commenting.