Let There Be Light

Through this whole process, we've tried to insert the historical character of the house without getting all "National Historic Landmarky" about it. The fact is, this house has been remodeled several times, which is clear as we remove panelling, flooring, etc. The last time was probably 30 years ago at least. Even allowing for popular tastes, at the time, I don't think the house was particularly well-served by any of these, especially the last one.

Although frankly, most of the house will be brand new, we don't want to lose the 20's bungalow feel completely. We also want all the conveniences of modern life. Hence, the Shaker-style kitchen cabinets interrupted by stainless steel appliances. We are probably "transitional" at best.

Having said that, I love the lighting fixtures we've ended up with. This morning, we were looking at overhead fixtures for the Living Room and came up with some ideas. The big issue is that there is a soffit crossing ceiling at about the 2/3 mark.

This marks where the original load bearing wall was, and a reinforcement beam placed close by. It was necessary, structurally, to do this. However, figuring out how to illuminate that has been a challenge. Hopefully, in the next week or so, we'll figure out some of that.

L wants something with a chandelier look, but with that soffit, the ceiling is already pretty low. This is where we're almost certainly going to end up with something more contemporary than would normally work in an 85-year-old house.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show some of the lighting choices so far, including the newest one.

This is the existing light in the breakfast nook/ Dining Room. Once we pulled it apart and washed it, we decided it looks fine. The only issue might be the finish. Everything else in the house appears to be brushed nickel.

This is the current light fixture in Kitchen, and we're also keeping it. This is one of the two we brought up from Albany when we moved, back in 1991. The electrician on this job said it was true vintage, and again, once it was washed, it looked a lot better.

The new half-bath has been roughed-in and is functional. We deliberately chose this light because of it's similarity to the one in Dining Room.

There are two new lights in Loft Area. We are considering one like the fixed-track one in the Office, which I LOVE.

Right now, at the top of the stairwell, we have this, similar look as elsewhere in the house.

Finally, the newest light, the one in Main Hallway (where Kitchen/Dining Room/ Pantry / Bathroom and stairwell all meet:

This could be my favorite of the bunch. L put it up yetsterday, and the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Now, I should be getting ready for Kitchen demo in less than 72 hours....