Home Office Redesign - Lighting

One of the last projects for the Home Office Redesign is to bring in more lighting, as requested by my husband. Yes, he has been reading my blog...and is developing an opinion about home decor. At first I found this annoying, but now I'm coming around to appreciating his point of view. After fifteen years of living with me he's developed quite the good eye!

Before hitting the stores, I first looked around the house to see if there were any fixtures that could be used. One lamp, which has been floating from room to room looking for a home, will work perfectly placed on the cabinet. As for its shade, that was a different story, so next I went shopping for a new lampshade.


When a project calls for lampshades I nearly always stop at Lamps Plus first. They have a great selection and the prices are good. What I was visualizing as I drove to the store was a smaller design which would not block too much of the art wall. When I saw the tall slim shade, pictured above in the center, it occurred to me that perhaps I could go quite small with the shade in this situation. But I wasn't sure, so I selected two additional styles and brought them all home to try on for size.


Back at home I placed the base on the cabinet. I liked how it looked here, repeating the ceiling lantern and drapery hardware finish, while almost getting lost against the wall. (A good thing I think, in this case!) Then I started trying on the shade options.


This first shade is not what you would typically select for this base, with its width being narrower than the lamp. However, I like that it doesn't completely block the images behind it, while the shape and color repeats similar shapes and colors on the art wall.


This second option is nice, the warm brown tone picks up the same color present in some of the photographs. But the size of the shade, which would be perfect in most instances, makes me want to tilt my head to see what is behind it.


I actually like the color of the third option the most, but the band along the bottom looks too preppy for this room. And again, the size doesn't work for me.


The choice: my break the rules shade wins. In addition to minimizing how much the fixture blocks the images behind it, the lighter shade brightens this particular spot on the art wall, a dark area created by the empty frames that are hung here. It actually brings more balance to the art wall.



It is amazing how light can add life and dimension to a space.


The second area that needed lighting was the corner where the Atwood wingback chair sits. I found this simple Pharmacy Floor Lamp at Target, its utilitarian look suited the space and I liked the price.


Though once I started putting it together I wasn't so sure. It certainly didn't look like it would add up to the 48" height stated on the box.


But it did and is just the right height to light up this corner while sitting and reading.




This room is nearly done. All that is left to do is refinish the chair that sits at the cabinet and bring in a few accessories...hopefully I'll have the completed room to show next week!