Sunday, November 23, 2008

What I Did While Watching Trading Spaces

I enjoy watching home decorating shows. HGTV is one of my favorite cable networks. Occasionally, I have been inspired to try my own hand at re-purposing items. I've lived in this house almost 22 years. Most of that time I really disliked the light fixture in the hall. One night while watching Trading Spaces something snapped.

I grabbed a screwdriver and dismantled the fixture, leaving only the main support crosses at the top and the twin lightbulb holders. I found some rub on silver paint and changed the parts that were left from gaudy gold to stylish silver. I twisted and twirled soldiering wire wildly around the whole thing. I wrapped cobalt blue stones in the wire and hung them randomly. A long strand of colbalt seed beads, left over from my beading hobby days, was wound around and around. Then I added real prisms which I had saved from a broken lamp and a strand of prism garland. The finishing touch was a dangling Christmas prism ornament.

The result is a lop-sided one of a kind crazy quilt of a hall chandelier.

I cleaned it tonight and tried to rearrange it's disheveled shape. My 6 ft. 4 in. son can't help but run into it when he walks down the hall.

What about you? What is your craziest home project?

22 comments:

  1. WOW! Sounds dangerous Steviewren! Take care around live connections, please! - Dave

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  2. It still serves its purpose and it looks for what you had to work with. Another fine example of your creative skills. Which one are you with your painting in the last post? I would love to take some time and try a hand at oil painting. Maybe I can work that in next year during the winter months. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
    The Bach

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  3. correction... I meant to say it looks 'great'
    :)

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  4. I'll be careful Dave. No wires were exposed in the process.

    Hi Bach, long time no see! I'm the one wearing a lavender shirt and looking tired. You should try painting. It is very relaxing.

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  5. I like it, Stevie... it's very "not me" as far as still goes but I love the theatrical element that it adds to your foyer. And, what I love most is how you just did it spontaneously using what you had on hand. Good job!

    We've had so many crazy home projects I don't know where to start... gutting the kitchen while still living in the house (our old house), perhaps.

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  6. That's cool! I wouldn't have the guts to mess with lighting. I feel I'd lack the creativity to make it look artistic (like yours) instead of tacky (like mine would surely be).

    I don't know about "craziest home project" but my cheapest would be redoing picture matting. Sometime during the early nineties, when my kids were little, I wanted to frame their photos in large, pre-existing frames. I'd had the frames and mattings since the early 80's when brown was popular, but it no longer suited my surroundings. I played around with simple craft paint - the kind that comes in mini pots. I painted a base colour of dusty rose, sponged on two slightly different shades of blue and used a fine paint brush to marbleize metallic gold veins. The results were pretty good. Now that almost 20 years have passed, I'd say they're due for another face lift. :)

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  7. It's unique and stylish. I love things like that!

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  8. You certainly are creative! I like that kind of spontanity.

    I think my 'craziest', most spontanious project happened in our old house in Jacksonville, FL. The house was older than me (built 1954, this was in abt. 1982) and had shag carpeting. YUCK! We were so broke back then too. All projects had to be tempered and take all expenditures into account. Well, one day I started ripping the shag off the floor. I just couldn't take it another day. Turned out, the flooring beneath it was inlaid oak parquet!! It was beautiful! The shag actually protected it.

    I wore myself out fixing the floor a little bit but it didn't cost a thing. Sweeeet! ha ha ♥ ∞

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  9. Home projects....if they are outside...landscaping and such, I'm all over it....but inside stuff...I hire it done!!!

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  10. It is funny how you can look at something for a long time and then one day POOF a new fresh idea comes into your head. I like it very much.
    Nice to see your art work. You have been very busy. I am thinking you will not be one of those early shoppers on Friday. I am having a small crowd and I know it is indeed a lot of work. But worth it.

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  11. Great chandelier! Looks like some sort of solar upheaval...
    I like quirky art.

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