The Home Edit: Bright ideas

Good morning!

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, if you’re here in the U.S. For once, we were mostly unscheduled and enjoyed relaxing, getting some things done around the house, and ice cream.

The house projects are finally picking up some steam again. Depending on the backorder situation, I’m hoping to finally post a master bedroom reveal by the end of the year. I have moodboards created for some other, smaller projects - by far one of my favorite parts of the renovation process. The hideous bathroom situation is also becoming untenable, so after the we-got-too-ambitious-during-lockdown projects are finally, finally checked off the list, that remaining untouched bastion of ugliness ascends the chopping block.

As I wrote in my splurge vs. save guide a few months back, one of the areas I don’t recommend choosing the budget option is lighting. Why? Because it draws the eye. Like most homeowners, we need to replace all the lighting that came with our home due to it being outdated or just not our style.

I wanted to share five lighting options that have drawn my eye (some for quite some time) for our upcoming projects! None of these are affiliate links, just eye-drawing suggestions from me to you.

Scully & Scully Porcelain Floral Lamp

This is indeed coming to a master bedroom near me; it’s unfortunately just backordered until the holiday season. I love that it’s the perfect size for a bedside table and look forward to reading by this lamp.

Scully & Scully Multicolor Birds & Florals Scalloped Temple Jar Lamp

Another Scully & Scully pick because they have the best lamps. It can be hard to find painted lamps that don’t look 90’s or like they’re from a Kmart in the 90’s. I’m planning to snag a pair of these lamps for the living room beneath the gallery wall. Scully & Scully is a decor favorite of mine overall, despite the fact that they have the most aggressive digital marketing on the entire Internet. That email retargeting. Those relevant banner ads. That paid social media placement. I’ve had a Herend Peregrine Falcon stalking me for three years. I’m either going to buy it or take up falconry.

Rejuvenation Knowles Triple Sconce

My pick for the heinous bathroom as it ceases to be heinous. Our current over-mirror light is circa 1988 and also probably from Kmart. And actually, there are hideous sconces on either side of the mirror as well. Or okay, fine, one hideous sconce and one gaping hole with (not live) wires clawing outward from the wall like we’ve uncovered the tomb of Fortunato. The before pictures are going to be incredible. I actually liked the idea of having sconces on the side of the mirror, but the space just isn’t conducive to that. Overhead lighting it is. I like the simplicity and clean lines of the Knowles. Since it’s going to be juxtaposed to a busy wallpaper, I’m definitely keeping the lighting simple.

Rejuvenation Berkshire Double Sconce with White Linen Shades

Another one from Rejuvenation, although their digital marketing manager will give up after 15 or so paid Instagram Stories and not chase me down a dark alley with a Baccarat switchblade. Like many old houses, ours was retrofitted with electricity and in weird places to boot. The former residents were just happy to have power and didn’t mind having an outlet in one awkward location per room. Most of the bedrooms only have a wall sconce as fixed lighting. This setup is fine with me - overhead lighting is mostly awful, right? - but the 70’s sconces are not fine. I’m looking at adding the double sconces and their single cousins to these bedrooms.

Visual Comfort Kenyon Picture Light

Although I’m not sure by what sorcery we could run power to the space above our mantel, I’d love to ditch the Amazon picture light that sulks over the fireplace looking all cheap and broken. The painting over the mantel is fairly large, so an 18-inch light wouldn’t overwhelm it. I love the look of picture lights, especially nice ones that actually work.

I’m off to hide from Scully & Scully’s digital marketing team (just kidding - you can’t). Do you have a source for lighting you love or are you similarly beset by targeted ads? Reply back and let’s chat!