Let There Be Lights, Lots Of Lights!

At Quince Cottage we believe the right lighting can do for a living space what the perfect piece of jewelry can do for an outfit. One of the first things we did when decorating our current house was to replace the builder fixtures. Now that we're about to put that house on the market, poor Mr. Quince Cottage, aka Ron is busy uninstalling the ones we bought and re-installing the originals. There may have been a moment or two of regret about the sheer number of crystals that had to be detached, and will have to be reattached. Bling comes at a price (aching neck, bleary eyes, and sore fingers).

Anyway, back to the topic of replacing standard lighting. We scoured the interwebs and local stores for fabulous (discounted) pieces, because the only thing better than a beautiful decorative accent is one you scored at an amazing price, right?

Capitol City Homes, the team who's building our new home, had some great basics to offer us, and we're taking full advantage. Fortunately they're also willing to install lights we bring to the party!

We thought it would be fun to share those with you...

This one was from Gallery74 ($99). It was in my office, but will be adorning our younger daughter's bedroom.

Gallery74

And here's another one from Gallery74, this time for our older daughter's bedroom. Be sure to check Gallery74's $99 and under page for beautiful fixtures. Having ordered them, we can also say they are good quality as well as affordable.

Gallery74

We found this one on clearance at Lowe's for $69! We added the twine around the center post and the candle arms to enhance the "Nature" theme it already had going for it with those green beads. It will continue to work as the master bedroom overhead light.

Master Bedroom © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

At Overstock.com we purchased this fixture (times 2) for the master vanity. We liked the graceful, clean lines and pillar shades.

Z-Lite Cardinal from Overstock.com 

Here's another steal from Lowe's clearance. Won't it be lovely in the entry? It's a good "intro" to our mash-up style of rustic/agri-industrial with sparkly.

Lowe's Deal © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

We'll have two of these in hallways that lead out from the main entry. Again, Lowe's clearance finds, for under $25 each. Check those endcaps in the lighting department!

Schoolhouse Light © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

In our current house this illuminates our breakfast area, but in the new home it will be in our office. It's a slightly more modern interpretation of our design aesthetic. We got this beauty online at LampsPlus.com  At the time it was on sale for about $100.

Office © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

This one's currently hanging over our dining room table, and it will grace our new dining area too. $199 at LampsPlus.com. The simple, spare silvery-bronze framework along with the crystal beads were exactly what we were looking for.

Dining Room © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

For $89 each, these pendants from Home Decorator's will add a little opulence over our kitchen island. They don't even have to be hard-wired, they're available with an adapter for can lights. How cool is that?

Home Decorator's

This Kathy Ireland piece will go in our living room - it's way prettier in person (but currently still in pieces in a box, awaiting installation). Can you believe we found this impressive fixture for $180?

Kathy Ireland Chandelier - sorry about the grainy photo, had to take it from the LampsPlus website

At the moment our bonus room looks like a lighting store warehouse! In an upcoming post we'll show you these pieces in their new home, as well as the builder fixtures we chose.

Lighting provides excellent opportunities to showcase your style, and it doesn't have to brake the bank!