Oh the Lighting Possibilities

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend so far! I have an unexpected dining room lighting update to share with you next week! But, before I dish out all the details of the update, I wanted to fill you in on the process first.

To jog your memory, this is the lighting fixture we are working with. It was gold in a previous life, but appears to have been spray painted bronze at some point. Personally, this chandelier is not my thing. All that crystal is way too fussy for my taste and the dark green shades weren't doing anything for me either. So, the search began for a new light...

When we first moved into this house, I was thinking of going with something like this to coordinate with our schoolhouse lights in the kitchen and breakfast nook. But, after thinking about it long and hard, it just wasn't my favorite look for a dining room and was way out of my price range.

via Schoolhouse Electric

I also seriously considered a light like this. I love the look! However, after seeing them in person, I realized it just wasn't bright enough for my light craving self. Maybe I'll find another spot for a light like this? This one is from Pottery Barn, but Lowe's and Home Depot have similar options for less.

via Pottery Barn

Next, I fell hard for this chandelier I saw featured on Love Grows Wild. I about fainted when I saw the price tag, though! I started looking for similar chandeliers in a lower price point, but was unsure of how I would like the exposed bulbs. I decided to take all of the shades off of my chandelier to test how I would like the bare bulbs and hated how bright the bulbs were. That nixed a whole slew of chandeliers off of my list, as a good amount of chandeliers have exposed bulbs. 

via Love Grows Wild

I also really loved this style of lighting fixture. It's probably my all time favorite. But it's just a tad too rustic for my house at this point. It's gorgeous, though...and also way out of my price range. ;)

via Shades of Light

When I finally got my head out of the clouds and started shopping in my price range, I found this one that I liked. But, the candle parts are too yellow/amber for our dining room. Sigh. Why couldn't they be white? :(

via Lowe's

Then, last month, I found a chandelier at Lowe's that I actually liked, was in my price range, and went well with our house! But, a new light was not at the top of our priority list, so took a picture and filed it away for another day. 

Knowing it'd be a while before we could spend the money on the light, I decided I'd do a quick update to our existing light by removing all of the crystal and replacing the green shades with white ones. I ran into Lowe's this week to grab new shades and was floored when I realized they were $5 per shade! I needed 9 shades, so there was no way I could justify paying $45 to update a chandelier that I didn't even like. 

Defeated, I started to leave empty handed, but just had to check on the chandelier that I liked first. I hate to leave you hanging, but this post is already way too long, so I'll share the rest of the story on Monday! Hint-- I literally danced in my driveway when I got home from Lowe's! ;)

Have a great rest of the weekend!