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I’m an idea person…big picture all the way. My dad is an engineer, and can figure out a way to do just about anything. We make a great team when it comes to my home decorating projects!
The hutch that I made into an island was pretty cut and dry. My husband, who is talented in many ways but not especially handy, and I were able to complete it all on our own.
The Light Fixture
When I had the brainstorm that a window would make a great light fixture, it was dad who got the call.
I perused a number of places, including Habitat for Humanity’s “ReStore” locations. You can check here to see if there’s one near you. Lots of cool building leftovers.
What I really wanted, however, was something with a little more character. Read: Old.
I found a local architectural remnant store that had just what I was looking for. The window was big enough to cover the long, ugly, fluorescent lights in my kitchen, and the glass was somewhat opaque and mottled.
The color even worked. Score!
The Sides
What didn’t work was how the light fixture hung just beneath the bulbs, but didn’t really hide them. Ick.
My engineering daddy’s mind went to work and we returned to the remnant store to pick up some pieces of old ceiling tin I had seen on my first visit.
He cut them and shaped them a bit to fan up and mostly cover the bulbs, nailing them to the window frame. You can still see them a bit, but as I said in my kitchen island post: I am not a perfectionist.
The paint on the ceiling tin was coming off quite a lot in some places, and we debated painting them. But I do like that rustic look, so it stayed as is. We also chose to leave on the various hinges and handles.
Hanging It
Putting it up was totally my dad’s domain.
What he ended up doing was securing short chains to the top of the window and then putting screw hooks into my ceiling which the chains would attach to. There was stud finding, to be sure it would hold the heavy window securely. Hanging it was definitely a two person job.
Here are some close up shots of the chains. I’m kind of mortified at how dusty they are. But rather than clean them and take new pictures, I’ll show you my humanity and post them as is. Grace please.
He put two chains on one side, and one on the opposite side. What’s nice is that we can unhook the one side and swing it down to clean it (with my husband holding it so as not put too much weight on the chains ).
As I said in describing my kitchen island re-purposed from a hutch, I think our homes reflect us. And I’m A-OK with imperfect and unfinished.
I really do love using unique items in my decorating. I can’t wait to share with you what my dad and I came up with using a huge (HUGE) piece of molding.
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