Home - March 31, 2017

Living Room Update: I Hate the Light Fixture

Today’s blog post is about decorating my house – sort of. I guess it’s mostly just a way for me to update you on the progress of my living room. After sharing how much I hated my (new) light fixture on Instagram stories (and then later receiving questions and comments from y’all), I was inspired to share a little bit of the story behind decorating my house and where I am in that process.

brighton keller new house living room

When considering the PROCESS of decorating (of just about anything), there are ups and downs and turns and trials and errors. And rather than waiting until everything is perfect and shiny and finished, I want to let you in on the behind the scenes and like I’ve mentioned – the process. This photo (above) is RIGHT before I moved in, starting with a BLANK slate. How exciting! I never intended to share it, but that makes it even more fun to share actually – it’s raw and real and actually a photo I sent to my parents to try and convince them that I was serious about this whole house-buying business and tell them I had (actually!) put in an offer!

Decorating is a Long Process

As I’m sure most of you know by now, I purchased my first home earlier this year. And as I’m writing this, it still blows my mind that I bought a house (WHAT?!) but at the same time, I’ve been saving for over a year so it’s not that crazy of a surprise (BUT STILL). Anyway, I’m going to move on now.

adding in shelves in living room

The first thing I did in my living room was add some shelves to either side of my fire place. This doesn’t really have anything to do with the process, but I figured I’d include it even still because it was part of MY process.

Okay, back to decorating.

The next step after buying a house (well, along with other stuff too), is filling it with “stuff” (aka decorating – ah!). More specifically, stuff you can sit on, cook with, light up the room with, adorn the walls with, and etc. It’s fun picking stuff out but then it’s even more fun when it GETS HERE and you get to SEE it in REAL LIFE.

brighton keller house living room rug delivery

This was a big day (above). Here’s a random iPhone photo I took when my living room rug got delivered! I should have taken a better photo, but this is all I’ve got for now. Plus, I love sharing the iPhone photos because it’s super “behind the scenes” feeling. Which is a nice change of pace from the professional-style photos I typically share here on BTD. See that cute blonde in the background? That’s Alison of Shop Harbinger. She’s my decorator and helps me with all my house decisions. I LOVE working with her!

It’s been (and will be) a long process of getting my house to look like I want it to, but right now I’m in the middle of decorating my living room. I’ve picked out my main color scheme, my rug, and sofa (which will hopefully arrive within the next month!), coffee table and my upholstery for my club chair. Oh, and I picked out my light fixture, which I THOUGHT was going look awesome. Let me even show you a photo I took on my iPhone of my Photoshop “mock up”.

living room photoshop image

See? It doesn’t look too bad, right? The light fixture, I mean, in this room set up. I actually really dig it.

I know the fixture was a bit different but I thought it would be a fun way to mix things up since a lot of the other design elements in my living room are quite contemporary. Plus, my house has a bit of a modern “edge” to it (think lots of straight lines and sleek, minimal features) and so I thought this funky light fixture would be a fun way to balance out the large living room. But other than that, I didn’t really put too, too much thought into whether or not this light fixture would look good. I ran it by a few of my design friends I trust and everyone seemed to think it was a good idea.

Until it wasn’t.

Ha. I’m being dramatic, it’s not that bad I guess? But I’m just not really a fan – unless I have some crazy change of heart.

brighton keller new house living room

So yeah. I had it installed last week and it looks awful. Am I complaining? YEP. But the cool thing is that WE CAN FIX THIS. Well wait, what do YOU think?

Trying to decorate all of the rooms at once has been a challenge and I have definitely learned a thing or two about the process. First off, not every decision you make will work out. Sometimes the vision is just way better than when you see it in reality. Case and point – this light fixture situation. Second, don’t get discouraged by this because it is all part of the decorating process and you will eventually have a home that you love. Or so they tell me…

Why Doesn’t the Light Fixture Work?

Well, I guess this is a pretty subjective question but I think it has something to do with the following reasons. Plus, I added in the lessons learned for each consideration that will hopefully help you if you ever need to pick out a light fixture:

  • It’s too long for my ceiling height and looks disproportionate. And nope, it’s not adjustable. Lesson learned: always consider your ceiling height (and sofa + lamps height) when picking out a light fixture. Yes, I feel dumb for not thinking this through.
  • It looks like a daddy long legs. Lesson learned: I don’t know? Avoid daddy-long-leg light fixtures?
  • It blends in with the room because my walls are white. And plus, it just doesn’t really “go”. Lesson learned: consider the decor of your room and your wall color when picking out a light fixture. Do you need something that blends in with the backdrop of your room? Or do you need a statement piece that is substantial within the room?
  • The lights are WAY too IN YOUR FACE. See how you can see the light bulbs? No ma’am. That light is nasty when you turn it on! Lesson learned: consider the actual lighting element of the light fixture. How soft or harsh do you want the lighting? If you have additional lamps or can lights you want a softer source of light.

So, Now What (Re: Light Fixture)?

Now that I’ve looked at the light fixture within my room, I’ve taken into consideration the questions above and am currently reevaluating the situation. But above all, I just wanted to include y’all in the process. Plus, this is just gonna take a MUCH longer time than I thought. That house reveal might still be months away – to be honest.

Personally, I think (?) I need something that is more substantial maybe? Possibly with more hardware, in order to give the room depth. Also, I for SURE think the fixture hangs down too low; is makes my ceilings look short (they’re 10 feet tall!) and the room feel cramped.

Here are a few of the light fixture I’m considering (I keep changing my mind though!)::

Next Steps for Living Room

  • Wait for my HUGE couch to come in. I’m so excited about this thing y’all. I’ve been waiting since like December. It’s apparently supposed to get here in April. We’ll see.
  • Waiting for my upholstered chair to get here and see how it looks with everything.
  • Pick out artwork and decor for shelves on either side of fire place.
  • See how pillows look on new couch and how they go with the upholstered chair.
  • Pick out new side table to replace the dinky one on the left (I don’t like it and I don’t like that it’s also gold – it’s too much gold with the coffee table).
  • Find some artwork for that back wall. I know, it’s super bare. It needs some love.
  • IDK, sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Make it look less staged, haha!

I can’t wait to show you all the finished living room. I have faith that it WILL happen. Eventually.

Other Details: Worlds Away Mia White Lacquer Coffee Table // Palecek Burl Side Table // Claude white pendant // custom leopard X-Benches