We've got the power!

We have LIGHTS! You just flip a switch and they turn on! 

We are so overdue for a post but let me just sum up everything that has happened in the last week:

-We built a shower, and covered it in concrete

-We painted all of the walls

-A series of salvaged light fixtures were stripped and prepped for installation

-Large appliances were acquired

-There was a large-scale, post-drywall-and-painting site cleanup

-Electricity happened

In time we'll go more in depth about some of these, particularly the shower, but today we want to focus on the lights.  And by "focus on",  I just mean "show you pretty pictures of".  We  ( and I mostly mean me) had so much fun picking out lights for this place.  Our house has been described lately as a grown up tree house and the lights make it a really fancy tree house.   These are our most exciting salvaged lights.  

First off is the chandelier.  With the large, vaulted ceiling over pretty much the entire living area, we knew we needed something big to fill the space, and provide enough for the living room and loft.  We found exactly what we needed at Earthwise, one of our favorite salvage shops in Seattle.  It cost us about $150, and it really classes up the joint!  Here's John cleaning and hanging each piece of beveled glass from the top of our scaffolding.  

Below, the chandelier lit in all of it's glory.  Those are all dimmable compact fluorescent bulbs by the way.  It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it's very bright.  At 5 watts each, the entire fixture uses as much as a single, 100 watt bulb when turned up all the way.  Not bad for what is essentially lighting our entire house!

 

 These sconces, which light the front door and patio, came from the same shop.  On the left, is what they looked like when we bought them, covered in goopy white paint.  After a thorough soak in baking soda and water, I meticulously stripped the paint off with a razor.  Underneath, voila!, gorgeously patinated copper!

 

 More patinated copper on this sconce, lighting up the back patio.

In the kitchen, over what will soon be the island, is the chandelier John gave me as a wedding gift.  Art Deco goodness!

These sconces, which look like they belong in some hotel lobby of a bygone era, are on the back wall of the lofted bedroom, opposite the glass chandelier.  Again, strangely classy and slightly out of place.  The picture on the left more accurately shows the color of the wall, while the picture on the right gives you a better idea of how big these golden, tiered scones are.

John spent at least 20 minutes today just flipping on and off switches with a look of sheer joy plastered on his face.

Next time on Mellish Fields..... see the exciting drama of the concrete shower!