A few weeks ago I told you about the home project list I put together and the highest priority items we planned to work on first. Since then the list has been completely turned upside down. But, it’s still all good, because we’re getting things done and making a ton of progress painting and updating to black light fixtures. Here are the new black fixtures we chose and where we found them for much less than I ever thought we would pay.
Updating to Black Light Fixtures
We’ve been in our home for nearly 20 years and for the past 2 or 3 have finally gotten around to installing some ceiling light fixtures. I could say that shopping for them was never a top priority (which is true), but the real reason is because every time I did shop for them, either I could not make a decision or the lights I liked most were super expensive.
Well, that all changed recently when I decided I wanted to paint my walls white and have black fixtures to complement them.
You see, every few years, when we have a big event taking place, I get the urge to paint the walls. This year the big event was my daughter’s college graduation party.
So I’ve spent the last few weeks painting walls and woodwork in our hallway and dining room. I’ll do another entire post on how I chose the white color. For quick reference, it’s Sherwinn Williams Fundamental White.
Choosing a Dining Room Table Pendant Light
The photo below shows two light fixtures we purchased a few years back. I still love the dark finish of these two bronze (almost black) fixtures. You can read about the Broyhill glass pendant HERE and the Odie Pendant light over the dining table HERE.
Unfortunately, this Odie pendant light over the dining table is not longer available, but I found a few on Amazon that are similar. You can click the images to take a closer look…
When choosing a light fixture for over a table, be sure the scale of the light fits the size and shape of the table. For instance, if this were a small round light fixture over a long rectangular table then the light would feel too small.
Below is another photo of this rectangular pendant light over my dining table. The light is 40-inches long. The table is 91-inches long. The size of the light works really well. It feels light because it’s a cage style light (no glass), but substantial because of the size. The 40-inch pendant would work well even if this table were 108 inches long. But a 3-light rectangular pendant would feel too small, just as a round fixture would.
Pro tip: A good rule of thumb is that the width of the light fixture should be at least 1/3 the length of the dining table (this rule does not apply to an accent pendant, task light, or pendant over an island.
Choosing Hallway & Bathroom Lights
If you look at some older posts, you may notice how many different metals we had throughout a single space. Brass ceiling light fixtures and door handles/hinges. Brushed nickel wall sconces over the fireplace. Bronze pendant over the kitchen island. And wood lamp bases.
We’ve been slowly phasing out the brass and replacing it with the darker fixtures. Finally on the list to replace were the “boob” flush mount fixtures in the hallway. You know… these ones…
Honestly, I cannot believe it took me sooooo long to replace something that irritated me every time I looked up!
I actually knew the style light fixture I wanted, but the price of each fixture was running anywhere from $150 to $300 each. I had 4 flush mount light fixtures to buy (2 hallway, 1 bathroom, 1 laundry room) and every time I considered ordering them, I decided that the $600-$1,200 was better spent on college tuition, mortgage payments, or even groceries.
But I can say one thing for being stuck inside for the past year, I’ve gotten much better at online searching and shopping!
Are you familiar with schoolhouse light fixtures? You’ve probably seen them used on HGTV a million times! Even after seeing them for the past 10 years and still loving them, that’s a tell-tale sign that they’re a classic, great choice. But like I said they average $150-$300 each. I’ve even seen some for as much as $600.
If you have also been looking at schoolhouse style light fixtures that are understated and classic to coordinate with other dark accents in your home, then these fixtures I found on Amazon may be just what you’re looking for.
And the best part… they were only $35 each. Yes, you read that right. $35.00 !!!!!
The black base is perfect and is just far enough away from the kitchen and dining room lights so you don’t even notice the very slight “black vs dark bronze” difference in the fixtures.
Click the image to see them on Amazon and save them to your cart.
The half bath and laundry room which are just off the hallway, also needed light fixtures. I’m embarrassed to say that for 20 years we only had a light bulb hanging here. No fixture at all, just a light bulb. Aye Aye Aye!
These smaller fixtures used in the bath and laundry were even less expensive. They were only $22.50 each. They come in a pair for $44.99. Click the image to see them on Amazon.
I love that they’re just a little bit different from the hallway lights but still resemble them.
Finally, with all the money we saved on the other lights, it was an easy decision to also update the vanity light in the half bath at the same time.
This 2-light vanity light coordinated perfectly and was just under $53.00. Click the image to see it on Amazon and save it to your cart.
We absolutely love our new black light fixtures. If you’re looking to refresh yours, it may be time. Delivery was super quick (less than a week). They all came perfectly boxed and protected and were easy (for my husband) to install.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products I use myself and love.
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