This is where I get to say anything I feel like saying and you get to agree with me.
We will also share stories and chocolate if you have any.
Naps are also encouraged, if shopping is out of the question.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Need a Light ?

When you buy an apartment here, you get the apartment. And of course, various aspects of the building, but unlike other countries , the seller takes everything and leaves the bare shell of the apartment for you.
No kitchen appliances, no air conditioning, no lights . Of course, some people will make a deal and leave something for you but apparently, everyone takes their Stuff with them and the new people come in with their Stuff and that is the way it goes.


So when we arrived from The Other World .. we did have furniture and dishes etc but no appliances and no lights.. we did bring some lamps that mean something to us but nothing else.


So , lucky for us, we got to go shopping in a huge city full of shops of every sort that sell lights.
Old ones, new ones, cheap and ugly ones and some mighty fine expensive antiques too.


There were a few that were so tempting and we tried so hard to be strong and not give in to temptation.. there is only one that I keep remembering as the One that Got Away .. pretty, isn't it ?


But boy did we have fun shopping. We went to neighborhoods that are just one antique shop after another, flea markets and malls and streets where every store is lighting.


Now.. our apartment is in a 100 year old French (style) building with 15 ft high ceilings and molding galore. It was made to have chandeliers , nothing modern, nothing cold and abstract, this apartment was made for curlycues and ornate ... in moderation .. but still ... 


So here is the outcome of our months of hunting and searching for just the right light for each room.
The kitchen is the most modern room ( and the bath ) with black granite and cherry cabinets. But the high ceilings and molding are there and it requires something important in a small foyer like space     when you come in the door.. 
I love looking Up at the light, it is an amazing Art Deco Milk Glass   ..


The living room has the need for 2 ceiling lights and that took the longest, what to put there that would go together or that we could get doubles of . While we were still looking for only antique lighting, we thought that maybe we would have a chandelier over the dining table and not actually chandeliers in the living room.
So we found this for the living room.
This has a great story- or so we think.  We found a set of this sort of light in an antique shop. The same shop that had the Light that got away.
But the price was incredibly high and we decided to keep looking. We came upon this light at the Mercado de las Pulgas (flea market) and wished they had two. So while walking around all the aisles and looking into all the various vendors areas, there was another one, just like it ! They are almost identical, you can't really see the difference, but we have two.


The Dining room table is Thonet and modern with a glass top and dark dark wood. We thought this light worked really well with the dark wood and glass. It's French, that's all I know .. black and gold enamel on brass.


The Hall light needed to be pretty because ... well, you have to walk down the hall to get to any other room and I see no need for anything to be just useful, it can be pretty too.
And it is ..
The bedroom lights took the longest . They had to be perfect. I found the chandelier for the  second bedroom, this room where I blog at my little desk each day, at an antique store in the part of town that has a gazillion antique shops .. I intend to buy tiny little red pleated shades for the bulbs.
And then there was just our bedroom and dressing room lights to find. The dressing room light is art deco frosted glass, I have no photo.
This is my bedroom light. 






I love my bedroom light. I clean them myself, did I mention that ? Yessirree, I climb a high ladder and spritz and wipe and clean and take care of them myself.
Only because the housekeeper is shorter than I am and can't reach. And also because they are so beautiful and I feel like we discovered each one , like a treasure. So it is my responsibility to take care of my treasures.


Can you picture what it is going to look like when or if we ever decide to move ? I am taking my lights with me. 

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

I loved this because I grappled and am still grappling with this, too. Our outdoor lights are fine. I'd like to REALLY replace the large fixture that lights the kitchen. I think it takes more than one bulb, but I've never changed bulbs as I've never had to. I've thought of switching out the candelabra over our dining table, but haven't found anything I like better. What is very odd about our house is that when you enter each bedroom, there's a switch right near the door. I'm not sure what function the switches serve because NONE of the bedrooms have ceiling lights in them!