Let’s talk about a not so quick fix. Between patio building and kitchen makeover-ing, Sherry and I like to “treat” ourselves to a few quick and easy projects that keep the ol’ morale up and allow us to catch our breath (so we don’t burn out or throw things at each other). And one fast & easy job that we’ve had planned for a while was swapping out the fixture in our guest bathroom for something more us.
There was nothing particularly wrong with what was there, per se – but it was a bit more traditional than we’d pick ourselves (so we figured donating it to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore would give it a second life while we upgraded to something that felt more our style). At first we considered just replacing the shades for a quick mini makeover, but the big and chunky back plate (which was as wide as the fixture itself) wasn’t really doing it for us either.
Here’s a more straight on shot of it, which was impossible to take without getting my whole body in the mirror. On the other hand, if I had just removed my shirt I could have done my dead-ringer Jacob From Twilight impression (note: to those unfamiliar with my shirtless physique, this is a joke).
Anyway, back to our lighting situation. Here’s the new light that we picked up at Lowe’s a few weeks back. It’s one of those fixtures where you can choose from an assortment of covers to sort of “customize” the look. We’ve always been fans of seeded glass, so Sherry snagged these two covers (which are more seeded and textured than this photo really depicts). The total was around $25.
First I had to remove the old fixture. Which was clearly very tightly affixed to the wall. Not. After removing just one of the glass covers the entire thing tipped sideways from the weight of the remaining cover. Awesome.
Anyways, it came off smoothly and I was left with this beautiful site:
Did I mention I turned off the breaker to the entire house before I started? That’s how Captain Careful rolls.
Attaching the new fixture was nothing special – I just connected a few wires (I usually just mimic how the old fixture was connected, taking note as I remove it and duplicating the setup with the new one). Once the fixture was wired and screwed into the wall (about a five minute process), I eagerly readied the wall for its debut. I scrubbed off some of the marks from the old light…
… and screwed on our favorite part of the new light: the seeded glass bulb covers that Sherry picked out separately for a little flair (you could pick from frosted, clear, seeded, and even colored or fluted options).
But when we stepped back and looked at it, something was off. Do you see what we saw?
All we could focus on was how giant and incredibly conspicuous those plastic threads were above the bulb thanks to the choice of the seeded glass cover.
Some of you might think we’re crazy for fixating on that, but it was totally bothering us that the sleek brushed nickel fixture and charming seeded glass covers were interrupted by those big bands of plastic. To us, it made the whole thing look kinda cheap (even though it kinda was, we didn’t want it to look that way). So we were bummed because we otherwise liked how it looked (and briefly considered trying to paint them silver to match but decided that we didn’t want to settle).
Sure frosted covers could have solved the problem, but the whole draw of this fixture was that we could go with the seeded covers that we love (we had one hanging above our kitchen sink in the old house so I guess we were feeling sentimental). Not wanting to stop short of a fixture that we 100% loved, we darted back out to a few lighting places to find a replacement.
This time we had a new direction in mind (anyone else think of Glee when I said “new direction”?). Having been inspired by Lady Bower’s new bathroom fixtures and some of the exterior ones that we already have (seen here and here), we thought we’d go for something a bit more industrial slash retro. The guest bathroom already has that vibe going on with the vintage yellow tile and the old school floating sink anyway. So this is what we came home with, courtesy of the outdoor lighting section of Home Depot (for 29 beans):
With new light in hand, it was time for take two of our light fixture replacement adventure. Which, of course, started by undoing our first attempt and carefully repackaging it so we could return it. And getting a “take two” hand signal from the wife in the mirror.
At this point the scene outside of the bathroom was starting to look a bit like this:
Another 5-or-so minutes later, this puppy was up and the power was back on.
I know he looks a little funny since the rest of the room is so unfinished. But our new light actually gets us excited to let the industrial-ish vibe inspire some other choices in the bathroom (we still need some art, paint on the walls, and possibly a mirror tweak among a few other touches to make it all come together).
Plus, how’s this for a nice bonus? The glass cover is seeded glass. We didn’t even know that from looking at the display in the store or the picture on the box. Total bonus. Like it was meant to be or something.
Actually, speaking of the glass cover – the one thing we weren’t so sure about was the wire “cage” around it. We thought it was kinda cool, but maybe a bit too industrial for our comfort zone at the moment.
So we decided to take it off – just for the time being (since it easily snaps into place – or out of place if you want to remove it).
For now, we think we prefer it the cageless way, but who knows how we’ll feel down the line as we bring more art/paint/accessories into the room and it really starts to take shape. We’re definitely only about 2% done in here. More to come.
And thus ends the tale of our not-so-quick, quick fix. All in all I think it took us around three hours (driving included) so it wasn’t that bad. But we thought it was going to be one of those five minute things. Of course it probably would’ve been a little faster had I not been taking pictures of myself in the mirror every five seconds. Look, I put a filter on this one. You know, because everything looks more gangster with a filter on it.
And yes I am wearing my Dr. Pepper shirt. How you like me now?
Have you guys ever had projects that were supposed to be quick turn into a little something more? Don’t you hate climbing back into the car to grab something that you never anticipated needing? Does your grandma have a sugar bowl that reminds you of the original shades of the fixture that we replaced?
Mine and Sherry’s both totally do.
emily @ thirtyeight20 says
Excellent choice! We also have one of these puppies over each of the vanity mirrors in our guest bathroom. (We kept the cages on though, b/c we’re industrial like that.)
Valerie says
I like the cage! I think it will look more at home once the rest of the room is updated.
elaine says
Love it! I like the vintage feel – totally suits the style of the bathroom. I like the cage on too though. Adds a neat detail – but nice off as well. And yes, my grandma should get together with your grandma to talk matching sugar bowls.
Jess @ Get Busy Living says
This is the 2nd day a blog pic of John has had me laughing out loud. The only thing missing in his gansta pic is the “duck face”. Hilarious!
thecounselormom says
Looks great! Can’t wait to see the rest of the bathroom!
Rebekka says
i LOVE the 2nd light choice. it was fate. on an unrelated note, as ikea fans, i’m wondering if you guys know if ikea ever has promo codes/free shipping when buying things online? i’ve been lusting after this kitchen island for ages, and its finally available online (the nearest ikea is 5+ hours away) but i’m stingy and don’t want to pay for shipping! i’ve tried googling around but i don’t think i have the skills that you guys do! thanks in advance!!
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t think they ever have online promo codes, but they do have in-store sales from time to time (and of course mark things down in the as-is department). So sorry it’s so far away since going to the store in person might be the best way to get a deal. Maybe your island will turn up on craigslist? You can put out a “wanted ad” for it too. Good luck!
xo,
s
Allison says
I haven’t used this service, but I’ve heard of something similar in my area (St. Louis).
http://www.nexusstl.com/index.html
I googled “St. Louis IKEA” and this was the first result. You could do the same for your city (along with some background checking if you get any results).
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says
I made that same choice with the big plastic threaded light and a seeded glass cover, and I had the same reaction. It was so disappointing. Unfortunately, I was too lazy to remove the whole thing, so I settled for frosted glass. Boo! I love your new fixture. I prefer it with the cagey thing on, but I think it looks great either way. I’ve eyed that fixture several times in Home Depot, and always wished I had a place for it.
Tiffany S. says
Awesome job. I like the new one with or without the cage, but without is almost a little more unique.
Lighting is so hard. I spent all weekend searching Mini-pendants online, and when I finally found one I loved it’s completely out of stock everywhere. What do they say? Patience is a virtue? I think having to live with horrible fake stained glass mini-pendants is a virtue.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it is! You’re so virtuous!
xo,
s
Lauren says
I love the new light with the cage. I think it brings in a great nautical vibe to the bathroom.
Jordan @ White Bungalow says
No way! We have the same light only in brown above our front door. We never even thought about taking the cage off to make it a little less industrial…We may give that a shot sometime. And oh yea those bubbles in the glass got us by surprise as well!
brigwork says
You guys are making me jealous. No Home Goods in our hood!
JLJMcCarron says
If you decide to go industrial/mid-century with that sweet retro bathroom (we have a yellow one just like it!), check out some of the awesome prints at http://www.plan59.com/main.htm I don’t work for them, but I LOVE their prints! I have my eye on several, and have ordered some as gifts too!
YoungHouseLove says
Fun! Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Kim @ Yellow Brick Home says
I didn’t mind that first replacement light, but the second one is to die for. It looks waaay more expensive than it was!
Emily says
Have you thought about painting the porcelain tile in your bathroom? I saw them do it on HGTV once. I’m not sure how it looks up close, but it looked good through the t.v.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve heard great things about reglazing tile, but we’re kind of in love with the vintage yellow tile so we’re planning to work with it and see where we end up!
xo,
s
Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says
Love it without the cage…looks great! :)
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
LOVE the new light! We’ve totally been considering those ones for our garage front. :) Never considered it for inside, BUT it looks amazing!
We totally had the 50-run extravaganza when it came to our drip system in our back yard… LOL Just gotta laugh about it because that’s all you can do, and in the end, the job gets done. :)
Sierra says
I love the industrial retro look! Swoon!
Its 9am here in Cali, I’m so dragging today…until I read on to Sherry’s “take two” photo. lol! It hit me just right and I laughed out loud in my dead quiet office. lol
You give so much inspiration and daily “I can do that too!” positivity that I can’t let a day go by without reading. Thanks! :)
Cheryl M says
We just completed our re-model of our master bathroom and let me tell you … nothing is ever as easy or as quick as you think it is going to be
First, my husband who is wonderful at repairs/replacing etc. was called in to work and me not wanting to drag this thing out decided to continue without his help .. big mistake/headache… don’t know why I didn’t see that coming… anyhow to continue …
A. 3 coats of paint were requited on every wall to get good coverage.
B. replaced light fixture 4 times with 4 trips to the Home Depot and 1 to Lowes (for good measure) to see if they had anything I liked better, before finding one that “looked” right.
C. installed toliet paper holder upside down .. had to remove patch holes, paint over, wait to dry, and re-install correctly this time.
D. installed what I thought was Brazilain Cherry laminate flooring to match the rest of the house … just to find out that the employee at the Home Depot had pulled the wrong product and I had installed just Cherry….hmmmm do I rip it all up or is it really noticeable?? ….. well, that annoying bug called perfection had to rear it’s ugly head …. and yes, out it came which of course resulted in another trip to the Home Depot.
E. F. G. H………etc.
let’s just say I now wait to make sure I’m not alone in any of “our” projects. That way, I have the time and energy to double and sometimes triple check everything to avoid costly and time consuming errors such as the flooring!!
As for your lighing adventure…. I couldn’t have lived with the white plastic showing like that either. The one you got does look nice without the cage.
PS. John, in Sherry’s post the other day about the porch makeover, you were seen mimicing as if peeing. well, you looked just like my husband. He does that everytime & at passing cars too! It MUST be a man thing! LOL
Molly says
No low CFL light bulbs? You guys are so environmentally friendly, that surprises me. Any reason why?
YoungHouseLove says
We use CFLs in nearly 95% of the fixtures in our house (lamps, ceiling fixtures, etc) but in the rare case that they’re exposed (like the old seeded glass pendant in our last kitchen and the one in this bathroom) we like the clear glass 60 watt bulbs instead. We figure things like our rain barrel, our compost bin, and our one-car-household-ness help offset one or two “regular” bulbs that are visible while the rest are CFLs!
xo,
s
debbie says
Every DIY project we do seems to take way more time and $$$ than originally expected. We too have old light fixtures to replace, they are frosted glass bowls with brassy rims, sort of spaceshippy, in a bad way.
Lovely Greens says
Be careful with pulling those two fingers ;) It’s means ‘F**k You’ in the UK!
YoungHouseLove says
Totally not what I intended!
-John
Linda says
I LOVE this look. Are you pleased with the amount of light this fixture emits? In our planned “mini-bath redo,” I have seriously considered using outdoor lighting. However, my fear is that such a light would not give us the illumination that we need as this would be the only source of light over the mirror above our vanity and, basically, in our whole small bath.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes it’s actually a nice brightness without being too crazy-blinding. It probably wouldn’t be enough light if the shower didn’t have its own light too (that “stall” would otherwise be a cave since it’s so closed off).
xo,
s
hillary says
I have to say I love your little yellow bathroom. I am a super sucker for vintage tile + floating sinks and I think the choices you’ve made in there have really elevated it. The final light is genius. I 100% agree with your decision to deep six the light that showed the plastic threads. Not cute. Love the final light both with and without cage.
LauraElle says
This blog entry made me un-repress a bad memory of a “quick fix.” One Friday, after weeks of studying up and going to some workshops in preparation, we oh so innocently decided to swap out the Robin’s Egg Blue and Peach tile in the tub surround for sleek, white subway tile. We only have the one bathroom. And I was really sick of visiting the 1970s when I showered. Things were going great… until my husband said, “Why is the wall behind the tile so wet?”
He wasn’t kidding. The wall was sopping wet. And moldy. And ruined. Previous owner had slapped up the tile directly over the wall. No vapor barrier, no cement board, nothing. He ended up replacing three studs and the subfloor in the bathroom and guestroom. Thankfully, the joists were undamaged. He did “sister” them just to be certain, though.
Our son has asthma. He and I IMMEDIATELY went to Grandma’s for a week. Like I called her from the car on the way over. My husband did the demo and clean up. (He’s a civil-environmental engineer so if he doesn’t know how to do something, someone in his office does. And just an quick FYI: he followed all recommended safety protocols and exceeded regulation standards) The mold was cleaned, the subfloor repaired and my husband closed the walls so Junior and I came home.
Yay. We were a family again, with a usable-albeit ugly for the moment- bathroom. Aaaand my husband’s office got a last minute, all-hands-on-deck project that required overtime and most weekends.
I didn’t LIKE having a “redneck shower” (Plastic sheeting over cement board that my husband would take down to replace the studs and do the plumbing) but I did like saving the $35K (that’s the average estimate we got for repairs). Yes, it was drawn out, ugly and annoying. That’s how it is when your only bathroom needs serious work. Everything is now 100% up to code, safe and looks good.
It was done about five months after the initial, “Holy Cats! Our house is going to die!” shock (mainly because of that big project at work) until completion.
Now, when we start a project, we just tear everything out so we can see what we’re working with before we finalize materials, order of operations, and design. We’ve just learned to laugh and be patient.
And I must say reading your blog has removed some of the fear of DIY. Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad your house didn’t die! Wow- but what an ordeal!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
Bathroom lighting is tough – everything is kind of generic and blah looking. In general I’m not a huge fan of outdoor-as-indoor-lighting… I wasn’t crazy about Katie’s either. But on the other hand, I’m not sure I can picture what kind of fixture I WOULD like, so maybe I’m just overly picky!
Eryn says
I am so glad you guys are working with what you have! We have the same tile and I would love to see what I can do to make it look a little more up to date without ripping out the tile and starting from scratch. Great job you two!
Lisa in Seattle says
For a moment I thought the mirror was actually a medicine cabinet, and the new shades meant you’d never be able to open it! Love the new fixture. I have very light-sensitive eyes so all of our glass shades are frosted; how’s the glare sitch with the naked bulb and clear glass?
The downstairs basement in our late-1960s house has never been touched and still has the original light fixtures like this charmer: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74446323/vintage-60s-glass-light-fixture-cover.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s not too bad since it’s just a single 60 watt bulb. I did the whole put-on-your-makeup-in-there test, and it seems to work!
xo,
s
Lisa in Seattle says
That should say downstairs BATHROOM. ::headdesk::
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I knew what you meant.
xo,
s
Gracia says
My vote is wire cage off! It looks great like that!
Oh, and how funny it is that I stared at the filtered pic for over a minute trying to find out what I thought was “wrong” about it… until I realised my husband is wearing that same Dr. Pepper tshirt today :D
YoungHouseLove says
Sweet, he can join our crew.
-John
Shauna says
So, have you ever noticed that sometimes when you mention the cost of something you say “29 beans” and you also call Clara The Bean? Which leads me to see this adorable picture in my mind of 29 smiling babies, a la a children’s counting book. You guys are too funny.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- we do seem to like that word!
xo,
s
Lesley says
Maybe it’s just me, but with the cage the light seemed too nautical-looking ( think coast of Maine ) and that’s so done and ordinary in a bathroom. Taking off the cage, for me, made it more modern yet still industrial.
I’m a big fan of using outdoor fixtures inside, they add a little unexpected something.
Lisa says
I like the lights, both of them, but the one you ended up with looks great, with and without the cage!
The old shades look like ice cream sundae glasses to me.
Allison says
My gram is totally rocking some of those candy dishes around the house :)
The thing I noticed about both take 1 and take 2 is how low the light hanges down over the mirror. It sounds like you are planning to replace the mirror, but will it be lower than the one there now? I am just thinking the reflection of the blub in the mirror may be a bit blinding…?? I do like the light minus the “cage” too :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah we might swap out the mirror and tweak a few other things in there as we go. So far it’s not blinding in the mirror or anything (I did the whole put-on-your-makeup-in-there as a test and it worked well).
xo,
s
my honest answer says
So pleased you took the cage off! As soon as I saw take two, I was thinking, I like it… but I don’t like the cage. And then you took it off and it looks great. Well done.
Yvette Kelley says
You might’ve already seen this project on Pinterest… but here’s another somewhat?? quick project you could do in the Bean’s room if there’s a wall feeling a little barren. ;) I tried it myself.. super easy and really cute. Adds a lot of depth and texture to an other-wise plain wall!
http://kelleyfoodies.blogspot.com/2011/07/wall-flower-project.html
Enjoy!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo,
s
Meg B. says
Okay, this is spooky. I JUST bought that same light fixture from Home Depot this weekend! Though I got the darker color instead of the silver. I’m also planning to put it up in my guest bath! Just need to get going on the install. Good to know the cage is removable, I was also wondering if I was going too far out of my comfort zone of industrial-ness. I’m in LOVE with seeded glass too.
Kim says
Nice Job! Love it. I might copy it!!
Courtney says
I thought my weekend bathroom project of putting a pedestal sink in place of the former vanity was a plug-and-play situation. Take out the vanity, put in a backer board, install the pedestal sink, done. Not so. Not so at all! It’s turned into a drywall-removing, stud-scabbing adventure. And of course it morphed into having to tear up and install a new floor…
candace @ thecandace.com says
A perfect upgrade! I like going along with you as you slowly transform your space (instead of one big swoop) – it’s nice that you take your time and that it’s an evolution.
Debbie says
i dont know, something about one the one giant light kind of makes the scale look wonky to me. seems too large & bulbous for the space. im sure itll look different once you make the rest of your changes.
shereen says
Hummm…could you have maybe put the light fixture on with the “light cups” in an upward postion? That could have hidden the platic part (or made it so that they weren’t as visilbe because looking up you’d see the brushed metal). OR gone with a frosted “light cup” instead? I like saying light cups!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we definitely could have gone with a frosted cup (but we just love the seeded look so much that we didn’t want to settle). Haha- to light cups. Love it.
xo,
s
Jackie @ House Envy says
Wow! It looks really great! Just picked out the same lights for our front porch and garage area. Love them!
Great minds think alike.
Keep up the good work!
Jean Choate says
I have two of that same light fixture on my patio……love them, indoors or out.
September says
I’ve been reading for years but never commented…your filter photo and gangster comment cracked me up. You have a terrific sense of humor!
Elisa @ What the Vita says
I love that light! We used it for our stairway mini-redo – check it out at
http://whatthevita.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/the-stairway-gets-a-facelift-and-its-about-time/
AND
http://whatthevita.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/bye-mommies-hello-good-looking-stairway/
It looks great in your bathroom! Love outdoor lights for indoor rooms…
YoungHouseLove says
Looks awesome in your stairway!
xo,
s
Tiffany Hall says
The first ones didn’t seem that bad. I love little changes like that it keeps things fresh.
Shari @ Chicago Cuisine Critique says
I love the new light fixture! Well done. :)
Kelly says
We just put two of those exact lights on our back deck. Nice choice.
carolinaheartstrings says
Totally love the fixture choice. I actually have a very similar one in my stairwell. Outdoor department also. Who knew right!
Julia says
I actually really liked the original crystal shades…maybe with some white spray paint over the silver…no? Ah, I love antiques.
I also do like the final choice, much better than the first choice. It seemed too big for the space.
Love you guys!
Alex says
WARNING its possible that this comment will be inappropriate. but I had to share because John reminded me of it.
I am a big Glee fan and was telling my brother about it and the New Directions. All he heard was something about “Nude Erections”. hmm. Kind of ruins the name and the innocence of Glee….but it made me chuckle in a head-shaking, disapproving kind of way.
Thats my story – hope you chuckle in the same disapproving but still funny way
YoungHouseLove says
We had the same thing happen when we said it quickly in front of a relative. Think the resemblance is accidental or intentional? Haha.
xo,
s
Alex says
bahaha could be intentional who knows. I wonder if they’ve gotten complaints. Reminds me of the brady bunch movies – totally innocent watching it as a kid, but years later as an adult, sooo much inuendo haha. oh dear. more head-shaking.