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Our Lighting Line With Shades Of Light

Let’s talk about some Shady Business. You know the $herdog in me wanted to make that title a Slim Shady reference, right? Anyway, we’ve actually been working on a secret project for over 14 months and we finally get to spill the beans. Jazz hands don’t even begin to cover it. See, back in October 2011 Shades of Light asked us to help them design a lighting collection. And we said “who, us?” quickly followed by a “yes please!”

When it came to our goals, we really wanted to keep things casual, playful, happy, and – the biggest challenge – within our budget. Which broke down to keeping the entire collection under $99. There are even $3 add-on items to spice up the lamps that you already have (you know we love using what you’ve got). But keeping prices under that $99 mark (especially on larger lights, like chandeliers that are 2 feet wide) was a tall order. Shades of Light sells a ton of fancy $400+ designs, but they were amazingly willing to get all hands on deck to inch prices as low as possible without compromising quality, and we LOVE them for that. It was hard to mash all of the lights our bundles of joy into this post, so you can click here to browse our full collection of shades, pendant lights, and decorative add-ons.

Shades Beauty Us

Not only do side gigs like this help us provide for our family, they’re some of the most exciting work that we get to do (you know when we’re not juggling house projects, blog posts, book stuff, and playing with The Bean and The Burgs). Switching gears keeps us creative and it’s always fun to try something new, so projects like this are the icing on the DIY cake. Well, playing with Clara & Burger land in that category too. Which is fitting because these lights are sort of like our babies.

Here are a few “studio shots” of some of our kiddos. The apples of our eye. Picture us grinning like proud parents watching their child play “Tree #2” in the elementary school play.

Shades Moodboard

That’s not all of them, so here’s the whole collection for ya. The coolest thing about this collaboration is that Shades of Light is based right here in Richmond, so it was a local affair. They came over to our house and we dropped by their headquarters a bunch of times over the course of the last year to draw sketches, look at prototypes, sample paint colors, see the products in action, and even shoot them in our own home for their online shop and their catalog.

Which means many of the lights are made/wired/painted right here in good ol’ Virginia! But of course they ship ’em nationally on their site in case you’re not a local (you can even call them for overseas shipping rates). So… woot! It’s pretty exciting to think that our babies are going to be making little pilgrimages to other cities across the country. Well, assuming people buy them. Haha.

Shades Making Of Shoot Clara

As for Clara’s job, she played the role of quality control. When we asked her to pick her favorite one of the guys in the photo above, she kept changing her mind. She’s like her momma. She wants to rub her face on all of them.

The most exciting part of the entire process was when we finally got to shoot some of the finished lights in our house back in November (right between two book tour stops) to see how they looked  “in situation” and to use some of those images for the Shades Of Light catalog. This is a farmhouse pendant that comes in a bunch of happy colors. Doesn’t the pink one look sweet when it’s fake-hanging over our the sink?

Shades Beauty Loft In Kitchen

How did we fake it? Well, see the green-shirted guy on the stool in our kitchen? He actually held the mercury glass pendant that hangs over our sink out of the shot while they snagged a picture of the pink one that you see in the photo above (clamped to a rod above the sink so it appeared to be hard-wired there). It was our kinda shoot. Grass roots and lots of laughing.

Shades Making Of Photo Crew

Here’s another shot to show the magic of in-house photoshoots. See that giant reflector in the foreground and those three lights all clamped up to a rod that was later cropped out of picture? It’s so funny how we look at catalogs like Pottery Barn and think “oh man those rooms are so amazing and clean” – but in reality they must look at least this crazy from afar, thanks to all of the magical behind-the-scenes gear.

Shades Making Of Window

Here’s how those drum pendants actually looked in the photographer’s final shot. Oh and spoiler alert, we bought the scallop pendant in the middle. We couldn’t resist. We’re actually planning to hang it right in the window that you see here.

Shades Beauty Pendants

And remember the chandelier that we gave you a sneak peek of in Monday’s holiday post? Yup, it’s part of our collection. He’s one of our favorites.

Dinner 4 5 Reindeer Centerpiece

We bought it as soon as the catalog shoot wrapped up in our house. At $89 for such a large chandelier (it’s two feet wide!) we thought it was a great deal, and it looks awesome with the oil-rubbed bronze glass pendants over our nearby peninsula. It also comes in a bunch of other colors beyond the rusty bronze finish that we went with (they’re painted locally in colors like plum, dark teal, white, black, gray, and red by an awesome lighting artisan).

Shades Beauty Dining Room

One of the coolest “special effects” from it are the shadows that it casts on the ceiling if you use a clear bulb (if you don’t love them you can use a frosted bulb for a softer look).

Dinner 1 Table With Tree

And you know Burger is our muse, so… this happened. Yup, dude has his own chihuahua-riddled shades in a bunch of colors. We wanted things to be flexible for someone who might just want a shade for a table lamp or floor lamp that they already have, so we asked Shades of Light to sell the shades alone as well as with a finished pendant kit for hanging them (the full pendant kit even comes with a ceiling canopy, so it’s all ready to hang). People gotta have options. And chihuahua shades.

Shades Beauty Burger

And see those sculptural white metal diffusers under each of these geometric-ish ikat shades? Those were another add-on that we thought could spice up someone’s life light. Say you already have a pendant light at home but want a little more flair – one of these (in either the hex pattern or the quatrefoil pattern) can definitely up the ol’ lighting ante.

Shades Beauty Diffusers

We loved adding small (and inexpensive) DIY options, like these $3 add-ons. They’re basically decals (fancy word: appliques) that we thought would be fun on a lamp base that you might already own (or one you could score at a thrift store and spray paint in a solid color). So whether you’re into a white, black, or yellow bee shape; a favorite number in black or white; or even scalloped patterns that you can use alone or layer like crazy, you’re covered. Can’t you see a big white #7 on a navy lamp base? Or a white bee on a cheery yellow gourd lamp?

Shades Appliques 2

And now for a Burger story. Remember way baaack when we posted this picture of Burger for Thanksgiving in 2011? Well, that half-loaf of Panera bread that he snuck off with was actually from one of our first meetings for this project. The Shades of Light team was over at our house and we were excitedly talking about colors, fabrics, and shapes when Burger snuck ONTO THE DINING TABLE and grabbed it without any of us seeing him until it was way too late. Sneaky little bugger. It was the first and last time he had such brazen food-stealing confidence. Thank goodness. Just look at the regret in those big brown eyes…

Happy Thanksgiving

So that ends our little 14-months-in-the-making collection o’ lights, shades, & add-ons. Oh and to anyone who isn’t currently shopping for lighting or doesn’t have any money to spend, we also hoped this collection would inspire the DIYers out there – perhaps just to paint a metal pendant or lamp base that you already have – or even to make little personalized decals to spice up a lamp base in some personal way.

And now for some gushy love for you all. We’d never be “here” without you, and for that we’re eternally grateful. To think that this all started with one little blog post back in 2007 is crazytown, and we’re so grateful to you guys for making it possible. Oh heck, you guys are like our babies too. Come to momma, I feel a hug coming on…

Comments

  1. hollyloo says

    wow! this is so exciting!! there’s not a single lamp there that i don’t like!! if i bring pictures of my space to the atlanta book signing, would it be rude of me to ask you to help me choose?

    Reply

  6. Cherie says

    Aw! Congratulations guys! Isn’t it nice to see hard work pay off? And what great designs!! Very exciting! Look forward to ordering one in the future! Cherie’

    Reply

  7. Kara says

    Congratulations! These are great! Would love to put some in our new house being built, after getting washed away by Sandy. Bright and cheery just what we need! Great prices too!

    Reply

  8. Elizabeth says

    You GUYS! What a beautiful collection. It’s incredible, really, because each of those lights really captures a little bit of your playfulness, creativity, and eye for design. They’re all such a great mix of classic and fun. So impressive! Congratulations, and great job.

    Reply

  9. Gara says

    Yup. I think the website has crashed!! I have been trying to log on for about 30 minutes now and can’t connect! I can’t wait to see the YHL Collection. Congratulations!

    Reply

  11. Angela says

    The collection is so awesome. Congratulations, you adorable existential family, you! :) (The Ikat drum shade is my favorite. Just perfect.) As my eight year-old would say, “you guys rock! No, wait. You guys rule!”

    Reply

  16. Alexis says

    LOVE LOVE LOVE! I’m so excited about this! I live in brand new build, so there are boob lights around every corner :s

    THANK YOU!

    Reply

  18. Annelies says

    You guys have been so busy ! Unbelievable ! But the collection looks great and it must have been a fun project to work on together. You guys are truly blessed. Keep up the good work in 2013 !

    Reply

  19. sarah says

    um…yes please. building a new house, and will have lots of builder grade stuff to take out and new ones to put in. the boys are getting a tree house room, and one of those wire bright painted lights will be perfect. how long will shades of light sell your collection for?

    Reply

  21. Evie says

    Your lighting is so beautiful AND affordable! I was just saying to my husband, “This kitchen needs new lighting.” Well, there ya go! A big THANK YOU!! YAY!!

    Reply

  22. Jeanna says

    LOL, I’m sure the site has crashed!! I’ve been trying for a while now, but what little I managed to see was awesome!! How do you find the time? Can’t wait to see the whole collection. I’ve been wanting affordable pendants for a while now, and am so excited to find something fresh looking and pretty that I can actually afford, so a big thanks from me!!!

    Reply

  25. Gail says

    Gorgeous. Any of them small enough to replace my builder grade “boob” lights in all my hallways. I have 4 to replace and would love something fun like this.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re working on something for that and hope it’ll be out down the line! It tends to take a while to source things and get them ready for sale, but we can’t wait to replace all those crazy boob lights! Hahah!

      xo
      s

  27. Alison says

    You little sneaky sneakertons! No wonder you guys never seem to sleep!

    Seriously, I like everything little thing I see here. And I just love that they’re all Virginia-made. I hope lots and lots of other companies ask you to do stuff like this.

    Hm…now where else could I put a lamp…???

    Reply

  29. Katie says

    The page finally loaded for me! I can’t wait to browse. Is this a collection that will be around for a good long while, because it’ll take me a good long while to save up…lots of projects going on in my mind plus the other stuff we need to save for.

    Reply

  32. Erin says

    This is awesome! The lights are wonderful (super YHL) and actually priced reasonable (like, we will actually all buy them, not just wish)

    Great job you guys! First a book, then lighting line – what’s next? Furniture? $herdog clothing??

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahah! What about a line of chihuahua suits from dapper Burger? Or a line of headbands and tutus (designed to be worn ten at a time) by Clara? Hehe.

      xo
      s

  33. Sally says

    What an exciting collaboration!

    I’ve actually been planning to buy a drum shade, so I’ll check these out.

    Reply

  37. Meagan {Green Motherhood} says

    Congratulations, Petersiks!! Amazing collection and perfect for all the fans.
    I can’t wait to get the same one y’all have in your dining room and put it into mine once our new house is built (hopefully in March). In the words of Sherry, “woot! woot!”

    Reply

  38. Lauren says

    CONGRATULATIONS to both of you! This is such a fantastic collection and what a wonderful adventure for your cute family! I can’t wait to make a few purchases :)

    Reply

  39. Kirsten says

    Look out. (Gushy love back at ya.) You are SO stinking talented. I’m inspired. Heck, I’m HOOKED. And you deserve every ounce of success coming your way. LOVE the lights. The one over your holiday table is AWESOME. Do more! Do more! I’m rooting for you!

    Reply

  40. Bethany says

    Yep, just bought the globe pendant for our dining room, too! I LOVED it from your Christmas Dinner post the other day, and thought I better snag one before they’re sold out! Before this, I had my eye on a pottery barn chandy That was nearly $800!!! You saved me. Saved me big. Bye bye, boob light. Hello, beautiful.

    Reply

  42. Sarah says

    Quick question, do you think the chandelier that you hung over your table would give off enough light for an entryway??

    Reply

  43. Rachel says

    Thank You! I bought a pair of 5 dollar lamps at a yard sale, spray painted them white, and have been looking for shades ever since :) I have a feeling this will be my lucky day!

    Reply

  46. Eve says

    Eeeeee! Congratulations! They’re all gorgeous!

    Also – I feel like I had this huge moment of serendipity when looking at the first picture of this post. To the right of your foot, to be exact, Sherry! :) I have the black/white/hot pink/teal/yellow color schemed dining room in my head and have found all of the elements (right down to the teal rug) but the yellow light fixture has eluded me. I’d been thinking of ordering an antler chandelier to put over the table, after spraypainting it yellow, but holy moly are they expensive and the one that would be the right size looks puny.

    So! I’m ordering your Hello, Sunshine metal strap drum pendant today! I’ll send along a pic once things are more in place. :) Thank you!

    Reply

  47. Brenda says

    Awesome! Mad props on the lighting gig… I’m still waiting for your collection of homegoods at Target. ; )

    Reply

  48. Samantha says

    This question is slightly unrelated to the post, and you may have answered this question when you first picked them up… but where did you get the honeycomb vases? I remember seeing them on your blog before and love the look.

    They go perfectly with the “add one” shade diffuser :)

    Reply

  49. Susan says

    Been looking forever for a cool fixture for my large foyer – Just bought your large wire globe lantern, it will make a great first impression! love it! Congrats!

    Reply

  50. Lynette says

    Mucho congratulations! Very fun to see your well-deserved successes…and even more fun that you are still able to ‘keep it real.’ Watch out Martha Stewart!

    Reply

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