The Spring Cure: Light Therapy Week 6 - Intro

This is my challenge: replacing this lamp in the next three weeks.

• Cure Clock: 2 weeks & 6 days remaining
• Assignment: Read Chapter 9: pps. 185-204
• Overhaul the bathroom
• Evaluate your lighting
• Curees: 896 (and still counting...)

>> New Flickr Group: AT Home Cure
>> Submit your photos directly to AT

I can't believe that we're already heading down the final stretch! Now's the time to work very hard and make sure you are doing all you can. There's not much more time left.

This past weekend, Sara Kate and I spent much of the time cleaning out our family house on Long Island in advance of renting it out for the summer season. It feels good to do it. Even though we're planning on handing it all over to others, it motivates us to polish up the house and make it healthier (you can see the whole house here). It's an ongoing task (I still haven't finished painting the staircase), but we'll get there. I also went on the radio this morning...

Brent's living room AFTER and BEFORE

This morning at 10am, I was on Martha Stewart Radio's Whole Living Show (Sirius Radio) talking about The Cure with Terri Trespicio, the host, and Dr. Brent Ridge, who has just completed the renovation of his apartment in New York. You can see what he's done here:

>> Our First Radio Show
>> Dr. Brent's Slideshow

Brent's apartment is totally chic and beautifully done and is just in need of a little living in, like a pair of new jeans, but the lighting is great. He's got tons of fixtures and they're all on special Lutron dimmers, which allow him to easily turn everything up or down or off.

During the show, a woman from Kansas called in and said that she'd actually followed my advice on lighting (always have three points of light in each room) without knowing it yet and been amazed at the difference that it had made. She said she'd simply added a new lamp to the living room and everything had so much more life and color. It makes sense. Colors can't be colorful if they don't have some good light to shine on them and brighten them up.

(If you get Sirius Radio, you should totally check us out next Monday at 10am on Martha Stewart's Whole Living channel.)

For myself, I am working on getting some light into this dining room above. It's got a little ceiling fixture that casts an awful glow, and I've been trying to find a pendant that's simple, not too expensive and not-too-big-not-too-small. This is what I've come up with so far:

Sara and I had originally thought about a Nelson Bubble lamp, but by this spring, we'd nixed it as too expensive and trendy....

This picture became my new inspiration lately and it's from this post.

This pendant at Room & Board by Galbraith & Paul in white....

Or these simple round FADO glass balls from Ikea - two of them.

The answer? I don't know yet, but I'm going to put money on having installed something in the next few weeks, and my next stop is a visit to Ikea, Room & Board and to a local lighting store to see my options in the flesh.

- POST INDEX SPRING 2009

• Week 5 - Show & Tell
• Week 5 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 5 - Intro
• Week 4 - Show & Tell
• Week 4 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 4 - Intro
• Week 3 - Show and Tell
• Week 3 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 3 - Intro
• Week 2 - Show and Tell
• Week 2 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 2 - Intro
• Week 1 - Show and Tell
• Week 1 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 1 - Intro

- CURE INFO

>> Main Cure Page - Spring 2009
>> About The Book
>> Excerpt from Chapter I

- BUY A BOOK

>> From Amazon
>> From Powell's
>> From Barnes & Noble

Comments (24)

uhhg i was hoping to never see that light fixture again! im pretty sure that is the exact same light fixture that was in the dining nook of my last apartment. please do replace it

I vote for a round drum shaped pendant like your inspiration photo.

This is admittedly a bit trendy but I love the combination of the classic drum shade shape and the edginess of the photo -real print: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p11327/index.cfm?pkey=call-sale-lighting.

HA! I JUST put these lights in a rental property we own. Yes, they are cheap and ugly as sin. But alas, times are tough. If you ARE getting rid of it, I still need a few more. he he...

I replaced that same fixture in my bath, bedroom, and entry way. It's really awful and the light that it emits can be best described as institutional. Furthermore, its dangerous. That glass "diffuser" is heavy and will slip right off if its not screwed in properly.

Good fixtures are CHEAP and easy to find, so if a management company sticks you with one of these, they are just plain lazy.

Beware the fado! It may just be my overall clumsiness, but I had one hanging in my bedroom over the bed and while fluffing the blankets, knocked the glass ball off. It came crashing down directly on my head where it smashed into a million pieces. I may not have had it installed correctly, but it never seemed very secure.
Obviously, this is a freak accident, but everytime I see one of those things I get nervous.

Lighting is the one thing that has been checked off well before I started the Cure- my basement apartment has minimal windows and only had 3 lights (this includes the bathroom) that I was as good as blind with after sunset. Paper lamp shades are the way to go for affordability, and you can always do ink paintings on them if you can't find a designed one to match.

You have Christmas lights hanging from the walls like a dorm room and you think the ceiling fixture is ugly? I'm hoping you plan to remove those. LOL.

Great house. There are so many nice light fixtures around. Try http://www.moonshineshades.com/index.php - they have some great choices. Also, love that small yellow rug in your bedroom. Do you know the source?

Just make sure the fixture you choose has a plate large enough to cover the hole in your ceiling.
Take this one down and measure the hole.

changing this is such a no brainier that anything will look better.
Little money, go to Home Depot and choosing any thing would look better and more appropriate to hang over your table.

I had a hideous light fixture in my very small hall. I bought a ceiling drum shade from Pottery Barn that clips to the light bulb (the shade is closed in on the bottom side with fabric). It's not one you'd want over a dining table, but it would probably be great anywhere else - it casts a soft glow. I love it.

You're killing your wine with all that light.

Not if he drinks it fast enough...

We found a Hubbardton Forge pendant for our dining space. It is a little more substantial than an Ikea pendant but a reasonable price. http://www.vtforge.com

I have the same hideous fixtures all through my apartment, which I rent. I love the Pottery Barn ceiling drum shade clip-on idea, but there are two bulbs in this fixture and they screw in parallel to the ceiling. Any thought for changing this look easily?

Gotard, I wish I knew of a way to easily replace a two-way light fixture with a single bulb fixture, but I don't. If it were me, I think I'd call an electrician to do that. It should be an easy job and perhaps not too expensive. And for anyone interested in an even more affordable ceiling fixture solution, I've highlighted a great $19 clip-on Pottery Barn drum shade today (along with a bunch of under-$30 lamps): http://onegrandhome.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/super-cheap-lamps-shades-for-25-or-less/

Ooh, I had wanted that ceiling drum shade from pb and it was discontinued before I got around to buying it. I'm excited to see that there are some left, and even on sale. We were planning on using them on our old fixtures (1930 house)-one with 2 bulbs (going to rig it up by attaching to a piece in the middle of the fixture) and one with 1 bulb. I wish they showed pictures of the remaining color choices, though. I'm not sure if they'll fit.

Another option that we used when we couldn't find another clip on shade we liked was to just buy a large paper lantern (wider than the fixture) and attached it to the sides of the fixture base. For our son's room it was a great, super cheap solution that actually looks fun.

I just got rid of a fixture like that in my closet. I call them boob fixtures. Just awful!

Be sure to check out Circa Lighting, that place rocks, and also remember it's easy to have any simple lampshade turned into a light fixture.

P.S. Loose that tablecloth while you're at it - it looks like it's probably a cool table underneath.

I, personally, am a fan of the Mibo drum shades....

http://www.mibostudio.co.uk/#/lighting/4529989478

so much fun!

I have a question - I have the same kind of ugly fixtures, so I have been thinking about changing them for a while... BUT I have never changed one myself, and don't really know much about electric stuff. I am fine with trying to do things around my house, but just never got to play with electric things... How difficult it is to change this kind of fixture? what should I look for? Is it easy to attach the new one? connect the cords (is it something like green to green red to red?). Thanks for any help :)

Offtza, the important part is turning off the breaker switch that controls that circuit, or (in old, old apartments), taking out the fuse. When you are CERTAIN that the power is off for that fixture at the circuit box, the rest is really basic. There may be directions with the fixture or you can find some online. DO NOT think you can just tweak it when the power is back on. Then you'll be fine.

I am also trying to swap out the same ugly fixture and I found this video instruction online. Very basic 123.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-swap-overhead-lights-for-a-chandelier-208618/

CB2 has a round drumshade pendant for $50

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=120&f=4773

I had that same light fixture in a bedroom and just replaced it recently, since the perfect light fixture came my way- and free!

Before then I had considered a different solution- getting some good looking tacks and a quality sheer-ish piece of muslin (or thin linen) and tacking it up in decorative folds over the existing light fixture, so that it was covered but looked good. The light fixture itself is so thick that there is very little heat. It would be a good solution for a rental, since it is reversible.

My other thought was to suspend a sheet of linen over it using bamboo/wood rods. Harder to conceal all of the existing fixture, but would look really neat.

PS. Yes, replacing fixtures is relatively easy (although sometimes harder in older houses with older wiring). Yes, the main thing to do is make sure the main fuse is off (even if the light switch is off!!). You can buy a non-contact voltage tester to make sure no electricity is running into the old fixture before starting, if you are concerned.