Light ‘em Up

I’m bound and determined to finish the butler’s pantry in 3 weeks. It is an arbitrary date, but I work well under self imposed deadlines. It has a way of focusing the mind. With that, I try and do something everyday that moves me closer to that imaginary finish line. Last night it was the light fixture for the room.



Originally I had planned on putting this stunning beauty in there. The picture does not do it justice. It is really a very nice 1890s fixture. There are two issues with it. One, its way too nice for the butler’s pantry. Two, it is black as coal. Any light coloration you think you see in the picture is actually dust. It has been hanging in this back room for 5 years. Underneath the dust it is inky black.

I’m not sure if it was in a fire or if this is severe tarnish, but this thing is solid black and its not paint. Normally I go for patina, but this is beyond that. I would need to do some serious cleaning and that is really not in the cards at this time.



Instead, I’m going with this charming little number. Both of these were bought in the great ceiling fixture buying frenzy of 2001. I have no idea what I paid for either, but I doubt it was more that $150, and most likely sub-$100. This one has that “Japanning” finish to it.

It is a bit out of place for the house – not so much because of period of style, but because I have no other hardware in the house with this finish. Still, it’s a very nice fixture and in amazing shape. The finish is pristine. Just look at the light glint off that 100 year old finish. {*sigh*}

I rewired it last night and discovered something odd. Someone had taken it apart and removed all of the old wire except for the last few inches at the sockets. I’m not sure why they didn’t just rewire it when they had it apart. Not really important, just odd. The rewiring was effortless. It came apart easily and went back together just as easily.

The tin ceiling pieces that I had to reorder did not arrive this week, so I can’t finish that up. Instead, the plan is to finish the floor. I’m going to get everything ready tomorrow and then rent the sander on Sunday. I hope all goes well. That will put me one giant step closer to finishing this room off.