Sconces

I want this light in my house!  When we lived in the duplex a few years ago, the only lights they had in every room were wall sconces.  They weren't nearly as beautiful as that one up there, but I did like the way they lit the rooms.  I am a sucker for anything black, which is probably why I like this one. I would use them as accent lighting here, because we have ceiling lights in the apartment.  I just think they are pretty, even as just a decorative touch to my living room. Or my dining room.  Or my bedroom.  Well, you get the idea. 

Adding Color To My Kitchen

 When I moved into my fist home with my then husband, I was so excited to decorate the place.  I knew what I wanted, and though it took a while, I did get things looking how I wanted.  My favorite room was always my kitchen.  I had black appliances and stainless steel accents.  When the kids and I moved into this apartment, I couldn't bring my appliances, and the ones in here are white.  I have been thinking lately that it might be time for some new kitchen decor.

My only problem is that I can't decide on a new color scheme.  I still love black, but it's just not working now.  My stainless accents look a little weird next to 10 year old white appliances, to.  I don't have to worry about kitchen curtains though, because my kitchen doesn't have a single window. 

Growing up, my mom always went for the country look.  I remember our kitchen being red, with strawberry themed accents.  I don't think I want to go that route, but I do want to add some color.  If you know me at all, you know I am leaning towards purple, but I'm not sure how I would make that work.  I think I might have to do some searching online to find the perfect look.

Room By Room

I have been so busy cleaning!  I want my house perfect (or as perfect as I can make a rental house where I am not allowed to paint) so I am going room by room, organizing and making things nice.  Yesterday, Kasi and I put together my new desk and bookcase.  I really like it better than the old hand me down desk, mostly because it doesn't have the hutch top.  I no longer feel like I am being punished and sitting in the corner whenever I am online.  What do you think?

I also got a new flat screen computer monitor, and that takes up a whole lot less room than the old one did.  I am happy with how the living room looks, aside from wanting new curtains.  The ones hanging were made by my mom the first year I got married, so 16 years ago.  Wow.  I do think it's time for something new.

Tomorrow, I am going to concentrate on the bathroom.  I asked the maintenance man if I could have some of the paint they use to re-paint when a tenant moves out so that I can at least refresh the walls in there, and he said he would get me some.  I just hope it is before this weekend.  Until then, I have other things I can do in there.

It's a small bathroom, but the lighting is a little weird.  There is one contemporary lighting fixture in there, and it is right above the sink.  I like having that light there when I am doing my hair and brushing my teeth, but that one light doesn't exactly light up the entire room.  Taking a shower can be a kind of dark experience, especially with the curtain closed.  I would love to convince the maintenance man to put up some flush mount ceiling lights in there closer to the tub, but he will probably tell me I'm crazy.  He probably wouldn't be opposed to us buying some Lampclick Lighting with our own money and installing it ourselves.  Heck, we put up a ceiling fan in the living room ourselves. Aside from the lighting issue, I have no complaints about the bathroom.  I found one of those metal racks that goes over the toilet, and I am excited to see how that is going to look in there. 

After the bathroom is done, I have to tackle the kitchen.  I am going to repaint the cabinets with a better paint so that I can actually wipe off spills.  Right now, if I wipe the cabinets, the paints comes right off.  They used a pretty cheap paint when they painted them the first time.  They are white, too, so every spill stands out.  I bought a kitchen/bath paint yesterday that the sales person promised could be scrubbed without coming off the cabinet.

I guess we'll see if that's true!