HH Town House Living

The day is finally here! I’ve wanted to change the lighting in the living and dining room for so long, that I can’t believe it has finally happened. Our 1877 Victorian townhome has the most stunning original plaster ceiling roses and layered crown moulding, yet the fixtures they spotlighted were just builder grade from Home Depot. It was basically a crime that the chandeliers were not anything original. I’m sure those were tossed as fashions changed. Now they would be worth…a lot. I looked! It’s as if the stage was set, but the one occupying the spotlight was a talentless cover band. Lighting is the jewelry of the room, but jewelry hasn’t been our focus….until now!

My style has developed and transformed over the years. I think even just a few years ago if we had chosen chandeliers when we first moved in I wouldn’t like my choices now. For a while, I imagined an antique french basket-style chandelier with gold and lots of crystals. I still love that style but I couldn’t find one I liked for under $15,000. Nope. I have morals. Then, I started thinking I would find an Art Deco piece. Something a little more modern looking. A simpler bowl style with lots of glass drops or something like that. Art Deco is very old school New York, so I thought it could work.

Then, I came across the most incredible instagramer, @prettyinthepines. At the time, she was renting in NYC, and literally made her basic apartment look like my house. She created removable wall trim and moulding. She used plug in sconces and chandeliers and brought in fireplace mantles. She literally made over her rented temporary space to look like my 148 year old house. It blew my mind. I loved her style. Well, guess what? She had a simple bowl chandelier made of all glass flowers. It looked amazing in her ornate pre-war-esque apartment. The modern-ish style looked beautiful against her antique looking walls. However, would it pass the Tyler test? I thought it might be too girly for our space, but to my delight Tyler loved it and thought it was a bold and exciting move. We had previously discussed how our furnishings and colors were a bit masculine, so this would be a whimsical contrast.

You know that feeling, when you’ve wanted something to happen for a long LONG time. It’s surreal when it happens. I’m talking more than lighting here! I keep reflecting on this Proverb “a desire fulfilled is a tree of life”. There is so much to that. When there is something you’ve wanted for a long time and you finally get it, it gives this fuel to all your other hopes and dreams that they too will be fulfilled. This year, Tyler and I pulled some sort of internal trigger, and we are now moving forward with a number of projects in different life areas that were always distant dreams. As a result, we’re learning that the only distance between a dream and its reality is our faith to simply “flip the switch.”

You can find this beautiful chandelier at One Kings Lane. The Charlotte Glass Floral Chandelier