Dark Days - New Lights

Ed and I have been in our home for almost six years now. When we moved in, we took care of the biggest issues - adding central air conditioning, replacing inefficient windows - and over time, we've ticked several other items off our list from redoing all three bathrooms in the home to painting the kitchen orange (I still swoon when I see those walls, even though they do not match the floor that I still dream of replacing).

I can feel energy building for a few winter projects, almost all of which revolve around creating brighter spaces.

• Replace the ceiling fans either by getting rid of them entirely, or updating them to something a little less junky than what we have. While the current fans are functional, two of them lacked lighting when we moved in (Ed has added light attachments to them), and none of the four are particularly appealing. The last family needed them to help out with the window / wall unit air conditioning, but we don't seem to use them that often. This feels like a project that will cost more than it's actually worth to any buyer, but will make us a little happier.
• Replace the fireplace mantel. Right now, the mantel is a horizontal fixture above the very old and dirty bricks. I'm convinced that if we had a mantle that fully encased the brickwork, so included pieces that went from the horizontal shelf to the floor, the room would instantly look brighter. If that doesn't work, we might tile over the brick as well. This feels like a big bang for the buck sort of project.
• Replace the knobs on the cabinets in the kitchen. Ours our gold, and dingy, and you can scrape black gummy dirt off them if you are feeling particularly bored. I would like to switch them to brushed nickel, which should be brighter, and will match the ceiling fans we purchase. This also feels like a big bang for the buck project, but maybe I'm underestimating the cost of knobs.
• And finally, after balancing precariously on a chair to replace a bulb in one of the ceiling fans, only to have Ed come lend a hand as a piece of the ceiling fan almost fell on my head, I have been inspired to replace all the ceiling fan bulbs when we get the new fans with these fancy LED bulbs from CREE - which are supposed to last for TWENTY TWO years, which is long after I hope to leave the house. I plan to acquire my first such bulb while tooling around Eastern Market during their event this weekend where they're giving out 15,000 free bulbs!

If you, too, are hankering to replace bulbs, or enjoy the thought of avoiding replacing bulbs for a long, long time - join me!

The Great American Bulb Swap is coming to DC!

Find it at Eastern Market at the following times this weekend.
11:00 AM- 2:00 PM, Friday, December 5th
10:00 AM- 4:00 PM, Saturday-Sunday, December 6th-7th


Give me a wave if you see me. We can talk about all the fabulous things in our homes we're going to light up once we get our hands on these bulbs!

Elaine