GLAMMING UP THE SCONCES...

Well we've made it halfway through the work week...YAY!, so I say Happy Wednesday to you!

Temporarily moving away from talking about the dining room redo (as I'm sure you are all SICK of hearing about it), I have a little living room update to share with you today.

This old house of ours came with a pair of sconces over the fireplace mantel. They are vintage, they are brass and they are original to the house. Though we have never used them much I do like that they are there. I feel they add a little interest to the fireplace wall that would otherwise be dull, boring and bland without them.

However, I have never particularly liked them. They just really weren't my style but I never even thought of changing them out because, well...they are original to the house...and there was nothing wrong with them. When we first moved in they had crystals hanging from them (you can just barely see those in this moving in day photo)...

Nice wallpaper, huh?  I took the crystals off and put them away shortly after that picture was taken. I saved them because they were originals and I figured I might decide to use them again someday, but if not, I still didn't want to get rid of them. They are a part of the house, if you know what I mean. They belong here!

I never really cared for the shades either. I'm not sure those are originals because they still sell the exact same ones today but, I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace them with so they have remained for the entire 4 1/2 years we have lived here. You have probably spotted them in every fireplace shot I have ever posted. I bet you have even wondered if I was ever going to update them, hehehe.

Over the years I have thought about changing the shades out but as I said I really didn't know what I wanted to replace them with. Did I want a fabric shade or another glass one? What color, pattern...etc.? I couldn't decide! However, some of the recent changes in the dining room has helped me with that.

I incorporated a little glam and sparkle in the dining room with the chandelier and I am also incorporating a little black as well (the china hutch will be black as well as some of the DIY wall art). I figured it would be fitting to add those elements to the living room too since they are adjoining rooms.

To accomplish this I cleaned up and rehung the old crystals on the sconces and then added a couple of inexpensive black shades I found on ebay...

Ta da, instant update and I love them now!

So much better, right?

I only spent a few dollars on this upgrade and I couldn't be happier with it.  I feel as if these sconces were always meant to look this way.  Those crystals add the touch of glam and those shades add just the right amount of contrast and sophistication.  I wish I would have done this 4 1/2 years ago.  Hahaha.

Do you have a boring, outdated pair of sconces that you hate?  Instead of spending a ton of money on new ones try glamming up or updating the ones you already have.  Change out the shades or add some crystals, or both. It's an inexpensive fix and you might just find that you like them after all.

I have a few more updates in mind for the living room and hope to start on those once the dining room makeover is complete and once the new IKEA store opens up in St. Louis this fall. Yes, we are getting an IKEA...I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Also, I will be back soon to share with you all the details of how we built our gorgeous FARMHOUSE TABLE.

Ciao,