Clever Devil, Isn't He?

This is what the light fixture in our breakfast nook looked like in 1991 when the house was built. I assure you, it was considered very lovely at the time. In fact, we paid extra to have shiny brass every where the eye fell--on light fixtures, faucets, door knobs, hinges, etc. A few years ago, my decorating guru, neighbor, and middle child, Emily, convinced me that we could update the fixture by spray painting it with a textured black paint so that it looked like wrought iron. It was highly successful and I was very happy with it until I spent a week in Tahoe watching HGTV while trying to avoid the smoke in the air. I came home wanting to take my update up a notch by replacing it all together. I explained to Bill that aside from looking out of date, the biggest problem with the fixture is that the lights hang down. Playing cards at that table is like being in an Easy Bake oven. It won't cook you fast, but you'll get good and done eventually.

Much to my surprise, Bill apparently heard me. I walked into the kitchen and found him tinkering with the fixture, taking it apart and switching it around so that it now was an uplight! I wanted to buy those cute little fabric chandelier shades to replace the old ribbed glass ones, but Bill convinced me that they would allow too much direct light to escape downward and suggested I look for new glass shades that would direct the light up. I found some that I think work well and I am completely happy with our "new" light fixture. We played "Ticket to Ride"at the table last night and neither of us went to bed with heat stroke.

My hero, Recycle Man.