From the Desk of Clearissa Coward’s Command Center/Divinely Organized
From Darkness to Light
I live in a townhouse and even though I am lucky enough to have an end unit, one side of the house has no windows and that means no natural light. Blah, Blah, Blah! I love natural light and I wish I had sky lights all over my house. But alas, I do not have that luxury, therefore, I have to find other ways to move myself out of the darkness and bring in light.
The landing of my staircase is one of the places in particular where this is a lighting issue for me. That was the darkest little corner in my home and I did not like it.
I tried a floor lamp in the space, but that just did not work for me. It seemed cold and it just did not do it for me. And there was actually too much light in the space as well. I knew I needed a solution that I would allow me to leave the light on all the time.
I happened into one of my favorite consignment shops on a Saturday morning and there in the “we can’t sell this” area was this little inexpensive brown table. No one else seemed to want it; however, it seemed perfect for my needs. The table is flat on the back which allows me to place it right up against the wall without taking up too much space. Because this is a staircase landing, I really do not have a lot of space with which to work. The price was right and so I decided to give it a try. WhooHoo, I felt my upscale dance coming on. All was right with the world!
As I said, when I found the little table it was a dark brown which defeated my purpose, which was to brighten up the area. But there was potential with paint. I love paint! So I had to come up with a lighter and brighter idea and paint color for the piece, and I did. I chose red. Now understand there was absolutely nothing else in my home in the color red except a couple of sweaters. Not even a dish towel. It’s not that I don’t like red. It had just never made its way into my home. Red is one of those colors that I have to actually remind myself to use. I have to make a conscious decision to use the color red; it is not one of those colors that I naturally gravitate towards.
I made a conscious decision to choose red for this table. I used my go to primer, Kiltz, and painted two coats of red paint. It’s really a cute and brighter addition to this little dark corner. I added a Pier 1 lamp and chalkboard along with a picture of hubby and me in an off-white antiqued frame and viola, this corner is not so dark any longer. The lamp is low voltage (25 – 40 watts) and I leave it on all of the time.
I knew the corner needed something but I did not realize just how dark it was until my little lamp blew a bulb. After having the lamp there for a bit, I do not know how I got along without it for so long. Problem solved…but there are many, many more to tackle. Oh and by the way, the little fur ball is Rome. He’s the other member of the family. He’s due for a grooming but he’s happy thinking I’ve forgotten about it. 🙂
Do you have ideas to brighten up a dark corner, room or area? If so, what do you have in mind?
Until Next Project
Clearissa
#cccc #divinelyorganized #lighting #addlight
