Natural Light
When we first began working on the interior of our remodel, we had the goal of filling it with exclusively re-used lights, windows and doors. We did this with a fair amount of success. All of our doors are either job site left-overs or second-hand buys. A few of our windows are from rebuilding/recycling centers, and our lighting situation; well, it’s varied. We found out quickly how hard it is to find really great second-hand lights. For one thing, the ones that have a lot of character are usually pretty expensive, and the ones that are affordable just look old. We did end up finding two fixtures at a local recycle center, CARTM. Beyond that, we have found that optimizing natural light has really been our best option, both environmentally and economically.
When Kyle was re-building the original part of our house, he was purposeful in his effort to create optimal natural lighting in each room. Our living room is lit exclusively with natural light during the day, all year round. This says a lot being that our winters here on the North Oregon Coast are very dark and stormy. Our main kitchen light is a reclaimed light that we made out of a green glass jar that I bought at a second-hand store. Our master-bedroom addition is the brightest room in our house thanks to Kyle’s precise placement of several large, light-giving windows. The boys have one of our two re-used light fixtures in their room, and our loft has the other. Aside from some can-lights here and there and a couple of hanging lights to brighten up some darker spaces (we did buy these new), that is about it. Enjoy the below photos of the lighting in our home:
Our reclaimed light that hangs over the sink in our kitchen.
Our soon-to-be bathroom light that will hang over our sink in our master bathroom (still in progress, photos to come). The bottle was another thrift store find.
A thoughtfully placed rectangular window inviting natural light into our master bedroom.
Above the bed windows (and one of my cute little blonde boys)
Rays of sunlight shining into the room on a winter day.
Downstairs sun-room sky-lights, with reclaimed wood ceiling.
Large front windows and a full light door.
Medium sized dining room window with a deep window sill to place pictures and plants on.
I will conclude this post by saying that I LOVE mason jar and glass bottle lights. I know that they are a bit trendy right now in the world of reclaimed and up-cycled lights, but I rationalize my cliche by maintaining that I made our above-the-sink kitchen light three years ago, before I even knew Pinterest existed – a fantastic site that you should visit and become a member of, if you aren’t already. I hope to have a mason jar chandelier in our house before we are done…I have a feeling that we can make it happen.
Always love reading these blogs. Your writing and home-building finesse remind me of a book I read as a young married entitled, “Yes, God, I Am a Creative Woman.” As image bearers of our extraordinarily creative God, it is not surprising that there is carry over.
Master bedroom turned out amazing! So happy for you that the addition is finally completed! I bet you have tons of bath salts saved up that you can use in your nice new bathtub. 🙂 I have always loved your house and always amazed that every time I come over another project has been completed making it that much more amazing.