Master Ceiling Fan Redo

I was tired that day.

Bill needed a new ceiling fan for his man cave but we also  needed one for the master.
We were still going on the original fans that came with house 20 some years ago.

Our old one wasn't big enough to really move the air. 

The selection was pretty limited for the size we wanted. Whenever we shop for something we go back and forth between our two favorite big box hardware stores. 

We went back and forth a couple of times between the two stores and finally settled on this one.

I wasn't wild about it at all but I was too tired to keep looking.  

I didn't like the blades and I liked the light kit only marginally better. I thought it looked like a portion of the female anatomy. 

It was okay during the summer since the fan runs 24-7 but in the winter when the fan was off I thought it looked way too tropical.

I tried getting new blades at the Restore but they were too small. 
I even thought about using the jig saw to make my own. 

But I really wanted to replace the fan with a chandelier.
Bill laughed at that suggestion and said. 
"Okay, but I don't want to hear you complaining when our room is too hot."

So 

I decided to replace the light kit. 

I saw drum shades used on ceiling fans on Google Images when I was searching for light kit ideas. 
Tuesday Morning had a lampshade that I thought would work. I had to extend the threaded pipe with a nipple and a little connecting. You can see lamp parts here. 

I keep an assortment of old lamp parts in the garage from various broken lamps. 
I just played with the parts until I found what I needed. 
 I got it attached and noticed I had about three different 

metal finishes in the mix so I dabbed or sprayed some Oil Rubbed Bronze paint onto the metals. 

I sprayed the paint on an old box and dabbed it with a brush.

To spray on the fixture I covered anything with foil to prevent overspray on the ceiling or fan blades. 

 I also hit the hardware on the lampshade. I just made sure I covered it well with the foil.
I like foil better than tape because it molds better to the shape I am painting. 

Much better.

At least I think so. Bill didn't think the makeover was a success.

"And this is better, why?" 
I don't think he is a fan of drum shades on anything and I don't think he had seen them used on ceiling fans. 

For now I don't hate looking at it. 

I will still try to figure out what else I can do to make Bill a little happier with it. 

At least it doesn't look like it belongs in a hotel at the coast.  
Katie
We have made some progress in the bathroom. 
I'll show you that in my next post. 
Linking with,
French Country Cottage 
Funky Junk Interiors

When Home Isn't Home Sweet Home

I've had a blog post swirling around in the recesses of my brain for a while now.

Home.

Home.

It conjures up so much for me.

Warmth, security, my safe haven, my restorative place in the world.

 It is a source of inspiration and a creative outlet for me. 

But what if your home isn't your safe haven for some reason?

A few years ago our old dog got fleas. 

He was miserable.

Mike

I tried to treat the fleas, but he couldn't tolerate the stuff to make them go away. 

I remember crying one day because I could not get him out of the tub after a flea bath and he was too frail to jump out by himself. 

I would try to bathe him but several days later the fleas were back with a raging vengeance.

He was suffering from a hip injury and from the skin irritation, so we made the very painful decision to put him to sleep.
He was 16.

It was so sad.

Two weeks later Rebekah and I began to get flea bites.

The fleas had hatched in the carpet and since they had no host they were biting us. 
Each day was a massive effort to rid the house of the fleas. 

I called the exterminator but they didn't give much hope that they could do better than I. 

For about three weeks, I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when it was time to leave work and head home. I was safe at work from flea bites.
Home wasn't restful anymore. 

  It wasn't a safe place anymore because those blood sucking parasites were feeding off my ankles and feet.

Rebekah and I have scars from that flea infestation.  

I'm sure they bit Bill but he has never been allergic to them. 

Home wasn't a safe and secure haven anymore.

In my circle recently there have been a few people struggling with their home not being that haven.

It could be a pest problem or it could be a problem with the integrity or safety of the home.

Mold in the bathroom.
Or 
it could be a peace of mind problem with a neighbor.

That is the situation my daughter has been facing for the past few months.
Her next door neighbor would not leave her alone after they exchanged numbers following a fire somewhere in the apartment complex. Rebekah felt safer knowing that she could call her next door neighbor if she needed anything. 
Instead he used that number to try to have more of a personal relationship and she just wasn't interested. It culminated with him banging on her door and her calling the police. 
We yanked her out of that complex and for the time being she is safe at home with us.

 For weeks it threw us off. 
Her home, her little nest wasn't safe anymore.

 

For those of us who are introverts, our homes are paramount to our ability to recharge, refocus, regenerate.

If our home isn't safe everything can feel kind of off.
Do you know what I mean? 
Ultimately, our homes aren't our safety and security but they sure do play a vital role.
Katie

Linking with,
Cornerstone Confessions

Lavender

Lavender was my grandmother's favorite color.

Her room was that palest shade of purple for the walls with a chenille bedspread on the cherrywood low four poster bed. The bed had a matching dresser and on the dresser she had a pair of milk glass lamps.
The Decorologist has a room like it  here.

I love this. Traditional but with a modern feel.

When my brother, Dave had his stroke three years ago, I was heading down to Waco quite often to visit him in rehab.
You can read about it here. 
It was a stressful and painful time. Usually I

needed to take a breather on the way home from a visit.
(I didn't think I should be crying all the way up I 35.)  
Stopping at an antique shop is a great stress reliever for me and it would give me an opportunity to calm down and regroup before heading further up the highway.   

I saw this platter in one of the shops and was captivated by the purple. I was instantly reminded of my grandmother's room.

 I wasn't a pink girl. My favorite color was purple just like my Granny. 

 At the time I really didn't have anything else in this light and lovely purple hue but I instantly knew I wanted to incorporate the platter somewhere in my home. 
I thought it was a bargain at $35.00.
The plan was to use it in the guest room when my youngest moved out. I thought it would make a cute dresser tray. 
 It never made it up there to Jonnie's room. 
It has become a fixture on the buffet in the dining room.

 Even after Dave recovered and went home, I enjoyed hunting for more vintage white china with lavender or lilac details. 

I found quite a few and sprinkled them around the house.

I was thrilled when I found some cute pillows at Kirklands.

and

some purple candles.

I love purple, lavender, lilac. It is calming, soothing and chic.

It brings back warm, happy memories of summers at my grandparents. Memories of their cottage at the lake, their house in the city and the beautiful gardens at both of their properties. 

It has been three years since Dave had the stroke. He has done amazingly well. His speech has improved immensely thanks to the faithful speech therapists in Clifton and at Baylor University. They are miracle workers.

It's interesting how I retreat to the familiar and soothing during times of trouble. 
Am I the only one? 

Katie 
Linking with,
Feathered Nest Friday 
The Charm Of Home  
Common Ground  
Metamorphosis Monday  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  
A Stroll Through Life  
Savvy Southern Style

The Bathroom Door With No Lock

We had a situation

and

we lived with it for years. 

We had a set of double doors leading into our bathroom.

It is not an overly large room but this double door made it look more dramatic and a little grander. I have always liked it. The problem was that there was not a lock.

The only way to keep it closed were the magnets at the top of the door.

The magnets don't even match.  

The door knobs were dummy knobs. There was no latch, lock or anything. It was charming to be in the shower and have the dog or the toddler push open the door. 

One day I wondered aloud to Bill and asked him why we couldn't put a lock on the door like the one on the master bedroom door. 
We have double doors leading into our room as well. 

We needed new knobs and a flush mount bolt. 

A bolt that latched up into the door jamb.

 With a chisel Bill notched out the wood to install the 
flush mount bolt. 

The bolt pops out of the top and goes into the locking plate at the top of the jamb. 

Once he got the left side to lock securely with the flush mount bolt he could get to the other door. 

He got a regular bathroom/bedroom privacy door knob to match the dummy knob and installed it according to directions as if it were for a brand new door.

  It required some chiseling as well but it was not difficult. 

The purpose of this post isn't to tell you how to install both of these items. There are directions on the package and plenty of tutorials on the Internet.

 The purpose of this post is to point out that for every problem in your home there is probably a solution. 

We would have gotten the locking doors years earlier if I had communicated to my husband how much not having a lock bothered me.

He knew of a solution all along but he didn't know how much the goofy doors bugged me.

This was not an expensive project at all. It was probably under $60.00 for all the supplies.

A bathroom door with no lock? This is a four bedroom house built for multiple occupants.
Ridiculous! 

What bugs you about your home?

Katie 
I Gotta Create 

White Lamps

I bought some cute white lamps for Rebekah's room when she was a kid. Her room was seafoam green with floral chintz curtains. It was similar to the room at the link. 

Source: Pinterest 
I put one of her old lamps in my room when I was trying to banish some of the gold. 

It's an old milk glass lamp that I got at an antique mall. I liked the white so much that I decided to try spray painting the bedside lamps.

When we got our new bed three years ago. I ran out to Walmart to get something for the nightstands. I got a set of 3 lamps for a ridiculous $49.00. I always thought they would be temporary until we found some others but I never got around to replacing them.

 I used the same thing that I used on my thrift store lamp. RustOLeum in Semigloss white. 
Instead of taping off the cords and the sockets I covered with them with tin foil.
It was so much easier than taping everything off. I knew I would need new shades but didn't want to buy them until I knew the lamps would look good.

I was pleased with the result so I again ran up to Walmart for new shades.

I found these darling shades for only $10 each. 

I love the way that white paint defines the details of the lamps. 

I love their clean lines and classic column detail.
I don't think I could have gotten one new lamp let alone 2 for $20.00 and some paint.

Bill loves the white shade. 
It's easier to read with it lighter. 

I love them. I think the room is pulled together. 
I love them so much, I am off to do some more for the dining room. 
Have a great day,
Katie
Funky Junk Interiors  

Coastal Charm  
Between Naps on the Porch  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   
Savvy Southern Style