Lighting up in my apartment

I must confess, winter makes me complacent. First, there's the holiday rush, where shopping, decorating, travelling and partying pushes aside normal routines and to-do lists. Then there's the January blahs, when all you want to do at the end of the day is cuddle up with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. It's hard enough to keep up with the day to day maintenance tasks - hello buying a new frock to make up for two weeks without laundry - not to mention tackle all those home improvement jobs that have slipped off your radar.

Come March, I'm finally ready to shake off the cobwebs, both literally and figuratively. I'm tackling those dustbunnies and getting the Jennasium ready for entertaining again after a slow winter.

Perhaps the biggest, and silliest, sign of my complacency was the lack of overhead lighting in my apartment. In the summer, when I moved in, light in the evenings and the mornings wasn't a problem. I acknowledged it would be a necessity, but I didn't take any action. As the days grew shorter, I started grousing about how dark it was in my place as I pulled out mismatched socks and sweaters that turned out to be purple instead of black.

But, instead of dealing with it, I, like so many other homeowners and renters, just worked around it. As the months passed, I started wafflilng on whether I should even bother. After all, I'm a renter and a bit of a nomad - I've had disposable contacts last longer than addresses.

Then, my brother came to visit, and, inspired by the extra set of hands (and his electrical savvyness), I finally got around to installing overhead light fixtures in my living room and bedroom.

Man, did it ever make a difference. Getting ready is the morning is simpler. I'm finding it easier to stay organized. It's brighter, more welcoming, and, I must say, really quite pretty. I should have done this months ago!

A hastily snapped shot of my feminine fixture for the bedroom, via iPhone as I hastily matched clothes (in full light!) this morning. Below, when it's turned off.

And, for the living room, I swept over to Ikea for a simple pendant, which looks, upon second glance here, ridiculously crooked in this shot.

I chose a white pendant, and shortened it dramatically, because I wanted to keep the sightlines in my teeny tiny space as open as possible.

Finally, inspired by how much more human I felt when I wasn't stumbling around in the dark, I added a pop of black to my console table.

The fact that my pack and go lunch is in this shot is a sign that I really shouldn't snap photos hastily on my way to work. Ah well. Apologies.

Either way, adding more lighting has made a huge difference at home - and inspired me to tackle those other simple tasks that could improve my life!Re-organizing cupboards, moving fridge shelves to better accommodate wine bottles and a new shoe rack to accommodate my collection have all worked their way back up my list.

What household improvements have you been putting off?

Comments

[Winthrop Ashdown]

Love your chandelier. It's spectacular for the evenings but can still be a showpiece in the morning. This is what I call double purpose.