Let there be light... in the nursery.

Update:  I am linking up to Trash to Treasure's Blog Hop for September on this post! :)  Welcome to my blog and hope you enjoy this & other projects as we prepare for our baby on the way!

**Disclaimer:  I do not have any problems with little people, sometimes referred to as "midgets".  I use this term loosely and as a joke, and is not meant to offend anyone.  Somehow the name got appropriated to this fan, and it just stuck.  I love little people.  Promise.  I almost am one...seriously.
**Disclaimer #2:  Please cut off your electricity to the area in which you'll be working.  I am not responsible for zaps you receive while trying to follow my pitiful attempt at a step-by-step tutorial.

Well, I promised that I would start showing you some bits & pieces from our catch-all/work-out/dog-crate room transformation that is now becoming (slowly) our nursery for baby Z.  Sooo, we did paint and other fun stuff, but one of the bigger transformations came in the form of our lightsource.  When we moved into this house, every bedroom had a silly little fan that somehow got dubbed the "midget fan".  Well I just would not allow Little Man to be subjected to such disgraceful decorating and therefore, it was yanked.

Just to illustrate the teeny-tinyness of the midget fan.  I have small hands just FYI.

I REALLLLLLLY wanted a drum shade that was both wide and also short (since our ceilings are of the 1990's popular height of 8 feet).  Here are a couple of inspirational pieces:

From Pottery Barn, $299

From West Elm, $149

However, their prices were out of this world, and I could not bear to spend that money.  After all, part of this blog is supposed to be dedicated to thrifty decorating!  Plus, I saw the Petersiks do their own at my all-time favorite blog, Young House Love.  So, I decided I would buy a cheap-o lamp shade and a pendant light fixture (that was adjustable in height) and make my own!  Easy peasy.  Really it was. 

I removed the top of the fixture that goes into the ceiling (I'm sure there's a correct term for that part), ran the top of my lamp shade down the wire until it got to the bottom where the bulb-holder-thingy is, then replaced the top of the fixture. 

Voila!  Then we just reattached the wires, screwed the top of the fixture thingy into the ceiling (after adjusting for appropriate height), put a lightbulb in, and ..... (angels singing)....

Let there be light!

Um, please ignore the ring-around-the-top-of-the-pendant-light ... this was where the old fan was & will be painted over (in low VOC paint of course!)

We are crazy excited with how easy & simple this was, and how it turned out looking pretty professional.   :)  Would I have loved for it to have been all burlappy (is that a word?!) and natural looking?  Sure!  But I wouldn't want to trade out my price!  In all, the shade was $15 and the pendant light (minus the pendant of course) was $15... so grand total of $30!  AND we plan to sell the midget fan for all of a dollar or so at an upcoming yard sale, so really.... $29!! :)

And yes, I am aware that fans and increased circulation in a nursery have been shown to decrease the incidence of SIDS, so we are on the lookout for a cheap cute vintage fan (or reproduction) to place on the bookshelf.  But thanks for asking ;)

You got a couple of sneak peaks of the wall color and some other accessories in the room.  Don't fear, we will be giving you play by plays as things progress in the nursery, as well as the final end product!  It's really coming together!  Stick around!