When we first moved here 2 years ago, one of the first things on my checklist of things that I wanted to change out eventually was all the builder's brass light fixtures that were in every single room & closet of this house. Now, I've done the shiny brass thing over the years & I don't absolutely hate brass, but bronze has definitely gotten my attention more in the last 5 years or so. I just love the darker patina & feel it gives in a home, so with that in mind, I've managed to change out many of the standard (read cheap!) fixtures in the bathrooms, hallways, spare bedrooms, closets, front porch, kitchen, etc. In fact, with my yard sale prowess, I've gotten some smokin' deals on several fixtures (remember the kitchen chandy yardsale find?) & have shared many of them here with you. So, now there are only 2 major fixtures left in the house to replace, those being the foyer & the diningroom. Needless to say, light fixtures have been on my mind from day one & I'm always on the lookout. The budget didn't allow me to just go out & replace all of them at the same time, so the yardsale finds have just been a really fun way for me to get my wish & keep the costs way down too. With that thought in mind, hubby agreed with me on taking part of my last paycheck & finally changing out those last 2 fixtures...can you see a happy dance coming here! 
Without further fanfare, let me introduce our new foyer fixture. And of course, there's a story here & a deal involved, so I have to share both. I had been longingly looking for at least 2 years at a beautiful drum-shaped lantern style darker bronze foyer fixture with seeded glass at Lowes. Everytime I went in there, I stared up at it, dreaming that when the time came...THAT was the fixture I was going to get for the foyer. So, months went by and I had that fixture in the back of my mind. I was in there around October or so, went to see MY fixture & lo & behold...it was gone from the display! Completely. I was really bummed. I asked at the lighting desk about it, they suggested I look through the Lowes book, so I did. It had surely been discontinued. No picture. I had no idea what the item # was (I should have written it down!). Anyway, I recently went back again & talked to one of the guys in lighting. I described the fixture to him & he did an online search, I even remembered the price $158. He came up with an item #, but no picture, called the manufacturer for me, it wasn't being made anymore. We weren't even positive it was the right fixture, but it had been on clearance for $39. I left & he called me a few days later & told me that he had found one left in the Lowes system in Alabama & that they would have it shipped from another city to my store. I could go & look at it & see if it was the right one. If I didn't want it, that was fine too, they would resell it. Are you still with me?! So, of course I rushed to the store when they called to tell me it was in. We opened the big box & I peered in, hoping it was the right one....and IT WASN'T!
But, I really liked this fixture too & it was close enough to my inspiration fixture that I knew it would work...and it was on clearance for $39! It's a dark Antique Brass & will flow very well with all my other fixtures too! After I took it out of the box & put it all together, I love it even more. It stands 28" tall & is very stately. It's quite a bit bigger than the old one. 
Our house is a split foyer & when you come in the front door & look up you see the fixture. Here's the shiny brass one that I'm replacing. Yes, they are both lantern style, but the new one is so much more elegant. Can't you see the new one up here? And you can see the close proximity of the diningroom fixture too, so I need to find something that flows into there too. These are both old pics of the diningroom, but you can see both fixtures well. 
Here's the 12-light brass chandelier in the DR. It's not an ugly fixture (and I could paint it), but I really would like to upgrade it to something more stylish, yet classic, since I have those funds put aside.
I really like this one, but hubby doesn't care for it. He said it was too plain! I think it's classy & classic. It's from Restoration Hardware. Now at $650, it's not in the budget, so I'm going to have to find a substitute. So, I'll be on the hunt for a diningroom fixture too. I may end up with a more traditional style in bronze, so it will be fun to get out there & look. There are lots of places here I can shop, I think I'll go out browsing locally one day. I've been all over the internet looking too. I may end up with some variation of this style, but won't know til I get out there & shop.
This one is from Pottery Barn, but I doubt he'll like this one either. I've got an opinionated man & he already said he wants to vote on them. Luckily, he really liked the foyer light I found. This will be my mission for the next few weeks, so it should be fun. Maybe I'll find a great deal for the diningroom too!
I've got new light fixtures on the brain now. We are going to attempt to hang the foyer fixture together, so wish us luck! We'll need a tall sturdy ladder cause this thing is very heavy, so I hope we can get it up there. We may end up calling an electrician, we'll see! I will definitely show you when it's installed.
We're off this afternoon to enjoy some sunshine on this nice Winter day!
