Meet ol' Master Bath

We are already dreaming of what we would love to change about the bathroom and the list is never-ending.  Frost the window and get rid of those cheap, old, dirty blinds.  Replace the floors.  Replace the vanity with something less big.  Frame the mirror.  Change out the door.  Install some shelving.  Paint over all the stenciling. Get rid of the bath tub.  ....yeah, we're pretty sure.

Getting rid of the huge bathtub that seemed so dreamy at first is definitely a topic of discussion over here.    I wouldn't call myself a bath person.  I did try to take a bath once since we moved in and the water ended up not being hot enough and I didn't want to waste more water by filling it up again, so I sat in luke warm water for 10 minutes and then took a steamy shower.   A hot shower is something that is definitely on my favorite-things list...so why not amp up our shower??

The tub also takes up a lot of visual space and this bathroom isn't huge.  I think getting rid of the tub and installing glass doors for the shower would make this room visually larger.  The only reason we're hesitating is for resale purposes--because we probably won't live here forever.  Do people look for a big tub in the master bathroom or would they be equally as happy with a nice shower like these I pinned and can't stop thinking about?:

So, what say ye?  

"Keep the tub for resale purposes."  

OR 

"I would much rather have a big shower with all the upgrades."

...or maybe something completely different.  We'd love to hear. 

"Modern Family Blue"

Chris and I picked up a new favorite show recently: Modern Family.  We laugh out loud through every episode and we have already caught up on the past two seasons.  We have fallen for more than just the family members--their houses!  Ahhh!  We love.  We love.  In Phil and Claire's home, they have this blue wall that we have been eyeing since we started watching the show two months ago.  

So, when we set out to paint our family room, we agreed right away that we wanted a "Modern Family blue" for the accent wall.  We went with Behr's Waterscape and got painting.  Two of the three walls we painted the same color as the majority of our dining room/kitchen/living room/staircase--Cape Hatteras Sand--because it opens up to those areas and we wanted it to blend.  Before the color of the family room looked a lot like some of Greta's diapers (excuse the mess, it has been a bit of a dumping ground while we are getting settled):

After a quick paint job (it took us less than 2 hours to paint to whole room), it looks like this:

We are almost ready to invite "Phil" and "Claire" over to admire it with us.  But, we definitely need to get a sectional for seating down there first.  ...  Which we may have taken care of this morning at a huge Memorial day sale.  :)  I guess you'll just have to wait and see when it gets delivered on Wednesday.  I've said too much.  I've already said too much. 

Now that the work is out of the way, we are off to get our barbecue on with friends.  Happy Memorial Day!

The opposite of a fashion blogger's post.

Remember this post about how I am a stay-at-home mom and enjoy the wardrobe that comes with it?  Well, every Sunday is a different story.  I get dressed up for church and I try to force myself to reach for the heels instead of the flats.  And I usually end up wearing the flats.  And I try to make my very old clothes look hip again and it doesn't always work.  I think I could use an intervention.  For instance:

That awesome, pink "bib necklace"  (I learned that's what it is called) I won from a blog giveaway here (p.s. she's rad).  Of course I was happy because who doesn't get happy winning something--and this was so trendy!  When it arrived this week, I wanted to wear it bad. But, honestly, I have no idea how to style the thing and I had no place to wear it to...until Sunday came along.  Today I wore it with a Victoria's Secret hand-me-down blouse from my little sister, Andi.  I'm pretty sure she got it when she was a junior in high school.  The skirt is a Ross find from like 4 years ago.  Whatever.  I was so happy wearing my new necklace but I couldn't help but feel like it was clashing with the rest of my outfit.  I got home and threw on my go-to sweats and started looking up "bib necklace styling" for my next go around.  Help a sister out--what should I have worn today?

Money in my Pocket!

If I titled this post "Utility Bills" or anything including those two words, you probably wouldn't be here right now.  But who doesn't love money? Or pockets for that matter??

 We got our first FULL month's worth of utility bills.  No one ever talks about utility bills, but for us it was a major thing we took into consideration when purchasing a home.  We wanted to make sure we could easily afford our mortgage AND utilities before jumping on the homeownership bandwagon.  So, throughout our 9 month house hunting journey, when we really liked a house, we called up the city utility company and the gas company and asked them what the average payment over the last year was for the particular address we were looking at.  We also asked what the highest payment was and what the lowest payment was.  Then we researched internet and cable options and prices and added those costs in as well as any HOA fees.  We did this for approximately 6 houses that we were seriously considering and all of them added an additional $300-$400 at least for the utilities mentioned above.

When we called on this house, the quotes added up to an average of around $208.  We were floored and called and checked again because something didn't seem right.  But the numbers didn't lie.  Our town has a pretty sweet system going on with cable and internet ALSO provided by the city.  And I think it helps that our house has TONS of natural light so we never have to have the lights on until it gets dark outside.  We still budgeted for $275 to go toward utilities every month just to be conservative.  Our bill this month for:

Electric

Gas

Metered PI

Culinary Water

Sewer

Garbage

Storm Drain

Internet

Totaled: $161.92 

Cue us jumping up and down.  Cue me saying, "Let's go out to eat!!!" And then cue awkward silence and a squinty dad look from Chris.  It is so pathetic to me that it only cost us $30 more than our cell phone payment to run our entire house comfortably.  Granted, Chris's company pays for the internet on his phone--but still--cell phone bills are outrageous and I will most likely never get used to seeing triple digits on that bill.  The good news is our favorite house (the one that we live in) seems to deliver a bill that is easy on the eyes--and the wallet. 

Money in my pocket, indeed. 

Jessie's Dilemma

It's the end of the week with a long weekend ahead of us.  Bliss!  Chris and I have a few home improvement projects on the agenda this weekend, including finding out where the water came from that was in one of the rooms in our basement.  Wooohooo!!  Okay, that's not gonna be that fun, but the bbq afterward is.  And taking Greta to the park to run around until she falls asleep is.  I love long weekends.  To kick off the festivities, lets turn our attention to Jessie and her husband Danny.  They are recent homeowners that have done a ton to their space since moving in.  Just look at these photos:

But, Jessie needs help from here.  She writes:

Julia,

Thanks for being willing to offer your expert advice! :) When I started college, I thought I was going to be an Interior Designer...I don't know what I was thinking now!! I feel like I have lost almost all design sense and my house is suffering!

We've done a ton since buying our home last August {Our living room had cracks in the walls, the entire floor was covered in naaaasty orange carpet, we had a gross chandelier, the ceiling was wallpapered and the fake brick surrounding the fireplace was orangish/green. Pretty, huh?? I've included two pictures for your viewing pleasure :)} but I still don't love our living/dining room. We painted everything, scraped all the wallpaper off + retextured the ceiling, stained the mantle, and painted over the ugly brick. So, even though it has come a long way, I feel like some things are missing...

Here is what bothers me the most:

• The "entry" way! Right when you enter our front door, you are standing in our dining/living room, but the first thing you see when you walk in is a whole lot of nothing. Such a welcoming feeling :)
• I have almost nothing on the walls...so suggestions on photo arrangements, etc would be awesome
• We inherited both couches {from different people} but they really don't match...at all. Do you know anything about reupholstering a maroon leather couch?? Or ideas on where to find awesome furniture without spending all of the money in our bank account?
• I really want to incorporate some fun textures/colors into the room but again, I'm not sure how to make it all mesh together + look good at the same time...
• The arrangement of our furniture has also been a hassle. Our room is very long, but not very wide. I don't love how the two couches parallel each other and point directly at the fireplace, but I can't figure out how else to arrange them...
• Lastly, our dining area. I want a fun rug...any suggestions?
• Ok, I guess that wasn't the last thing...we also need some lamps, but again I have no idea where to start.

Wow...that was quite the list. I think I covered everything, but if you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know! I am seriously all ears and would love any advice that you are willing to offer!

Thanks again Julia!!
Jessie

Jessie, you brought up a lot of good ideas and valid concerns.  I hope what I have come up with kickstarts your next chapter of revamping this space.  The first thing to tackle is definitely the layout.  Long, narrow rooms need division.  Here's what I am thinking:

Place the back of your couch on the edge of the carpet facing the fireplace.  Two smaller chairs and an end table directly across from it will not only hide the non-functioning fireplace, but also create an intimate living space.  The area rug in the dining room and storage bench behind the couch (we'll get to the details on those) will help define an entryway and separate dining space. 

The next task in decorating a room is picking a color scheme.  I talked about ours here.  Your space's color palette can come from any inspiration and I chose yours from a necklace on Etsy.

Your awesome couch is already represented, as well as your wall color and your dark hardwoods in the dining space.  Now we just have to work on adding the rest of the colors from this inspiration.  I would love to see 2 accent walls opposite each other.  One on the fireplace wall.  I'm thinking the last mocha color.  You would only need a quart of it.  No need to paint the actual fireplace again, just the wall above it, by the windows and I would even paint the backs of the built-in bookcases (backs only!).  The other accent wall would be the one opposite of it in the dining room.  Again you would only need a quart and...are you ready....go with the purple.  It's rich.  It's warm.  And it is just the punch that room needs.  

As for everything else, oh, I have plans for that, too:

1.  The maroon leather chair needs a new home.  It's too big for the layout, and we got to make room for two of these dark gray chairs from Ikea.  They are technically dining chairs, but at $89.99 a piece, you can't beat that price for accent chairs.  Not only are they priced right, but the size is optimal for your living room.

2.  This lamp from Target is $99.  I love the unexpected pop of yellow on top in the shade. The tripod legs are unique as well, but if you don't feel like dropping 100 bones, feel free to snag some yellow fabric and cover the shade of a tall floor floor lamp you find thrifting.  Whichever way you choose to go, the lamp should sit by the chair and window on the left (see round shape in room layout).

3.  That white end table you have floating around would look rich spray painted a dark brown with a few jars on top.  Dress up the plastic ones (kid-friendly) you can find at Wal-mart or thrifting with loads of buttons or other monotoned objects--even candy.  Stick with one color in each jar and if you decide to switch up the color in a different jar, just stick to the color palette and you can't go wrong.

4.  I think your existing throw pillows on your couch are fantastic.  They definitely played a part in the inspiration of this room, add in some patterned purple throws like these found at Target  and World Market.  This will add a nice pop of color and tie in that accent wall in the dining room.

5.  This storage cube is perfect for your house.  It will sit right behind your couch as an entryway definition.  Think sitting to put on/take off shoes and you can store toys in it!  A DIYed purple pillow on top the length of the cube would really complete the piece.

6.  Moving into the dining room.  This 5'x8' rug is an investment at $249, but it or something similar (maybe even stencil your own!) would be money well spent in the dining room under your table.

7.  This light caught my eye instantly when I was researching for lighting for your room.  It's industrial, it would tie in those dark gray chairs from the opposite side of the space and you could make it for a whole lot cheaper with some pendants and a wire basket.  Think about it.

8.  Lastly, is art.  Look past the lady with the megaphone and turn your attention to those squares in the background.  Solid scrapbook paper framed in chocolate brown frames all lined up in a grid pattern would complete the look on the wall directly across from the front door.  The colors in this picture are perfect ones to choose.  The base is definitely the palette from your room, but I wouldn't hesitate to throw in a light yellow or blue pop either.

As for the art on your mantle, I would lean the picture of Christ instead of hang it.  Bring in an old mirror to lean as well, and one other piece that represents your family.  Maybe a painting of your house number like I did here.  All layered and leaning, instead of hung.

I hope this helps Jessie.   Whatever you choose to do, we'd love to see pictures of your progress!

Killer Gallery Wall is Served

Or, "Anything Looks Better Framed."

Both titles definitely sum up our gallery wall over the staircase.  After a few days of moving things around and digging through old art and making some new art, this is where we ended up. 

Which is a long way from where we started earlier this week.  I am sure you remember, but in case you don't:

The first thing I did was spray all of the non-black frames a glossy black.  Not to say you have to have matching frames in a gallery wall, but since we were going for an array of art, we wanted something to be uniform.  All black frames really tied things together.  The rest was just working with what we had around here and we even moved a few things around some more.  And now for some close-ups.

In the bottom right corner there's a clock from Ikea and a page from an art magazine that I get.  I ripped it out and framed it because I felt like I needed a pop of orange on this side of the arrangement.  Soooo sentimental, huh?  Next to orange pop is a picture of my parents, my sisters and I that was just taken last month when we were all reunited after a few years of not seeing each other.  Josh from innov8 took the picture and I love it.  Hopefully soon, we can get a similar one of  Chris's family and hang in on the wall, too.  Maybe I can even convince on of Chris's brothers to curl up on the arm of the couch with heals on like I am.  Brandon?  Cam?  No?

You can read about our framed wedding announcement here.  The big numbers are actually our house numbers that I painted over top the deer painting.  It feels really clean and since this is our very first house,  we are displaying those numbers proudly.

Above that group, I framed a watercolor color chart I did.  A color chart framed looks money, right?  Next door, I hand wrote a quote I pinned forever ago.  I'm not a cutesy quotey person, but this is something that rings so true for me so I had to display it.

On the other side of the bird painting is the caricature by Lance Fry that I mentioned earlier in the week and the vintage dog paint-by-numbers I also already mentioned.

Above that, starting from the right is one of Greta's foam letters from her huge play mat that all puzzles together and I have come to detest.  There are letters and pieces in every room in the house.  I recently boxed them all up and only take them out for her to play if she is acting insanely cranky or bored.  So, I don't think she'll miss the "M" that much.  It looks so chic framed.  In the middle is an envelope from one of the many letters Chris and I wrote each other while I was on my mission.  We fell in love through letters so an envelope is the perfect symbolism for us.  On the left is my most favorite picture of Chris and Greta.

I ordered it (and the one of my family) through Ritzpics.  They are having a special promotion right now for new customers--2 8x10s for free.  Uhhh yeah.  I jumped on that.  Just enter TRY63B78 at checkout and you'll just have to pay $1.99 for shipping or you can pick it up at a Ritz Camera for free. Booyah!

Above that group, I framed a still-life I did from my very first drawing class in college. I remember I stayed up all night finishing this. I even hid in the projector closet when the supervisor came around making sure all the students were gone just so I could finish it by my 8 am class. I got a B+ on it, but I still like it.

At the very top is a simple oil painting I did of the Rexburg temple, where we were married. I think it is appropriately placed at the very top of the group. I knew I wanted a picture of the temple on this wall, but there wasn't one existing that I liked. Harsh, I know. None fit in with our space or the vibe we are going for. This painting does. It's probably not for everyone, but we love the simplistic lines and that there's no trees or sunset distracting from what it is. The temple.

That wraps up our killer gallery wall, although we still have to figure out a lighting situation because the gold-trimmed sconce (see first picture) is less than ideal. Until then, what's your favorite piece?

Shrubs that make me Shrug

It's nice out today.  Sunny and warm and happily, there's no rain in the forecast for the rest of the day.  Greta and I took a looonnngggg walk earlier and while she is recovering with a nap, I turned my attention to our yard.  I know zilch about gardening or flowers or trees or shrubs, but I am excited to learn.  I told Chris that I need some books to read up on all of these beautiful pictures of plants that I am falling in love with online.  For instance, I want an array of wildflowers like these lining our entire fence in the backyard.

via apartment therapy

And once we get our edible garden planted (shooting for next year!) I really would love it to look like this:

found here

*Gasp* The diagonal action, right?  Beautiful and edible.  We really can't wait.  But for now, while a lot of our effort money is going into getting our indoors up to par, we are happy with working with what we have been given outdoors.  Chris puts in a few hours a week outside taking care of the lawn, but we have noticed some of our shrubs need some attention.  At least we think they do.  We're not 100% sure since we don't know exactly what it is we have out there.  In fact, the only thing I do know is we have a large, fragrant lilac tree...and one that is still a shrub out back.

a.  Can these be shaped?  It is stunning, and we love having it, but it looks like it is out of control!  We are thinking of moving it as well, anyone know how lilacs react to being transported??

b.c.d.  Here's a trio I am scared to touch.  We are talking WICKED thorns on all three, which made me originally think that they were all the same thing.  But look how different they look from each other.  Is "b" dead?  I am anxious to hear if anyone knows what these are so I can look them up and know what to expect year round.  If they are just thorns--well, they won't last long 'round here, why would I keep them?

e.  These two I know are the same type of tree.  Which type?--I'm stumped, but I am excited to watch it change throughout the year.  Since we moved in in April, it has already blossomed and now has deep red leaves.  MMmmm.  Sign me up for more of these!  Speaking of--are you a member of the Arbor Day Foundation?  From what I understand, with a $10 membership, you get 10 flowering trees!  We are DEFINITELY looking into that.

f.g.  "F" stands for the type of tree in question in our front yard and "g" is the surrounding green....plants?  I was really hoping they were flowers, but these blades just keep getting longer and longer with no sign of something colorful appearing.  Bummer.

h.i.j.  I'll end the quiz game with these last shrubs that make me shrug my shoulders and put question marks above my head.  I know, "j" is struggling.  We have a few "j's" and ALL of them look like this.  Half dead and half alive and all in need of a trim.  

Since we don't have the money for a live-in gardener, and have know-how equalling zero, we would love to hear what you have to say.  If you know a thing or two about lilacs, or those wildflowers in the first picture or can identify any of the letters in question, or just want to weigh in and wish us luck, we are anxious to  read what you have to say.  Now is not the time to hold back.  

Club Cul-de-sac

The house we bought is in a cul-de-sac, did you know that?  We are learning quickly that this has granted us automatic membership into a special club in our neighborhood.  Everyone talks about the homes in the cul-de-sac--it's kinda weird.  "Oh, you live in the cul-de-sac with all the fun people!"  Or my favorite, "Anything goes in the cul-de-sac." That's what we were told when I mentioned a certain blue razor scooter that kept getting left on our front lawn.  It has since been replaced by a Little Tikes tricycle--one of the chunky, plastic ones.  It's there and then it's gone and then it returns again, and in between there are kids running through our yard constantly once 3pm hits and school gets out.  I am learning not to cringe even if I was brought up to never trample over grass.  "Anything goes" in our cul-de-sac apparently and I am sure I will be grateful when Greta gets a bit older and we have equally understanding neighbors.  

The perks of our "membership" in the cul-de-sac club are outstanding.  We love our neighbors.  The very first week we moved in, so many of them came by to introduce themselves and give us cookies--which really helped me through the oh-dear-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into unpacking phase of moving.  We had neighbors invite us over for dinner the second day we moved in!  Our next door neighbors--the Grahams--are as good as they get.  When we were out of town and a few shingles blew off our roof in a wicked windstorm that went down, Charles (the father) climbed up on our roof and nailed a tarp down to make sure no water got in.  THEN, he gave Chris spare shingles he had to fix our roof when we got back.  Last Saturday, after Chris had spent hours outside mowing and trimming, we were on our way out to run other errands when Charles started aerating our lawn.  He explained that he had rented the machine and there was still time left before he had to return it.  As good as they get, huh?  

We feel so blessed to have such great neighbors and we wanted to make sure they knew how much we appreciate them.  So on Sunday, we invited their whole family for dinner.  All 7 of them!  The Grahams have five children ranging in age from 17-9 and they are just as sweet as their parents.  We extended our dining room table and I pulled over the two ottomans from the living room and my art chair from downstairs.   Greta sat on my lap and ate all of my food and then walked around to visit everyone.  We talked and laughed and swapped stories and built friendships over salad, pasta and meatballs.

Home ownership really sunk in that day.  Like, we're here to stay and we are actually making friends with our neighbors and doing neighborly things.  I just hope they aren't keeping score, because they are way  ahead...did I mention they brought over flowers from their garden??  Presh.

There's a killer gallery wall about to happen here.

It's no contest, a paint job did wonders for the staircase.  It was surrounded by white, green AND yellow and that doesn't even include the carpet color and railing (which are both on the list to change eventually). 

After we painted,  our eyes could finally focus on what we actually wanted to do with the space.  Staircases are prime locations for gallery walls, so it is no surprise that that's what we decided on. Lots of different frames and art all fitting together.

I started by laying things out on the ground and then I even traced it all on butcher paper (like I did here).  But once Chris got home and Greta went to bed and we started hanging things--the arrangement wasn't working 100%. So we changed it.

 Our goal was for our art to follow the natural angle of the stairs, turns out my floor mock up--didn't.  So, we improvised and decided to wing it, or position-art-as-we-go.  We started with the birds I painted a few months back right in the center and hung that and then branched out from there.  For each piece one of us would stand back and put on our bossy hat on and tell the other to, "move left", "right", "up", "down", "a smidge down" until it looked just right.  As you can see from the picture below, there were a few changes in arrangement and which frames were included once we got things on the wall and that's what we expected with our fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants approach.  The good news is, we got it to work--and we love it.

Before you get all flustered over how bad that looks, try to over-look a few things like frame color and what's in the frames and on the canvases.  Let me help you, all the ones with the Xs are changing.:

Yes, the deer are changing.  I painted those for Greta's first nursery and they were cute and they were great for the time, but we have moved on and I have no problem painting right over them.  In fact, I have already started.  Are you surprised that the dog is staying??  So was Chris.  We are not dog people, or pet people, really--meaning we don't own one, not that we don't love a dog.  

The dog is a vintage paint-by-number I found at a thrift store for $1.50.  The frame color was gross and the glass was fil-thy!  But once I cleaned it up and sprayed the frame with a glossy black, the old art can be appreciated a lot more.  And that's what this wall is about--bringing different kinds of art together in a group.

Speaking of art appreciation, on the other side of the birds is a duo of frames that are both dear to me.  On the left is a caricature that my good friend, Lance Fry painted of me as a gift back in college.  He is an awesome artist and all-around great guy.  I can't say enough good things about Lance.  On the right is the back of our wedding announcement.  My PapPap is an expert at his art: framing.  He presented this to Chris and I for our wedding.  He matted and framed our announcement so you could see both sides (so cool!).  So, we can always flip over the frame and check out the front of our announcement if we wanted to.

 And sprayed in a glossy black, it fits right in. 

As for all of the other changes, they are already in full force.  The next time you see this gallery wall, it will be killer!  Stay tuned, friends. 

See how it all turned out here

He's busy.

The biggest conference of the year is coming up.  He's in charge.  There's a long list of projects to do at home.  He crosses something off every day.  He is a stellar dad.  The sweetest husband.  And he hasn't forgot about all of you foodies either.  He is cooking every night and taking pictures and wanting so badly to tell you all about it.  Until he gets around to it (who knows how long that is gonna be), have a look at some of the things he has been cooking up in the kitchen and lets plan a night we can have each of you over for dinner. *wink*

How to make your NEW favorite Dining Room Fixture.

Dreams come true when you DIY.  One of my very first pins on my Pinterest account was this light fixture.  I fell in love and wanted it for our dining room.  

I started tracing back the sources until I found where it was from and how much it was.  The company that makes it is Design Within Reach and it is sold for $2,140.00!!   Yowzas.  I sat on the idea for a week and studied the picture.  Chris and I decided that we could definitely try making it ourselves and save a few thou.  I don't mean to ruin the ending--but we succeeded.  :)  Here's how we did it.  

Our glue-y substance that held this whole thing together was a mix of Mod Podge, water, and a few tablespoons of corn starch.  Mix it until it is a smooth, thin, milk texture.  We also used 2 spools of crochet thread (2000 yds of it total).  This thin thread was key in making an identical light to Design Within Reach's.  Next, you will need some petroleum jelly and lastly, a big ball.  We got this 48 incher at Big 5 Sporting Goods for $4.99.  I've seen the same one at Kmart and Target, or you can use whichever size suits you and your space.  Oh, and you are DEFINITELY gonna want a tarp.  The whole thing gets pretty messy, but it's worth it. 

Once you have your ball suspended over a tarp, rub it down with that jelly.  This is imperative to make sure when you are all finished, the ball will still come loose.  Also, trace a circle with a good sized bowl on the ball to allow easy light-bulb-changing access down the road.  

Get wrapping.  This is absolutely a two person job activity and we would switch off while watching episodes of Seinfeld and Dancing with the Stars (there's a first time for everything I guess).  One person would feed the string into the glue mixture and the other person would wrap the string.  Repeat.  Over and over. 

We put about 2 1/2 hours into it the first night and used one spool (1000 yds) of the thread.  We thought it looked good and we were done, but in the morning we weren't convinced the string was as dense as our "dream fixture." 

So, the next night, we put another hour into it (we were definitely more efficient now that we had a rhythm down) and finished off nearly ALL of the second spool and we were feeling good about the string coverage.  

Our plan was to just deflate the ball the next day after things were nice and hard, but it was taking too long, so we just sliced a hole in it after remembering it only cost us $5 and it now had petroleum jelly all over it.  We were THRILLED to see how easily the ball separated from the string.  That was the moment we realized it was woorrrrkkiiinnnggg.

Our next task was hanging our new fixture.  With our vaulted ceilings and an off-centered existing fixture--we knew that there was more work ahead of us.  

Is there a more terrible sight?  A bad, plastic chandelier, made worse by being off-center.

We purchased the Hemma cord set from IKEA for $3.99 and Chris cut, stripped and separated it to make it a ceiling mount cord, instead of a plug cord.  We also found a big round light bulb that resembled the one in our inspiration picture for $4.99 and snagged that, too. 

The two items picture below we found at Home Depot (a rubber stopper and 3-hole cover kit) we used inside the fixture at the very top to keep the bulb in the center of our sphere.

Chris drilled a hole in the rubber stopper and wedged it in the center hole (we plugged the other two holes) and fed the wire through the stopper.

We fixed the slightly off-centered placement of the light by fastening the wire to the center and then covering everything up with a 16" ceiling mount.

Now, for an overflow of pictures of our new light:

 We have plans to switch out our white blinds for bamboo ones for warmth and to give the light a contrasting backdrop.  But for now, we can't stop looking at it.  It is so rewarding to make something and love it.   We love it even more knowing that we spent less than $30 and saved over $2100 AND got rid of our ugly chandy.  So, yeah.  We're all smiles over here.

Update:  To reinforce the round shape of the light (it's a lot of stress for just string), we added some thin acetate we found at Hobby Lobby for $5.  We cut it into a circle and cut a straight line into the center.  Drilled a small hole in the center and fit it in the top of the light.  You can't see it at all, but it is doing its job, FOR SURE.