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January 23, 2015

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

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Our new light for our stairwell arrived Wednesday and we wasted no time installing it that very night! In this post, we showed you the two options that were at the top of our list. And they were so different but we truly loved them both. Sometimes I post options like that, and almost as soon as I hit publish, I realize I liked one more than the other. It happened with the painting-the-banister post. I knew right away all black was just more us. But, you know when you ask someone their opinion about, say, what bag they like better and they say one and then your heart sinks a little because you suddenly realize you must of liked the other better? It honestly happens to me all of the time! But with these two lights, I couldn’t decide so it was so helpful to hear all of your opinions.

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And really, truly, you guys said so many things that really made us think. Will one go out of style faster? Will one catch more bugs? More webs? Block more light? Cast weird shadows? Look better from outside? Last longer? So many pros and cons to each, but in the end, the commenter that said the cube felt like an art installation–well, THAT really resonated with me. SOLD.

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And as soon as we ordered it, I knew it was the  Be Squared Modern Chandelier from Shades of Light was for us.  If we got the drum, we would have been very safely happy with it, but the mix of traditional and modern that the cube brings with the rest of the elements in place–OOooo–it makes my heart beat.

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The gold detailing is the perfect almost matte antiqued gold that is trending right now. In the picture online, it looked more shiny, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it this way in person. It really looks interesting from all angles, which is something you want with a stairwell light you’ll see straight on, from the sides and even underneath.

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Backing up for a minute, we had a few questions on Instagram about installing it. We did install it ourselves and there was some assembling to do before the installation, too.

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Because of the shape, you couldn’t really set it down on the ground once it was put together, so this was definitely a two person job. I won’t go into details of exactly how we installed it (connect these two wires, yadda yadda) mostly because if you don’t know what you’re doing with electrical work, so many things can go wrong and I’d hate to feel responsible for that. But! For those few that were wondering how we positioned our ladder (a real question) this picture is for you:

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Our ladder is one that can go on stairs, meaning you can shorten one side and lengthen the other so they’re even–just don’t look down. ;)

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There were a lot of opinions, some strong one way or the other, on the cube vs. drum post and we know this particular light isn’t for every house or everyone. But, shoot, we couldn’t love it more right here.

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With that, we’ll welcome the weekend with a before and progress shot and an air-five.

Update! After several requests for a night shot (I can’t believe I didn’t post a night shot originally!) Here ya go:

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There were a few questions about the bulbs, too. Wattage is really important when you’re dealing with bare bulbs. These are 25 watt bulbs that we got at a local lighting store for a couple bucks each. The fixture said it can hold (8) 40 watt bulbs, but we decided to go for a lower wattage and hoped we could get away with since there are 8 of them. The light is extremely easy on the eyes, which was important to us since the fixture is at eye level when you head down the stairs–hence the lower wattage on our end. It gives off a nice ambient light without any harsh shadows. I tried to get one from the outside in, but shoot, I am just not that good of a photographer. Every photo, the window is just blown out. Sorry! Hope this gives you a good idea of what you could expect. :)

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What do you think?

  1. Amy Westerman says:

    Where did you find that pendant?

  2. Or in other words, how many stems did you use in yours? And how many did you have left? And how tall is your light now? And is there about 10 inches from the bottom of the lighting element and the bottom of the cube?

  3. I was just viewing this on Shadesoflight.com and have been considering it for purchase…..googling it I came across your blog. It looks great in your house! Can you tell me how long the supplied stems are? It’s confusing in the description. Is the 3rd stem the gold on inside the cube? Or are there 3 stems to utilize above the cube in the black? I’m worried that using just one stem for above my dining table in a 10ft tall room will leave the light too high, and with all of the stems, way too low. From the site: Overall height is 70″. (31.25″Hx25.5″W) Supplied with 3 stems totaling 36″ and 60″ lead wire.

  4. Leslie says:

    Very nice!

  5. Joseph says:

    Look great. I really enjoy your blog.

  6. Elaine says:

    It looks amazing in the dark!

  7. Lydia says:

    Wow, does that ever look fantastic! I love it!

  8. Ange says:

    I was team drum, but suspected you would choose the cube.. And I love it! You have inspired me to pull the trigger on an entry light I have had my eye on, but wasn’t sure if it was too quirky to suit the style of my home. And now I’m going to do it!!!

  9. Jess says:

    Looks fantastic! (And I was Team Drum Shade!) Everyone is so right that it looks like an art installment. I see a couple people already mentioned taking the “balls” off the top of the newel posts… what about replacing them with cube versions? I wonder how that would look! Can’t wait to see the nighttime pic!

  10. Nicole M. says:

    My favorite part about this light is that you can see the gallery wall beyond it!! The drum light would have covered some of the photos up. Love it :)

  11. Lindsay says:

    I am loving your stairwell! The art, the light, everything!

  12. Leena says:

    What if you took off the knob thingys off the bannister? It might look more modern, streamlined..

  13. Ginet says:

    Woohoo Team Cube! It’s perfection :)

  14. Krystal says:

    YAY! I am so glad you went with the cube!!! I LOVE IT!! And it looks FABULOUS in your house!!!! Perfect choice!!!!

  15. Christina says:

    Yaaay! Team Cube for the win!

  16. Sanaz says:

    I’m in LOVE! Is it too big for a master bedroom with 10 foot ceilings? And one more thing, does it have glass on the sides or is it completely open?

    Looks amazing!

    • Julia says:

      You actually would be golden with 10 ft. ceilings! We have a couple extender rods on here (it comes with a few different sizes) and the 6 inch rod size would be perfect for a bedroom.

      • Sanaz says:

        You’re the best! Couldn’t decide whether I would have to go with the little one light version or if I could get away with this beauty! Thanks so much!!!

    • Julia says:

      Also, no glass. Completely open. Really like a sculptural piece.

  17. Tanja says:

    I love it and am coveting it for my own house. I wish we had higher ceilings…

  18. Amy B says:

    That is just too awesome. LOVE your style.

  19. Anna says:

    LOVE it! It looks awesome! Great pick!

  20. Ann says:

    I love it. Seriously. I want the same one. Copycat, I guess.

  21. Victoria says:

    It looks even more chic in your space than it did in the photos!

  22. Amanda says:

    Wow! The cube really compliments everything you’ve done to this space – it looks beautiful! Most importantly, I’m glad you and Chris love it too.

    My husband mentioned not liking the chandeliers in our house (it still has mainly basic builder finishes), so I just sent him the link to this fixture since our style is so similar to yours. We’ll see what he thinks ha!

  23. Trilby C. says:

    Air-five! I was on the other side of the fence, but I must admit, seeing the cube light installed, it looks beautiful! Great choice – especially if it makes YOU happy!!

  24. Erin says:

    Team cube, woo hoo! It looks even better than I was imagining in the first place. Your stairwell is really coming together. Love it.

  25. Jackie says:

    This looks awesome – and I had voted for neither! You so made the right call. I love it’s size – this really does look good.

    Best,
    Jackie

  26. Emily Jane says:

    Wow!! Love love love it. That is the kind of change that would make me giddy for days at my house. (For what it’s worth, you have become my fav daily DIY fix since YHL went black)

  27. I knew it would look great! It’s very artistic and you. Love it.

  28. Colleen says:

    I did vote for the cube – did not know it would be that big in the space, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Just imagining how it will look once you start filling up that area with more family photos – absolutely stunning!!! :) Great call!

  29. Alison G says:

    I hope you checked the price of the bulbs first. It looks hard to clean.

    • Julia says:

      We actually got these bulbs from a local lighting place for a couple bucks each. And I’ll have to keep you updated on the cleaning. Because it is so open and there isn’t a lot of surface space, I don’t think it will take more than the occasional swiffer duster.

      • Alison G says:

        Oh that’s great! Some bulbs are killer expensive. Good luck with the cleaning part, I have ceiling fans that I hate to clean and thought those little round surfaces on the light would be tough.

  30. Jeanna says:

    I was team drum shade, but I’ve got to admit I love this one too :)

  31. Julia Laine says:

    I was not part of Team Cube, but now seeing it in that space I’m totally on board! (knew you’d be relieved to hear that) :-)

  32. Jamie says:

    does this give off a lot of light? I’m looking for a dining room overhead light and feel like it’s hard to tell how well it will light the room. The design and function piece is elusive!!

    Sorry if you answered in other questions.

  33. Sue says:

    Which ever fixture you chose would have been the right one because you gotta go with what speaks to you! That said, I’m so glad you went with the cube. It looks Ahhh-mazing!

  34. Kates says:

    It looks awesome! I love it. Classic and modern! Beautiful!!!!

  35. Evelina says:

    Hurray team cube! It really looks GREAT! Congrats! I didn’t realize that the sides didn’t have glass

  36. Evita says:

    It would be interesting if You put some photo in to the stair gate :) so when its open it would look like frame.

  37. that is a killer look, and with the frames it feels like the space is even taller.
    enjoy!
    b

  38. Meagan Briggs says:

    I agree with one of the commenters above, how is it at night with the lights on?

    This choice was a no brainer for me, cube for sure!

  39. Kathy says:

    Love it!!

  40. jillian says:

    this looks so great there! and it’s so you guys :)

  41. Kristen P says:

    I said go with the other one in the first post about which light to use, but WOW this looks fantastic! I think this was definitely the right choice…the first picture definitely did not do this light justice.

    • Julia says:

      We were blown away when we saw it in person, too. It’s heavy and quality-made (for pretty cheap considering) and it’s bigger than we thought, too.

      • Hilary says:

        Yes – much bigger than I thought it would be. I didn’t read the dimensions and I was imagining it half that size. Looks great!

  42. Joseph says:

    This one is look simple and very creative. Nice

  43. Allison says:

    Looking forward to a picture of it on at night please!

  44. Elaine says:

    I didn’t vote but love the cube. Silly question but what does it look like on?

  45. Shannon says:

    I also voted drum, but I think you guys made the perfect choice. This. looks. amazing.

  46. Cami says:

    I voted for the drum light, but I love how the cube looks in its new home, great choice!

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We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

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