Projects

An Experience in Exterior Fixtures

May 23, 2013

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. 

Portfolio

Projects

Design

We're Chris + Julia

read more

What we're                   right now

Loving

browse the shop

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here. 

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. 

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.

browse all

browse all

browse all

02

01

03

Popular Posts

1.

2.

3.

Top Categories

Some projects are just laughable.  This was one such project. As a part of our exterior makeover (that has been severely thwarted from rain, rain and more rain) we wanted to switch out our back patio light. You can kind of see the old one in this picture from when we stained the patio.  Squint.
It’s teeny.  That’s a standard lightbulb and the glass is basically hugging it.  So, maybe 5″ square max?

We wanted a fixture that was larger, and had a pop of color. And since we are crushing on navy right now, this wall mount light from Rejuvenation fit the bill perfectly.  This is where it starts getting funny.  We took off the old fixture and the hole was filled with yellow jacket nests. Hilarious?

Sometimes when things that involve bugs, spiders, or one time a toad–long prank story, grrr–and our house I get this overwhelming feeling that, “We can’t live here!”  I am a big-time wuss.  These feelings came flooding in when I saw those hives. Must. Leave. Luckily they were abandoned, and we have pest control (for sure!) but still.  What a terrible joke.

After Chris coaxed me to come back outside, installing the new fixture was easy-peasy.  Turned off the power, installed the new mounting bracket and all the wires matched up perfectly.  There wasn’t a random purple wire that left us scratching our heads.  All very straightforward.

And, voila!  Isn’t Carson a beaut?!

But, there’s one more detail that has us laughing our heads off.

It is so short, it’s comical.  The hole is placed pretty low to begin with, and the larger fixture definitely brings a lot more attention to that fact, but we also didn’t account for the down-turning fixture when we decided on it.  Oops. Ha…ha..ha! After we finished laughing (really), we decided we truly love the light, and want to make it work. So rather than exchange it, we’ll rearrange some siding and electrical work, which will surely be a lot more challenging than just rearrange this and that, and raise it to a proper height.

Besides the height factor, we’re smitten. That navy is the perfect amount of color and the spring board for the rest of the patio decor.

A special thanks to Rejuvenation for partnering with us for this project. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What do you think?

  1. About a year ago, my wife and I renovated our home in Fort Lauderdale. We wanted to enjoy a cinematic experience from the comfort of our own home, but we did not have a huge room to work with. Thanks to the team at Pure Audio Video, we got a beautifully designed room that looks and sounds far better than the local movie theaters! What I admired the most is that they listened to our priorities and delivered the room that we envisioned. Contact them today at http://www.pureaudiovideo.com or (954)-581-4434.

  2. Oh my goodness, I would die and then go die some more if I found a yellow jackets nest hiding in my siding. Things with stingers seem to have it out for me. I’ve been stung two separate times while in my car…once with the windows shut. Glad you called in the professionals.

  3. Patty says:

    Put a trellis with some climbing flowers under the light in the mean time… before you rip off sides of the house. Most of your patio time will be spent lounging right? It’s a good height for Greta Girl.

    Xddxxxxxjuuynmnifduhgfjkgtnreghewgvd. <-Koley's thought on the matter.

  4. Cassie A. says:

    I literally laughed out loud at the pic of Chris next to the light. It’s so low it’s comical! Definitely a “what were they thinking” moment!

  5. Yikes! My Dad always says, “There’s no such thing as an easy project.” Haha!

  6. Crystal says:

    It’s gorgeous! Just don’t take pictures of anyone standing next to it and you can’t even tell it’s so hilariously low, cracks me up. I think it’s definitely worth the effort to make it work cause it’s too pretty not to. on another topic, will you be doing another post about your raised garden beds? I’ve been working on mine on and off for the past month and am curious how yours turned out.

  7. That is a beautiful light fixture! Worth all the effort.

  8. Why would they install the light that low? It makes no sense! Haha! But it is pretty!

  9. Ryan wears that same outfit! Our men…

    Navy. Swoon. Good choice!

  10. Oooh… we just updated our exterior fixtures too. Thankfully pest control was not involved! Eeks! Good luck with raising it up … hope all goes well.

all the latest

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. 

HI! We're Chris + Julia

read more

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're                     Right Now

What We're                 Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop. 

Loving

looking for inspiration? 

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations

@chrislovesjulia