Burlap & Denim » Lighting

37 Builder Upgrades You SHOULD Do

Amanda {Burlap & Denim} — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:21:47 +0000

So you've decided to build a house. What an exciting life event! All the builder upgrades will be awesome! But wait, what if I screw it up? What if I forget important details or my builder doesn't have the designer's touch? Should I build the largest house I can or should I build the nicest house I can afford? Well fear no more. I LOVE the building (and remodeling) process, have been through it many many times, and am here to help. Builder Upgrades: What you SHOULD and SHOULDN'T upgrade (because of the huge volumes of information I am sharing on this subject, this will be a mini series, so stay tuned for follow-up posts on what upgrades you shouldn't do and what you may want to change that could cost you nothing). Whether you are building a large custom-house in the suburbs or remodeling a classic row house Read more [...]

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I Hate CFLs {a tutorial for rewiring for warm light}

Amanda {Burlap & Denim} — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:50:51 +0000

This project started like so many others, with a great deal. I had seen these cork pendant lights at Lowe's and really liked them. My basement was far from being finished at the time but I knew I had the perfect place for them. That was when I noticed the price...$7! I threw three into my cart when I realized that they were hard wired for Compact Florescent Light bulbs. BARF! I HATE CFLs. Actually I hate all florescent light bulbs. I wouldn't even allow our builder to put them in my garage. The slow warm up, the flickering, the blue hue, no thank you. Something had to be done. I loved the pendant and couldn't let this amazing price go to waist. Could I change them over hold a warm incandescent bulb? You betcha. I hustled over to Lowe's lighting parts department. I picked up a multi Read more [...]

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DIY Light Up Marquee Star

Amanda {Burlap & Denim} — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:36:15 +0000

My favorite design element is lighting. Nothing gets me more excited than building a lighting element, plugging it in and watching it set the space aglow. Mix that with my love of anything Vintage-Industrial and you can see how easily I became obsessed with marquee light up signs for the last few years. When I opened up my 2012 Baby and Child catalog from Restoration Hardware I loved finding that they had a cute vintage looking star. unfortunately it was $269. Slightly out of my budget and not very large (24"). Pottery Barn also has one for sale for $129 again, not very large (22"): BUT, if you know me at all, you know that I'd almost always rather make it myself than buy it. So, I scoured the internet for tutorials on how to make these little beauties. I combined different techniques from all of the tutorials Read more [...]

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UPDATE: Salvaged Wood Block Lamp Assembly

Amanda {Burlap & Denim} — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:04:43 +0000

One of the very first posts I wrote on Burlap & Denim was about a Salvaged Wood Block Lamp that I made. I LOVE these lamps. The pair used to be on our night stands, but I have since moved them to the family room so I can enjoy them all day. BUT, this means they are in the most used space of our house, filled with 4 boys. And with boys comes rough housing. Yesterday one of these lovely's got knocked to the ground, sparked and almost started a fire! I'll admit it, I was frustrated and mad that my beautiful lamp needed to be rebuilt and re wired. I took this opportunity to photograph the details for you. Here you can see the hole I drilled with a wood drill bit and shoved a long threaded wire conduit inside. The drilled hole met up with a crack in the wood partway down the block. I threaded the wire Read more [...]

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Star Wars Bedroom and Ikea Lighting Hack

Amanda {Burlap & Denim} — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:44:15 +0000

This is Ryder's room. It was inspired from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and decked out in Star Wars gear. When his mom and I were designing the space she loved the idea of a rough wood ceiling, blue walls and a twin over full bunk bed. This is how it turned out. We ordered the bed and bedding straight from P.B. Kids (similar bedding found HERE). His mom found the locker style chest of drawers and was nice enough to let him have a fish tank in his room! The ceiling is quarter sawn pine stained to match the "Rustic Chestnut" stain of the bunk bed (similar bed found HERE). On a trip to Ikea, I picked up these great stainless steel shelves and brackets. They used to hold all of Ryder's Star Wars figurines, but now show off the important things in his life. They are the Ekby Mossby found HERE. I felt the ceiling Read more [...]

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