For me, they're overdone. (brutally honest) But it all depends on the style of your house, how you live, your personal style. Above any of that, what do YOU love? And do you love them enough to still love them if everybody says they are seriously questionable?? Then, you love 'em enough.

charliedawg- I think they're perfect for my new home-haha!! Do you mind if I copy? I love that style, but the only thing that concerns me is dust and bugs settling in the bowl -type fixtures. I'm still considering ones like them, though- I think they're beautiful! Of course, like bj said,
if you love them, you should get them!

BJ it's funny that you said "if everybody says they are seriously questionable...". I was just talking to my dh about this right after I/we picked these lights. I love them, I have for months and months.

I told dh that the fact that I care what friends think about *my* lights so much that I would buy something I didn't like just for them bothered me. I don't understand why it's so hard for me to just pick what *I* like. It really doesn't matter if I paint pink elephants all over my great room if that is what I would be happy with.:)

I have found over and over in this building experience that I struggle most with what other people might think of my choices. It's frustrating. It would be much easier to just buy an existing new home and blame all of the ugly stuff on somebody else. There is so much pressure (that I put on myself) for other people to like my choices.

This is the crazy world I live in. I need to just repeat the mantra that has been posted on here many, many times...."my house, my choice"

NC - I'm glad you like them. I thought about the bugs too. But then I realized I somehow got bugs in my completely sealed kitchen light in my other house. At least these little critters would be easier to vaccuum out in the bowl. :) Or better yet, maybe they won't get trapped and die in there. (fingers crossed)

Very appropriate to a traditional older look. They're also great dust collectors. But that's what we all have servants for, dahling!

"I am buying things I don't want, with money I don't have, to impress people I don't even like!"

I forget where I heard this quote, but whenever I start straying from the path of what is the best choice for me I think of it and the absurdity of it snaps me right back to reality.

Hi Charliedawg! Those are all very pretty and work really well together as a collection, so if you love them, that's half the battle! I also would factor in what best fits the style of your home, too. They seem to say "Victorian" to me, especially the DR fixture, but I'm sure they would work in a variety of homes, especially the foyer and breakfast table fixtures. In the end, I totally agree that you should go with what you love and not second guess yourself.

They are all beautiful, but then again that's my style. Make sure you have fixtures that are the right size for the space you're putting them in. I was admiring a fixture for my foyer and even convinced DH that we should have it even though it wa expensive. Then I realized it was way too big. So don't forget that important element before ordering. Please, do not worry abut what other people think of your choices. It's nice to get opinions and different points of view, but in the end you have to live with it, not them.

charliedawg: if your friends' opinion matters to you, then part of what you love INCLUDES having your friends like it too. Don't beat yourself up about that. There are a few people in the world I care enough about for their opinion to matter. They're the only people who spend time with me, in my home.

So, I think you're getting a good aesthetic critique here on the forum, but as to being happy with your choices later, you're asking the wrong people. Why don't you share the pictures of your choices with the people who matter to you and see what they say. But, don't put the burden on them by making them pick their favoite and then you saying you like the other better. Tell them upfront which ones you like best, and then say you value their opinion and want to know what they think of the various options. The true friends will probably say exactly what you're hearing here: "I like this best, but I hope you will pick what makes YOU happy." And then they will feel included in the process, and part of your happiness.

Is that just too icky-sweet or what?

At first, I was going to agree with the post that said they looked overdone. The more I looked, the more I liked. :)

They said, Victorian, stuffy to me at first, but then I pictured them in a casual, eclectic, almost bohemian setting and they looked pretty neat and theatrical. (I still can't get that sconce to grow on me)

I agree with BJ, that it sounds like your friends opinions do matter, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think we all like to have other people enjoy our things. When I think about it, my house means little to me if my friends and family don't enjoy it.

IMO your never going to please everyone,and your the one that has to live with them everyday. I say go with what you love.If you love them then buy them, if its not total love, then look around.

I think they look beautiful! I especially like the foyer light, however don't make the mistake I did on our current house...Do you see into the bowl from any upstairs area? All we can see are glaring lightbulbs from above. We're used to it now, but I probably would have made a different decision.

Maybe you are having trouble deciding on what you like because it is hard to make the whole big picture work together. You can like those light fixtures, but you mentioned they weren't the "safe" choice- in other words (maybe) they wouldn't fit in with all decorating schemes, and will it match the rest of the style of your house???? I am not a decorator, but the first lights you showed seemed to indicate simple lines, modern or contemporary. These lights look more old-fashion, ballroom elegance. What look are you going for in the rest of the house?

I like the hanging lights...I do not like the sconce at all. I agree with the above posters who encourage you to discuss these choices with your friends/family if their opinions are that crucial to your happiness. Throughout our build, I have had many comments directed to me of "why are you doing that" or "I don't think that'll look good." At first, it bugged me, but I have learned to let it roll off. After all, 1) I will be looking at it everyday and 2) (MOST IMPORTANTLY) I am paying for it. Interestingly enough, most of the time when someone initially expressed dislike for one of our choices, they ended up changing their opinion after they saw the finished product! Good luck with the lighting choices...I am a little overwhelmed by all of the options out there myself!

They would be too ornate for my house which has simple clean lines. I think they would look great in a house with complicated moldings, heavy drapes and plush furnishings.

But that's just my view of design which might be more short-sighted than yours.

Wow, I love them! But then...they are pretty close to my style so that makes sense why I find them attractive. My house is going to be Old World Style with lots of bronze. I remember what your exterior looks like but don't recall much of the details inside. What have you chosen for faucets? Cabinet style? etc?

Here's my lights...bottom line is if you like them and they are not too different from the style of the rest of your house, then get what you like and not what the neighbors have! Good Luck...these choices are always so tough.

Foyer:

Dining Room:

Kitchen:

Pendents:

We have that same foyer light. We also have a light in our living room that is a miniature version of it, without the chain. My wife was just saying how much she wishes we could get on to painting the house so that her beautiful light that she loves so much would be more noticeable.

Charliedawg,

I emphathize with you on the search for the holy grail of lighting. If you can find it, I commend you. :-)

In my search for the 'perfect' lighting group I nearly drove myself, DH, friends and family nuts. I obsessively poured over websites, went to stores and invariably with any group lighting, could not find everything that I wanted/needed.

Then someone said to me: "Why do they all have to match?" That made me stop and think. Since we had such an open floor plan I thought I had to match them all. What I finally did was find lights that had a commonality - all in orb type finishes, all white scavio (sp?) glass and similiar in style. Guess what, it works, at least in our house. In a more formal house, maybe that wouldn't.

For me, the ones you currently are looking at are formal/fancy but as others have said, it's your house and your choice. If you love them, they will be perfect. But my point is if you are settling because you finally found a grouping that has all the lighting styles you need, then maybe you could try the mix and match theory. Just something else to think about.

Jill

As much as I love my friends, we don't have the same taste in a lot of things, esp. with decorating, clothing, etc. But then we don't even care about that. It's the old cliche of what is on the inside a person that counts for us.

And, if someone is planning on paying for the lights and/or my mortgage, then they get a say in what type of lights I pick. No, scratch that. My DH doesn't get a say LOL!

Enjoy your choices and Yipee for being daring to be different then your friends! (FWIW, I love them! and Lindy yours too!)

Hey guys, I haven't been ignoring your responses :) just got time to respond today. Been cleaning, cleaning and cleaning more drywall dust. (fun, fun)

Lorraine- I'm putting ""I am buying things I don't want, with money I don't have, to impress people I don't even like!" on the top of all of my home shopping lists. I love it!

Tragusa/Molly - I agree, they look Victorian and I like that style of home but decided not to build a victorian home because I figured I would tire of it quickly....hmmmm.

BJ - you're second response, was indeed, as sweet as honey :) and on target.

CindyLou-we do have a 2 story foyer but I think it will hang high enough where we won't have to look in it. But I definitely will double check that.

Dixie - We have axed the sconce. The main reason is that is in a totally different part of the house and we realized it just didn't work there.

Bungeii/lindy - Great minds think alike, right?

Even- I'd hang plain lightbulbs everywhere if somebody would like to offer to pay my mortgage LOL

Here is what I decided to do. Like Jilliferd, I finally realized that everything does not have to match. I'm not going for the same feel in every room so they don't have to have the same lights. The foyer and formal dining room will have these lights. The kitchen and breakfast area are a lot more comfy and cozy so I'm going to find something in a similar finish but not as victorian/overdone/fancy.

I actually slept all the way thru the night last night so this must be the right decision. Ha ha.

You guys definitely helped me,more than you can imagine. Thanks!

BTW - Worthy, *I* am the servant dahling. boo hoo!

Charliedawg,
They're really nice. They look much better than the first ones you showed. What style are you going for. We were never sure when we started looking for lights, so you can say our style is eclectic.

I notice that they are all very similar in shape and style. I like them but since you are asking for advice I might mix up the shapes a little if they were close together or if you were like me and had a rather modest amount of fixtures and details built in. I don't have a lot of separate rooms or a lot of details so each one needs to be even more unique.