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Home Decorating

Please brainstorm lighting options - my vanity/dresser is in

11 years ago

The plumbing to my new bedroom vanity/dresser was done this morning. I absolutely love the vanity/dresser/bookshelf, it totally rocks. The colour on the drawer fronts is perfect too. Thanks to all for your help with the design, especially to Palimpsest, as this is essentially his design! (The cheque is in the mail Pal. I just addressed it to Palimpsest, USA, I'm sure it will find its way to you).

Now I can move forward with finishing the bedroom. But first things first, I need to get a mirror cut for the space to the right of the bookshelf. It will have to fit around the electrical outlet which may pose a problem as it is only an inch or so above the counter. And unfortunately I only have overhead lighting in the space, so I need skinny table top lighting. I've posted a link to something I found on-line, but I'm wondering if it will do the job. The table lamps I love are too large (I'm thinking I need something 5" or less). What about something creative with rope lighting? Any ideas?

I haven't staged or set anything up properly yet, we still need to put up baseboards etc., but you get the idea.

Love this faucet:

Lots and lots of storage for all my European house porn:

Here is a link that might be useful: possible lighting

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Comments (13)

palimpsest
11 years ago
What about something like this?

I would drill a hole in the countertop for the cord to drop through to the undercounter outlet, or shorten the cord on whatever lamp you get.

Here is a link that might be useful: Orb lab light.
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palimpsest
11 years ago
There is also this: available in two sizes and several colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jonathan Adler Small
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This last iteration is very William Haines, c. 1950s, or Edward Wormley. On the one hand there is something very functionalist and good about it, but on the other it may be a kind of planned obsolescence, just like some of their super functional bedroom pieces. Their pieces became outmoded because people no longer had large telephones next to their beds, TV sizes changed, and large consoles weren't needed to control TV, Stereo, lighting, drapes and intercom the way that they were a la Rock Hudson in Pillow Talk. So what happens if part of this construct stops working for you? Then the whole connected piece might become outmoded. I think that it might be best to keep the pieces separate rather than having one specialized piece. If you think you need the vanity space as an actual make up vanity, I would probably include a sink but I would do something tiny like the Barbara Barry Sink for Her (and $$$700), just good enough for dampening makeup sponges,etc. and a bit of rinsing and hand washing. As far as seating, you need enough room to sit comfortably for a short period of time maybe even a bit off kilter, but not enough to lounge, so you may be able to skimp a little. I would do Low table height though, of 28-30 inches.
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springroz
11 years ago
I think the light needs to radiate from behind the mirror.

I love the way that came out! Of course, I like all that I have seen of the house, so......

Nancy
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cat_mom
11 years ago
Looks so nice so far!!!!
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lazydaisynot
11 years ago
Fantastic! I have no idea about the lighting but wanted to mention that you can have the mirror go all the way to the counter with a cut-out for the outlet and use a mirrored outlet cover (identical to a mirror, available at retail). It will pretty much disappear. I love seeing every bit of your home!
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Vertise
11 years ago
I missed the design process but it looks fabulous! Lots of great hidden storage and great style!

Why must it be a table top lamp?

Hard to see if you have a standard outlet or not but maybe you can find a mirrored cover.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirrored wall plate covers
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Olychick
11 years ago
It's just beautiful and the colors are spectacular together. Love the countertop and faucet, too.
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sochi
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the recommendations Pal, I like both. The orb light most I think.

snookums & lazydaisy, thank you. The mirror wall plate idea is perfect. I knew I could cut the glass around the outlet, but wasn't sure if the 1" border on the bottom around the cut out would work with glass (i.e., too thin). I will call our local mirror folks next week.

springroz, it is too late to wire the wall for electrical I'm afraid. I could however install hooks or something on the wall and have the mirror cut around it. I could then hang a light off of that, but I'm not sure what lamp or how that would look exactly. I assume I will drill two holes in the counter and plug in below.

Here are Pal's recommendations and a few I found. What do people think of the choices? I've excluded the few fabulous $500+++ lamps I found, the lamps below pretty much fall within budget.

Orb:

Adler:

This one is silicone and you can shape it as you please:

The thinnest at 3.5" I think:

And the cheapest at less than $10, but probably wouldn't give off much useful light. Neat concept though and sort of what I was thinking with rope lights:
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sochi
Original Author
11 years ago
Just to help imagine proportions and where I might place the lamps. The two vases pictured below are almost 5" wide and are located more or less where I would place the table lamps. The vases are only 8" tall, I think I would want lamps 12-18" tall. Whatever lamps I chose need to play well with the Kohler faucet.
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Janice742
11 years ago
Are you planning on a mirror for the whole space? Or would you consider a free standing mirror that you would hang?
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sochi
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Janice - the plan was a mirror for the whole space. Hanging a mirror is a possibility, but I'm uncertain how it would look.
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palimpsest
11 years ago
My fabricator likes at least 3" between an outlet and the edge of a mirror. Yours may differ, or you may be able to move it bodily or turn it horizontally to gain more room.

I have had better luck with polished chrome plated receptacle covers on mirror than the mirrored ones. The mirrored ones are flat on the back while the chrome are slightly hollow giving you a bit of wiggle room if something protrudes out of the outlet a bit.

Would you consider painting the wall underneath the counter the same yellow color as the drawer fronts?
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sochi
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the tip about the receptacle cover Pal. Yes, painting the wall underneath isn't a big deal, I couldn't certainly do that.
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