Well, Steph, that one is way more expensive than the ones I bought at Lowes on sale for less than $20 each. Mine consist of semi-opaque (almost translucent when a bulb is inside) white shiny acrylic sheets (or "petals"). My best friend called it a LOTUS type fixture. It is a soft white. I bought 4 to install semi flush in the ceilings of the living room, dining room (these two rooms fixtures will be inline), and then the sitting room and the master bedroom. All will be on dimmer switches.

So far I have ONE of the four put together, at least the ornamental petals are together, not the wiring, until the electrician attachs that to the ceiling. Then the "lotus" flower slips on.

Do I have a picture? Let me look in my albums.....this photo is the one I put together. It is upside down on a wine bottle, so I'll rotate it upside down so you see the way it will hang. Don't worry about the ladder being upside down....:)

I can see now that it is different. Lotus is a good word to describe it! Does it just take 1 bulb? you'll have to take a pic later of them when on and post it later.

My pendant light off the kitchen (hall by pantry) was about 20.00 at Lowe's! I love a good bargain. It was on sale and I snapped it up.

Yes, Steph, one bulb. It is rated for a 60 watt incandescent bulb, but more watts can be used for a LED that is dimmable. The LED does not put out as much heat per watt.

Well, I have 3 more of the Lotus to put together. Since the dusty environment is mostly gone away, I can assemble the other 3 semi flush mount ceiling lights and have a good spot to place them to await the electricians.
My real excitement is the news from the cabinetmaker James....he said he'd have the cabs ready next week. Then the electrician returns to install the light fixtures and whatever else....hopefully I'll have the dishwasher and the new point-of-use under-sink hot water heater dedicated to the DW and sink. I like my dishes washed in HOT water. The tankless water heater is on the other side of the house from the kitchen. It makes water hot quickly for the two bathrooms, but a DW sure doesn't just RUN water, it takes what comes to it and uses it, even though there is an on-board heater that ups the power bill. So the small 2.4 gallon w/heater beneath the sink installed inline with the water heater will have that much handy right away, with more coming through behind it.

Please note that today the shutter man completed installing the shutters in two doorways of the living room. The 60 inch opening to the dining room took 2 pair, and the opening to the sun porch took one pair. Now our living room can serve as a guest room. I remember other forum folks said don't make a guest TOO comfortable, so where better than in the living room which is obviously NOT a bedroom by any stretch of the imagination. I think an air mattress should serve nicely and not be in the way the rest of the time.

and another photo of the panels folded back against the wall. The same man installed our window shutters in late 2010. They are still like new.
Inside Shutters...Flickr album

I love those shutters but I wouldn't want to clean them! I think the one by the entry is a very good idea. We should all be more careful about how open we are with someone coming to the door. I very, very seldom have that happen here. I did have a dog officer come by once (he was looking for a dog - a girl said a dog ran from here to the road and tried to bite her - my penned up mutt didn't fit the description!) and the electric co man. That's about it that I can remember. Neither got close enough to see in either. My security 'screen door' is too solid for anyone to see much of anything.

It will be just so exciting to see this all done! can't wait to see the kitchen and those lights!

Steph, actually, the shutters are not hard to keep clean. As much dust as we had during the remodel, and as much as I have normally because I have a powder-making parrot, all I do is wipe them down every couple of months. Of course, there was MUCH dust from the demolition and the sanding of walls after new sheetrock went up. But they are so much easier than venetian blinds to maintain. Plus no safety issue with cords. I have enjoyed shutters all my life, inside and out. I think it is the tropical feel of the louvers? Even the pioneers made solid wooden shutters for security and for climate control in winter.....

I explored old town Freeport Texas one day, taking pictures of all the houses using shutters. The older homes originally had no air conditioning, so they would open the shutters on the shady side of the house, and close the ones on the sunny side. The older homes in Mobile had shutters inside and out, all operating, and they were very tall with the high ceilings of those houses. There was a special feeling you got walking into one of those old homes. Comfortable, and working with nature. The charm of the New Orleans French Quarter is the lacy ironwork and the ever present shutters on the old stucco-over-brick buildings. Plus the interior secret courtyards enclosed by walls, where the tall windows were opened in hot weather with total security and privacy. Whatever the reason, I am totally enchanted by shutters.

Good for you Steph. Do you need supports or brackets that would work with manufactured housing? Make sure the ones you price can work for you. Oh yeah, in Arizona desert country your southwest windows get pretty hot I bet.

I got a roll of 90% shade cloth from Home Depot several years ago. It is wonderful stuff. That which I have has been in my sun porch on the east side for a long time now. I have it mounted inside the Lexan windows. I had split the 6 foot wide strip in half so I had 2 36 inch wide shades. It doesn't require sewing, it does not ravel. I put tacks into the wood at the top of the window, and took my fingers and rolled up the "shade" , then clipped the roll each end with a clothes pin. I liked it that way when I first did it, and find no good reason to change it at present. I mean, I have enough to do without fixing something that isn't broke.

I suggest that in your climate, you put such a piece of shade cloth over the outside of your SW windows. YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THEM when the sun is shining. People outside walking or passing on the street (road in your case) cannot see through the fabric. I'm suggest outside mounting because of the intense heat striking your glass. Keep it from heating up the glass and your power bill will go down quickly. Now, no reason it must be mounted only over glass or on windows. I bought a 100 foot x 6 foot roll of this 90% shade cloth. I intended to use it to cover my hosta garden but falling tree limbs made me reconsider. It is also used a lot for patio covers, or maybe attached to a wall or some posts and cover your automobile or make a shelter for your picnic table. Or cover your dog kennel? Many uses. Keep your climate in mind to allow for high winds or dust or sun fading. Let me try to show you the shades I have in the sun porch.