Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

A long time ago, there was a show on called “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” (which is where I pinched the title of this post from, btw). However. In spite of how much I lovelovelove this look…

… I just can’t bring myself to put a chandelier in the laundry room. Perhaps I’m just not Robin Leach material, but it seems… excessive, somehow. So, I think I’ll revamp my laundry room using this colour scheme, and opt for a simpler light fixture.

Which doesn’t at all cure me of wanting a girlie chandelier, however. I’ve been eying them for a while now, just trying to figure out what I would do with one… (in a house full of boys…)

… like this one, by Laura Ashley.

And then, it was my birthday. And I happened to be at Home Depot, and I saw this. And I knew it had to be mine.

I decided that it was finally time to redecorate my office/studio – in a hugely girly way…

See, I got kicked out of my original space about 3 years ago, when our second child was born. I was shunted into a small off-the-kitchen nook that we use as an office/library. It’s had these mottled-green-with-ivy walls for a decade now, and I’ve pretty much been sharing it with everyone who wants to use the computer – which is everyone in the house. I’m tired of stepping over the boxes of supplies that just don’t fit in the new space. And of kid-finger-stickiness on everything, stuff going missing, not being able to leave projects out, etc… So. It’s time to make the space really mine.

Which means moving the computer out of the room. Installing some cork flooring that I found at a discount shop. Painting the walls pink (!) and putting up more artwork. And yes, installing a chandelier. But not before making it my own as well.

I started by going through my bead stash, selecting big and girly beads in both glass and acrylic. I also decided to dismantle a tealight holder that had been collecting dust in a corner and use those beads as well.

I’ve spent the last 5 days working on it in my spare time – that is, when the tummy bug that swept through our home wasn’t totally holding us hostage. And here is my pretty little chandelier now…

I’ve discovered that it’s really hard to get a good photo of it while it’s hanging like this – there’s not enough natural lighting in the room to do it justice, but when I use the flash, it gets washed out, and when I turn on the lights, it get’s really unbalanced. So, you’ll have to take my word on just how wonderful it is. 😉

Detail of the top.

Detail of the bottom. And the green walls, I suppose.

What I see when I look up from my desk or the reading chair…

So. Yeah. I lovelovelove it. It makes me ridiculously happy and inspires me to be… more. And… it will totally motivate me to get my act in gear and finish the rest of my space. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Anyhow. There you have it. Go, me!!!