TGIF, friends! As I told you earlier in the week, my kind and talented electrician friend came by last week to install a few new fixtures for me. I am pleased with the new chandeliers in the basement, but mostly I am in love with my new French Country sconces in the Powder Room! Come see!
This little powder room has come a long way since we moved in. All of the materials were very high end, but just a bit too eclectic for my taste. In case you missed it, this is where we started.
First, we replaced the existing vanity with a vintage dresser (pictured below) we found on Facebook Marketplace. It had been lovingly restored by the talented Lisa of Bees Timeless Treasures. (You can find her on Facebook and at Main Street Antiques & Design Gallery, Booth D-12 in Mooresville, NC) To read more details about the transformation, see here: Vintage Dresser turned into Bathroom Vanity!
The powder room still didn’t have quite the French Country vibe I was after, so I begged and pleaded for this mirror from Anthropologie for Christmas. It’s called the Gleaming Primrose Mirror in Gold and ranges in price from $448-1,348. It comes in 4 sizes and as a bonus, it was 30% off at Christmas. (Still expensive, I know.) I got the smallest one. So, my sweet husband hung it for me shortly after the holidays and I adore it!
The sconces still didn’t quite do it for me. This is how they looked originally. Nothing wrong with them, I just wanted something a little fancier.
I added some glass crystal bobeches to dress them up a bit. Still nothing. Kind of like Ukon Cornelius hunting for silver and gold. I was searching for just the right sconces to go with my new mirror and a French Country theme.
Then, I found THESE on Facebook Marketplace! The sconces are approximately 18 inches tall and each has two lights, and made of solid brass. They were listed for only $25 for the pair! However, when I contacted the seller, she said one of the sconces somehow had been broken and I could have them for free. I didn’t think it fair to not pay for them, so I gave her $25 anyway. Still a great deal, even for one! You can see the broken sconce on the right. Luckily, the break occurred in a natural spot and I figured I could have it welded back together.
My electrician friend knows a guy who specializes in welding. He told me if his friend couldn’t fix the sconce, then it was unfixable. And he was right! His friend repaired the sconce and my friend polished it up a bit with a little Dremel magic and gold paint. (And refused to let me pay him.) Good as new! You can’t tell it was ever broken! I found old gold screws to secure each of them to the wall. The gold screws blend perfectly with the brass sconces. The candle sleeves are original to the sconces and have a lovely aged patina, so I left them as is.
Ta-Da! And here are the newly installed sconces! They are perfect. The electrician said he believed the sconces to be European, based on the style and wiring. Thankfully they worked! And now of course, the mirror is too low and needs to be raised about 6 inches or so. It’s always something. I need to wait until a rainy day so my husband is not on the golf course or working at the lake house and can help me with a few fun chores such as this. The mirror is very heavy and will require two sets of hands, otherwise I’d do it myself.
Between the crystal chandelier, the new vanity, mirror and sconces, the powder room finally feels like our own. Here’s a quick before and after. Now close your eyes and picture the mirror a few inches higher in the picture on the right. Or, could it be I need the larger size Anthropologie mirror? Christmas is only 284 days away. Just saying.
I love how the new sconces look in our powder room! It’s hard to believe they were only $25 for the pair! They are not yet on a dimmer switch, but for now I have 25 watt bulbs in them so they look perfect turned on by themselves. They look like fancy little night lights! If you are in the market for some new lighting, don’t forget about Facebook Marketplace.
I hope you have a great weekend! I have more projects up my sleeve for next week. Come see what we are up to around here and at Happy Hill! Thanks as always for stopping by! Take care, xoxo Dell