Happy Throw-Back Thursday, friends! Since we are back and forth to our lake house every week now that we live closer, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite nautical lighting. I think you’ll like them too!
This is the beginning our 8th summer of owning our little lake house in North Carolina. We purchased the house when we still lived in Doylestown, Pennsylvania as a place to vacation and stay when we visit our families, most all of who live in the Carolinas. We wanted a place where we could stay with our big hairy dog, Lacey, and where our children (and one day grandchildren) could grow up on the lake like my husband and I did. So, as soon as my husband found this place on Zillow, we flew down and purchased it ASAP! And ever since then, we’ve been fixing it up and adding our personal touches here and there. And we found out it was named “Happy Hill” by the man that built it. So, that is still her name! This is the front door, which is soon to have a new roof. (More likely this fall)
The house is nearly 50 years old so all of the lighting was very dated and 70’s looking. I wanted to infuse some nautical touches to the house and I admit I got a little carried away! I found all of these light fixtures on eBay, one by one. I love how the glass globes have a ships wheel and rope detail. I wasn’t crazy about the brown bases, but nothing a little spray paint couldn’t fix.
I painted several of the bases black and it instantly updated the look of the fixtures! This one is in the hallway at the base of the stairs leading into the basement. Another is in the Banana Room aka the laundry room. Ah, the magic of paint!
This fixture is in the Bunk House and probably now worth 5 times what I originally paid for it. For whatever reason, if all of the gold balls are intact and the anchor pull is present, these fixtures can sell for up to a few hundred dollars. Yikes! However, this one was missing a few of the balls and the anchor, so I got it at a discounted price. I bought another identical fixture which was also missing a few balls and the anchor. So, once I had the two, I made one whole by robbing the other fixture of its balls. I knew from shopping for the fixtures the originals had a small red anchor attached to the glass shade. So, I found a small metal anchor and painted it red to match the base of the fixture. Wallah! I love the compass detail.
This is the companion light. On this one, I painted the base black. Since I used the gold balls on the other fixture I decided to go with a fancier look since this one was going in the kitchen. A quick trip to Hobby Lobby yielded the 8 glass knobs. I cut down the screws on the ends and threaded them into place and added a pretty vintage crystal instead of an anchor. I must admit this one is my favorite in the entire house!
Here it is with the light off. This fixture holds 3 light bulbs making it nice and bright in the kitchen.
I was able to find 4 of these light fixtures (over a period of a year) online and used them in our basement, aka The Man Cave. The walls are painted a dark brown and we have 4 large leather chairs and a sofa in the basement so I wanted the lights to match the look and feel of the room. I left these as-is, because I think they are perfect! One of the sellers actually threw in an extra glass globe, just in case one gets broken! These fixtures hold only 2 bulbs, but it’s plenty bright, especially with four lights.
I found this sconce on eBay as well. I searched for “nautical sconces” and bid on and won this one. It’s brass and looks like 2 sea serpents. And although I harbor a deep fear and loathing of snakes, I love this light fixture! It was missing the glass globes, so I took the fixture with me to Lowe’s prior to hanging it and found these. I think the glass looks like fish scales and they fit perfectly! This sconce is in the basement bathroom next to the Bunk House.
I think perhaps I got a bit carried away with the nautical theme at Happy Hill, but it has been so much fun to decorate! I have a few extras in my stash, so just in case we ever get a beach house, look out! Or maybe I should sell them? Hmmm. The hoarder in me is screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So, maybe not.
Meanwhile ,I am patiently waiting for my new cell phone to arrive. My “old” one is a few months old and it mysteriously started showing a large gray shadow in all of my pictures. Not cool. Google told me it was a speck of dust in the lens. So, I took it to Verizon and since it is still under Manufacturer’s Warranty, they are sending me a new replacement for free. That’s great except they gave me a 12 hr delivery window. So, here we are.
Anyhoo, I hope you have a great day and stop back by soon! xoxo Dell
