My best web find/suggestion of the week!

First of all, I’m sorry for missing last week, but we had some storms here in Minnesota that left us without power Saturday.

This week’s solution is a lighting suggestion for a place where you don’t have room for a traditional lamp.

Two years ago we replaced our (1988) living room furniture.  We replaced a sofa and chairs with a sectional (plus other light-weight seating across the room that we can pull up to the sectional for conversational seating).

The sectional really fills up the corner of the living room, so we just have room for a lamp at one end.  In addition, there is no room in the corner for a floor lamp to provide some light in the center of the sectional.  We didn’t have hard-wiring in for a sconce-type light.

We came across a wall lamp that fit the bill perfectly.  Essentially it’s half a lamp that hangs on the wall…

The best part for me is that the (ugly) cord is hidden in the scroll work.  I found the exact lamp on line, but there are other options out there too.  This one is by Kenroy Home.  Some other options from Kenroy are HERE (be sure to scroll down).  There are lots of options out there, as you can see HERE.

This is an interesting one on Amazon that incorporates three picture frames with more of a torchiere light.  This might be just the right solution for a hallway corner or entryway.

Tip #1:  If you’re looking around the web, try searching for plug-in wallchiere.  That’s where I had my best luck.

Tip #2:  If you get a wall lamp to place behind seating, don’t mount it too high.  We did that at first, so more of the pretty scroll work would show.  When you sat on the sofa, you could see the bulb under the shade, blinding you!  We had to move the lamp down a bit.

In the corner of this sectional is my favorite reading spot, and the lamp provides adequate light for reading.  These lamps would also be a good solution at bedside, and I’ve seen them on line even in (larger-than-mine) bathrooms.

~Sue

Today’s Saturday Solution is really twofold.

1)  Everybody knows this, but it’s always amazing to me to see what a difference a fresh paint color and a new window treatment makes.  We had the old “builder’s white” in the sun room, and ivory honeycomb blinds along with drapery toppers.  It looked pretty parlor-like.  This was intended to be a TV room, although we often watched TV at the kitchen table.

We changed things up, with the thought that the sun room would become the Hubster’s domain…and the kitchen table would only be for EATING.  That worked out pretty well, except that the SUN room has a lot of windows, plus it faces the southwest.  It gets pretty warm in the summertime, and the brightness (even through the blinds) isn’t the best for TV and computer screen viewing, which is probably why we watched TV in the kitchen.

Two coats of Benjamin Moore Grasslands and some fairly heavy drapery panels from Bed, Bath & Beyond later, it’s a much happier Hubster hangout.  All the draperies easily pull closed — it actually gets dark in there!  It also didn’t hurt that we put in a new (bigger) TV, a comfy recliner, moved the old kitchen table with a couple of chairs in there, and a…

2)  BAR.  Okay, truthfully, I’ve never know the Hubster to ever go and just fix himself a drink.  It’s more of a liquor storage cabinet in our house, but that’s pretty awesome by itself…it freed up a cabinet in my space-challenged kitchen!

This functional spirits cabinet is from Crate & Barrell.  It’s the Parker Spirits Cabinet, and I love how unobtrusive and compact it is when it’s all closed up.  It’s right around the corner from our living room, so the location is perfect for entertaining, and the size is just right for townhouse living.

Cheers! and thanks for stopping by.

Sue

(Yes, “Put-It-Away Saturday” only lasted one week…it was too limiting.)  So now it’s The Saturday Solution — my best organization, homemaking, or better-living find of the week that I think is too good not to share!

This week’s find is from the blog One Good Thing by Jillee.  I enjoy reading her blog, and she is listed in the right-hand sidebar under “Fun Places”.

This week Jillee shared Skylar Grey’s method of folding a t-shirt in two seconds!  Okay, I have to admit, I didn’t time it, and I doubt that I was QUITE that fast, but I was maybe done in three seconds.  The good news is how much more fun t-shirts are to fold.  Bonus:  The Hubster was interested in seeing this technique (it sorta looks like a magic trick), and so of course he had to fold a few too!!!  I only wish I knew about this when my three sons were teenagers and there was basket after basket of t-shirts every week.

Click HERE for the specific “One Good Thing” t-shirt folding post, complete with excellent photos and a video.

Give it a try.  When you have the technique down, be sure to demonstrate it in front of your family members.  I’m betting they will want to try it too!  Worth a shot…

Sue