Kichler Living Room Lamp Fix With Cloth Tape

We found a really pretty Kichler drum lamp for the living room. Unfortunately, we didn’t like it after it was installed. The shade on the white opaque glass lamp had what looked like two dark blue/gray stripes on it. It just didn’t look right based on the color scheme for the rest of the room. So I thought it might look better without the shade - just the opaque glass. So I put the shade away thinking we might use it again. The glass only light was better, but it was too small for the size of the room. So I started thinking making about options. I remembered when we first moved in three months ago that we got a can of paint to match our walls - just to have around for nicks and such. So I thought I could paint the stripes on the shade and see if that would make a difference. The idea was for it to blend in to the ceiling rather than make a huge statement. The sheer shade made the statement on its own but it didn’t need the stripes. So I painted the stripes with several coats over several days last week a little at a time. The trouble was I only had a foam brush that was too big for the project. What got on the inside plastic could easily be scraped away. But what got on the outside shade material wasn’t going anywhere. It looked awful when I finished and I was very disappointed - but wasn’t going to give us. I spent half of the day yesterday looking for white self adhesive ribbon and simply couldn’t find a thing. I really didn’t want to get ribbon and then glue it on, and I didn’t feel like driving all over town trying to find it. Then I remembered using bandage cloth tape for an injury I had many years ago. It met all the characteristics I was looking for - “all purpose,” off white, “ribbon texture,” self adhesive. So I luckily found a brand new roll of it in the bathroom cabinet and went to work. I ended up using several layers on the inside to hide the paint mistakes because the tape is somewhat transparent - the only draw back. It’s not the “cleanest” job I’ve ever done because the tape is not taut - so it looks a bit home made. But it does the trick for now - until I can think of something better - or just get to a Michael’s or JoAnne Fabrics to find out how it should really be done. 

Kichler Light for the Living Room from Alexandria Lighting & Supply

Remarkably most of our furniture works fairly well in the new condo. It’s at least “good enough” so as not to have to spend a fortune on any large pieces. It’s taken a couple of months to arrange, move and test pieces in different spaces until they look like they belong. That testing process included framed wall prints too. But there was a receptacle for a hanging light fixture in the living room that was crying out for something. So we took a ride to Alexandria Lighting & Supply to see if anything might work. We already have two light fixtures from there. We thought a semi flush drum shade would be best - the foyer has a small one. Our style is eclectic more than anything else so we were open to a few suggestions. We found a Kichler light that met most of the criteria. It was unusual that it was in stock so it was an added bonus to get it right away.  We called our so very reliable handy man, who installed it the following day. The 75 watt LED lights were a bit overwhelming, even on the lowest dimmer switch setting. So we replaced them with 60 which helped a bit and not any easy thing to do! In the end we probably won’t use the light that often, but it does finish out the room. We were both a bit disappointed about the shade color as it is more in the “cool” rather than “warm” tones. But now that it’s been there a few days it sort of blends in. So I think we might be set for awhile, but I have a feeling that might change.