Let There Be Light (fixtures)

I'm just about done with winter. I can't get much done except start cocktailing about 7p.m., then bemoan the fact it's 30 degrees and I can't sit on the screen porch without a squall suit. My inner fixer says "paint", but my rational mind says "don't die from fumes".
So, in looking for winter projects, I've been replacing light fixtures.


This, when we moved in, was a filthy metal fixture with a bare bulb among many other filthy fixtures with bare bulbs, masquerading as the light fixture in the hallway.

In the early days of living here, Dad found this globe in a box of came-with-the-house garbage and put it up. No washing, cleaning, or anything. So there it has been for 2 years, full of bugs, covered with paint, and just uh-huh-glee. Look at that giant paint smudge on the metal. This is highly indicative of the Commitment to Quality the previous owners had. Meh.

Something possessed me and I spent an hour on the ladder cleaning the metal. If you have not yet experienced Barkeeper's Friend, let me tell you: it is the bomb. You can get it around places at about $3.99 a can. Miraculous, I tell you. It removes everything. Except that paint. You need stripper for that.

Anyway, one hour and another globe from the garbage box later, we have this:
















Look at that shine! So what the globe doesn't really go with the fixture; I don't really care. It makes a lovely golden light in the hall and the globe has really pretty detail on it. Which you won't be able to see unless I relocate the fixture to eye level.

But I know it's there.