We're really ticking things off now (and not just my parents…heh.), The Boy and I are remodeling our Master Bathroom and marking things off our big ass To Do List. And now, we gots some lighting! YAY! This was a relatively simple task (it's like that when you marry an electrician!) but, as with every. single, damn. thing. in this remodel, it came with a minor hitch. But first! Here's Ye Olde Light:
Some kind of fugly, ammiright? Boring to look at, SUPER heavy, and (the clincher) instead of the traditional 1970's frosted glass… this one is painted on the inside. Yes. PAINTED. As in, paint-covering-up-the-glass-so-as-not-to-allow-any-light-into-the-room PAINTED. Because you know what I want from my bathroom's only light source? Darkness.
Anyhoo, here's what we replaced it with:
We got it at the mother of all home improvement stores – Walmart. Yes, Walmart. I hated everything I had seen (or loved it and then saw the price…) so when I stumbled upon this simple satin-nickel fixture for under $40? Sold, bitches.
So, after we gutted the old bathroom and put up the drywall and beadboard – it was time to wire in the new light. This is when we had a problem. See, the house was built without junction boxes. A junction box is a metal or plastic box that is attached to a structural stud. It's first job is to safely house the extra electrical wires. It's second job is to secure and hold the weight of the lighting fixture. No junction box = screwed. Or… not. According to The Boy, you don't need a junction box to secure a lighting fixture. A few good wall anchors and screws will do the trick just as well. So that's what we did!
Voila! A couple of CFLs later and we had a working light! Simple, pretty, tasteful, classic. Wanna close-up?
Huzzah – we can see clearly now! Have any of you replaced a lighting fixture? What products did you go with? How was it? Did you run into any unexpected lighting situations/dilemmas along the way? Share your story ‘cuz I can't be the only one…
