I’m still working away on our laundry room (which is looking pretty fab I must say), but I need your help with the lighting in there. First of all we have a big florescent light in there which will be coming down.
It’s not pretty and I want something pretty. The problem is though is that there are no windows in here, or in the hallway leading to the laundry room, and that little nook under the stairs can get dark.
But I found this old brass chandelier the other day at the thrift store for $8 that I thought would be perfect after a few coats of spray paint.
Then I showed it to my husband (mistake) because he’d be the one installing it for me, and he said that won’t put off enough light in there because the bulbs that would fit it are small, blah blah blah. I thought it would be ok because it would be 10 bulbs! And it’s not exactly easy to test it out if you know what I mean.
In other news, the rug I ordered the other day came in and it’s gorgeous!!
And the kid loves to dust with the Swiffer, what can I say?!
So do y’all think this brass chandy would put off enough light in the laundry room? If not, then what do I need to be looking for and what will be bright enough? And there isn’t an outlet anywhere really convenient to place a lamp in there either. Boo. Maybe I should call an electrician and have them install one.
Thanks for your help and suggestions!!
xxoo,
Decorchick!
I think lighting is always an issue in laundry rooms, especially when they don’t have a window. Ours, despite having an overhead and a light mounted under our cabinets is still dark. My only concern with the chandy would be the ceiling height.
I think it’ll be fine. We have that EXACT one (spray painted and beaded up, of course) in our dining room and it’s mega bright. I also got the LED chandelier bulbs so that might help – they’re expensive at $7 a bulb, but totally worth it.
That is the exact chandelier that came in the house I just bought. It was the same brass color in my dining room. so i spray painted it white and it looks SOOO nice now. and it gives off enough light but i also have two windows in that room which also sheds some light. hope this helps!
Hi, I have a florescent light in my kitchen and I love it. One of the reasons I bought my house. It has a wood frame around it and the plastic light covering has black intricate scroll work. I will try to send you a picture.
I think it will be fine! The light kit on my ceiling fan in the dining room (I know, not cool) has the same little bulbs and it only takes 4 bulbs. Those 4 little bulbs put out plenty of light in my dining room at night. I think 10 in your laundry room would be more than enough. Not to mention, how much light do you really need to fold laundry? It would be different if you were trying to craft in there or something.
I think it is cute and will provide more than enough light. Go for it!!!
Why not just decorate what you already have if it gives you enough light already? Take clothes pins & attached them around the edges of existing ligghting…ect! Also add a wall mounted light fixture like those they put above medicine cabinets for added lighting if you need it.
Go for it with the chandelier! It will definitely give sufficient light. If I’m not mistaken, you can put 40W (or possibly 60W) bulbs in there. If the light goes in the wrong direction, you can buy foil-lined mini-lamp shade covers that will direct the light downward. Post pics when you’re done! You’re such an inspiration! And the rug…LOVE!!!
I think husbands should have learned by now that they should keep all remarks to themselves until the final product is presented. Then they’re always happy. Just saying!!!!
LOVE the rug!
Also, love the chandelier. So sad that it won’t be bright enough to use it in your laundry room! Though, I’m with the rest of the commenters… is there any harm in trying it at least? 10 bulbs is quite a few after all. And, if it’s not quite enough light, perhaps there would be space to add in some task lighting elsewhere?
So I found what looks to be almost the exact same chandelier and let me tell you it is *BRIGHT*! I had to take out a few bulbs just to be able to look at it without blinding myself.
I think you should go w/the new one…it’ll be so pretty! And if it doesn’t put off enough light, try the foil lined lampshades like someone mentioned. & if that STILL doesn’t work, you’re not out too much $, right? Then we can figure out something else. :)
We had one that was from the builder in our dining room and we moved it to my closet. It was a cheap one with only 5 or 6 lights and it totally lit up the closet perfectly. I would go for it!
I would go to Lowe’s and look at all their light bulbs. They now have LED lights for fixtures like the one you bought and those are so bright! I would totally go for it!
Have you investigated Solatubes? If your laundry room has roof access they are vertical skylights that can be installed with a light kit as well. TONS of natural light during the day and then electric light when you need it. We have 2 in our house one with a light in an upstairs bathroom, and one without a light over our stairwell.
here’s a link to my post about my laundry room–http://bjdentonfamily.blogspot.com/2010/06/laundry-room-update-on-budget.html
Look at the light fixtures–there are two and each has 4 bulbs. It is PLENTY bright in there. Just get bright bulbs.
I looked at the pics of your laundry. Tried to contact you, but for some reason, it didn’t come up. Where did you buy the white/rod shelf? Will adult clothes fit on it? How far is the rod from the wall? Do you have a rod or hanger over the sink? I have a sink in my laundry. Thank you.
I think it’ll put out plenty of light. Even if you can only use 20 watt bulbs, I count 10 arms. That would be 200 watts of light. Can’t wait to see it painted and up in place.
It’ll we be fine! I have a chandelier in my laundry room from Ikea and it only has 3 bulbs that are 60w and it is plenty of light :) can’t wait to see what color you spray it!
I pulled down my old fluorescent and put in a track light and there is plenty of light.. It only has 4 bulbs in it, but I used LCD bulbs and the color is so pretty and clean (and true white vs. the gross blue-gray fluorescent color)
I say try it. It can always come down if it is too dark, but you will never forgive yourself if you don’t try.
Ack! That was my comment. I must have messed up the comment form, since I didn’t mean to be “Anonymous”! :D
No problem Kim!! And thank you–I’ll go for it. :)
I say go with the chandelier, upgrade your bulbs to LED’s (initial investment is surpassed by lifesapn/ energy efficient/ ease of maintenance), add a mirror to bounce some light around and maybe you can tuck a small table lamp somewhere when you need a boost to the lighting?
Yes! It will be bright enough! Just think – if you have 10 bulbs at a minimum of 25 watts each, that’s a total of 250 watts, which is much more than your average lamp. If it will accomodate 60 watt bulbs (which is what I would try), you would then have 600 watts. My dining room chandy takes 9 bulbs and I use 60 watt bulbs in there. The room is pretty dark, but all of these bulbs fill it with light nicely.
I would think that since it has multiple bulbs, it would give off plenty of light. Just tell your husband how much you’ll save by repurposing your old chandelier! Good luck!
Great find on the chandelier! And that rug is so pretty. I love the colors
Well, you’re not doing surgery in there (are you?), so I say go for it! I would love a chandelier in our laundry, but there just isn’t enough room- it would interfere with opening the cabinet doors over the w & d. :(
I am considering ripping out our carpeting and installing flooring. LOVE the floor under your rug, can you PLEASE send me the information about the floor and how hard was the installation?
Thank You,
Debraclaytor@yahoo.com
Hey Deb we actually had them installed last year. It’s an engineered hardwood, handscraped floor, and the manufacturer is Castlewood (but those names change constantly in the wood business) so you might have to do a little digging to find it. And I believe the color is winwood birch.
after gen concensus, in which i was going to say anyway……PUT UP THE CHANDY!!!!!!! all will be fine……
Eh why do we need good light
As I was saying…eh. Why do we need good lighting in a laundry room. I’d rather have soft lighting from a beautiful fixture and be happier while I do my laundry. Let’s face it anything to make that situation more spa like is a bonus :)
Hi! Just came over here from Ana’s site. It will be fine! I have a chandelier in my dining room that just has three bulbs! Yes, it has ample windows, but it’s plenty bright enough at night and you have more plenty more bulbs than we do!
Hmm, he’s probably right. I have an ugly fluorescent light in our kitchen that I’m trying to replace with 2 or 3 pendants. Fluorescents are ugly, but they give off light!
Go for it!! We had that EXACT same chandelier in our townhouse before we moved and I often unscrewed light bulbs because it was way too bright – and it was the only light in the dining room! I don’t know what kind of bulbs we had, but I’m sure they were nothing special (it was whatever the lamesauce maintenance man put in).
And Tonya commented above with a great suggestion – if you were to find it not bright enough to your liking, add mirrors to the space and it will reflect some of the light!
Can’t wait to see the finished space – love that rug!!
~ Mara, a fellow preggo ;)
Hi, I have 2 “redone” chandy’s. One in my bedroom and one in the entry way. They both have 6 chandelier bulbs in them. They both emit lots of light. If you examine the bulbs in the store you can purchase your bulbs by wattage. So mine have 6 bulbs that are 40 watts each thats 240 watts of illumination. Tons of light. Yours has even more sockets. Just do the math. No problem, go for it!! xoxo Vicki
It will totally work. And you don’t have to buy expensive bulbs. I’ve done this. The trick is to buy the highest wattage chandelier bulbs that the fixture is rated for and make sure they’re CLEAR, not frosted. The clear glass makes a world of difference in the light it casts. Good luck. I’m sure it’ll be awesome. What did we do before spray paint…..? Yeah, I don’t know either.