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Cord Cables and Brass Fittings

It has taken me months and months but, finally, I have switched the pendant light fittings over to cord cables and brass or bronze fittings instead of that awful white plastic. It’s also a great opportunity to show off the different lights we have in the house.

Starting at the top is the lovely Lee Broom crystal bulb, which did, of course, come with its own gorgeous gold flex.

lee broom crystal bulb
lee broom crystal bulb

Next it’s the huge Ikea dandelion which hangs on the top landing. It cost £100 and just fills the whole space as well as casting beautiful shadows on the walls around. When we first came to look around this house, which was divided into two rental flats and in a fairly hideous state, I remember standing on that landing and saying to my husband: “We should buy this house and I know exactly what light to hang in this space.”

ikea flower light
ikea flower light

Coming down to the next landing and there’s this fantastic cardboard light from Laura Wellington. Now Laura very kindly sent me this a couple of months ago and I have been waiting for the electrician to come because it needed a new cable and ceiling rose to really show it off. We used some of the leftover Lee Broom gold cable and added a vintage brass rose and bulb holder from Urban Cottage Industries.

cardboard pendant light mini hula from laura wellington
cardboard pendant light mini hula from laura wellington

It looks great doesn’t it? Made from cardboard it comes in a box and you have to carefully pop out the pieces and slot them together yourself. A bit like the Ikea light above, which was also self assembly – all those flowers had to be individually fixed onto their stems. I have seen one sprayed gold which looked fantastic and I sort of wish I had done something similar with ours but I can’t face taking it all apart to do that. Not least because I can’t reach to even take it down.

mini hula cardboard 2
the mini hula looks beautful both on and off

Anyway, the mini Hula is currently available in cardboard brown but will soon be coming in white. I quite like the cardboard I have to say. This is another great light for casting shadows. There’s a cool assembly video on the site too.

Then we come to the spare room. This came from Urban Cottage Industries and is part of their new build your own service. You choose the cable and the fittings and basically order it part by part. I wanted this pink cable to go with the fireplace and I thought a chain would add a cool industrial touch.

pink cable light brass fitting
pink cable light brass fitting

Finally the library. This is a very plain paper shade from John Lewis to which I added black twisted cord and a vintage bronze rose.

black paper light with cord flex
black paper light with cord flex

So there we have it. Next up light switches. They’ll need to be brass to go with the light fittings, the door handles and the window catches.

 

Tags : brasslightingpendant
Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

4 Comments

  1. Yes I also enjoyed this post, although I enjoy all your posts, which create a certain positive something to each day. Love the lights, amazing range you have and love the way you have grouped pictures at the bottom of the stairs good idea. I have just finished a major house overall and we are thinking of having a ‘summer exhibition ‘ wall in the lounge, i.e. lots if different art treasures up on the same wall!
    Also love your loft and yes you have made a great job of it. I am obsessed with the way builders finish or not finish the job, and how ‘perfect’ they get it, so I was interested to look closely at your photos to see how your builders faired, not bad I thought. Thanks for your blog, I have found ideas for our renovations along the way and it is always useful to be directed to new retailers . Cheers Barbara

  2. Lighting is one of my most favourite elements of interior design so I really enjoyed this post. My son is an electrician and is obsessed with the coloured cords and crystal bulbs. The pink cord looks fantastic and the sprayed Ikea light is another brilliant idea. Thanks 🙂

  3. Nice post, nice lights. I have a big double hight hall and have thought about the Ikea light, but have been looking for something a bit different.
    Love what you have done on the stairs just visible on the landing. Is that paint or a stair runner? Hope you don’t mind me asking.
    Thanks, Karen

    1. Hi Karen, thank you! The stairs have Dotty from the Quirky range by Alternative Flooring on them. It’s a runner. The banisters, which you probably can’t seen in the picture are painted in Farrow and Ball Brinjul which is an exact match. If you visit my business website Mad About Your House you can see a better shot of the hall and stairs which shows both carpet and paint in more detail.

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