Lamps

Lighting, whether natural or artificial, has so much to do with our mood. There is absolutely nothing like natural light. Having lots of windows to receive in the sunlight and to be able to look outside (hopefully to a beautiful setting) does amazing things for us. Until the house we are living in now, we have always had a home that faced the north or south. I was recently telling my husband, I always want to live in a house that faces east or west. The lightening is totally different in a house that faces east and west.

I've talked about lighting before but it is so important, I'm doing it again. Lamps are always one of the main things missing in homes. At night, lamps with 60 watt or 75 watt bulbs add different lighting than a small lamp with a 25 watt bulb. I like to have both. Brighter lamps around chairs and couches, small little lamps on book shelves or in a little nook that gives just a dim little light. This creates a warm inviting home.

These are two small antique lamps I picked up at garage sales 6 or 7 years ago and my husband fixed the wiring on them for me recently. I love the way they look and was so excited to incorporate them into our decor. If you don't have a handyman around like I do, you can take antique lamps to lightning stores and they can repair them for you and put in new wiring.

It's garage sale time. So stop occasionally when you see a sign. You never know what treasure you will find. I have found amazing things at garage sales. My motto has been for years, "if you wait long enough you will find just what you want at a garage sale." What I learned from one of my dear friends, don't go by how the garage sale looks because some of the best treasures have been found at garage sales that looked pretty skimpy.