To make room for our DIY clothespin light, we first removed the existing ceiling fixture:
Not literally tossed out—there was something charmingly retro about it, so we decided to reuse it elsewhere in the house instead of donating it. The obvious candidate was the hallway that leads to the guest room, hall bath, playroom, and nursery:
The hallway is currently uninspiring and in need of attention, but our eyes kept getting drawn to that massive 18″-wide swirly glass shade that looks like a giant serving dish for a turkey or a mountain of brownies. It’s much larger in person than it appears in photos and a little hypnotic if you stare too long:
After turning off the power and removing that hulking shade to install the new slimmer retro laundry fixture, things went sideways. As I lifted the new fixture toward the ceiling, the old glass shade slipped off and shattered on the floor:
Moments later I heard a shouted question from the other room: “John, PLEASE tell me that was the old light.”
Unfortunately I couldn’t promise that. In my haste I’d accidentally lifted the glass cover along with the new fixture, where it was barely hanging on by one screw. Call it rushing, call it clumsiness, or blame the chaotic morning—whatever the reason, this felt eerily familiar:
It brought back memories of a previous mishap that was also entirely my fault:
Lesson number one: don’t let me handle anything fragile in a hallway. Ever.
Lesson number two: thank goodness Home Depot sells similar glass covers for about seven dollars. A short trip to the store and a much more careful installation gave us this result (please ignore the attic pull-string in the background—we’ll replace that):
It’s not an exact match to the original—where the old shade had subtle frosting all around, this replacement has a distinct white band and a translucent base—but the difference is minor and acceptable for now. Sherry might spray-frost it later if she changes her mind, but for the moment we’re happy to leave it as-is. Finding a similar replacement also spared us from reinstalling the old fixture, which would have been the DIY equivalent of the walk of shame.
We’ll admit the new light isn’t a dramatic room transformation, but small fixtures are easy things to tweak later—painting the base a fun color or adding stripes could give it personality, much like some pricier options offer.
From experience with our other hallway, where we arranged a large gallery of frames, these narrow spaces can become surprisingly impactful with a few bold choices. We’ve talked about adding DIY wainscoting or another architectural detail, possibly paired with a stronger paint color above the rail. The tricky part will be dealing with existing wall imperfections—like this unattractive doorbell:
Maybe when we tackle the hallway we’ll replace that too.
Random aside: when I briefly studied improv comedy at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre in New York, a classmate of mine later showed up on TV, which always feels like a funny coincidence.
But back to the point—apparently I break things. How about you?