Let there be lights!

Today I worked on the sitting room lights. Remember all of the light wires coming up through the floor by the stairs? I made four lamps from beads and jewelry findings and put the fifth light in the center gable, behind the top of the hanging shelf unit. (More about that below.) I used one of the sample window shades from Lowe's as a floor covering to hide the wires. I had to cut a quarter inch off each side to fit, but it will work. I looks a bit wonky right now because of the snarl of wires under it. When they're sorted out, it will lie flat.

The two lamps lying on the floor will go on the little tables I made. I'm going to drill a hole in the table top and run the wire down through it. The tables will be glued in place. The lamps are jewelry findings with a wooden wheel for a base, which will be painted. The bulb is stuck up inside a plastic bead. I used my handy Dremel to enlarge the hole in the bead so it will fit.

The end tables will be painted cream with sage and brown trim, I think. I cut the ends off some Houseworks pieces for the legs. I have no idea what scale this is. The whole house is sort of elf scale. I'm just eyeballing relationships and going from there.

The lamps on the dresser are also wired in place. I think the bulbs will stay unadorned. If they look too raw when lighted, I'll figure out shades for them. The top of the dresser is a bit rough, but it will have a nice doily or something similar to cover the rough part. I think it adds character to the piece. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

This is what the back of the dresser looks like. I drilled four holes and connected them with the Dremel saw blade so as to have a place to pull through the lamp wires. I added an extra piece of wire to each one after I took this photo and now have to wire them up to the stubs left sticking out of the floor.

The wiring for the upper cabinet is hidden behind the door, which will never be opened. The photo below shows the single bulb atop the unit. I surrounded it with little mirrors that won't be seen by the casual observer but will, I hope, help enhance the light and cast it upward for effect.

Both the wall unit and dresser are now glued in place. This gives me a little discomfort, as I have no idea whether the lights will work. It's a sort of Catch 22, as I can't test them until they're reconnected. And I can't reconnect them until they are fixed in their permanent place. I can't think of any reason why they won't work ... so that's what I'm hanging my hat on.