It's always tricky to find half decent looking flush mount ceiling lights. I used the white one shown above in my own home – here it is in my entry. I liked that the white colour blends with the ceiling and this one had a simple shape. These were affordable, attractive and unfortunately were discontinued. So when I went to buy a couple more for some upper level bedrooms, I went looking for a similar style. I found these ones from CB2 and Schoolhouseelectric, both styles that I really like. But I'm leaning towards the CB2 because the price is right and I love the touch of gold!
Classic front entry
In my column 'Ask Deb Nelson', I get a lot of questions on how to create a great first impression at a front entry. Often an entry can become over run with stuff, when people enter the door they drop everything. Having the right storage solutions can help that, but the key is keeping clutter to a minimum. To create an attractive, welcoming front entry, you can add a few key elements. Typically a great overhead light fixture (depending on your ceiling height), a mirror and a rug are all great starting pieces. Here are a few suggestions to create a classic looking entry that would suit a traditional home.
Glass pendants
Recently I've been noticing a lot of glass pendant fixtures. They often work well over an island, like the image above, since they don't impede the view. The ones above are the stamen pendants (from dwr.com), they come in a few colours of glass.
Here are a few more styles I like from Crate & Barrel:
Casual dining areas
A banquette or bench can be a nice way to create a unique, casual seating area around a table. This also can be a great way to address an awkward corner, as shown in the above image from Lonny years ago - I've always like this small NYC apartment and how they incorporated a dining area in a very tiny space. Here's another option with a bench (rather than a built in banquette) and a round table. The colours and patterns used in the fabrics create a very pretty look.
This is another look with built-in seating around the perimeter and the black windows add great drama to the area.
Small bathrooms
For some reason, I always seem to have homes that have very small bathrooms. The one shown above is so small that it required the smallest sink I could find. Luckily I was able to find a tiny vanity that also had a small amount of storage below. In my opinion, the key to adding storage in a small bathroom is to use the largest medicine cabinet you can fit above the sink. Or you can add a large wall cabinet like this one.
In another recent renovation I was looking for a very small wall mounted sink. This shot was my inspiration, and I managed to find a sink like this one. I'll be showing it in a blog post in the next month or so.
I also really liked the look of this sink, however I thought it was a bit too modern looking for my current home.
