Sometimes It’s The Small Things

Not every renovation we’ve done so far has been a major undertaking. Some are small in scope but have a disproportionate impact. Here’s one.

The wall sconces in our dining room had seen better days. They were common, brass plated, not high quality, but had character and had been part of the house since it was built. Each of the seven were covered with rust and grime and were almost filled with the remnants of bugs long dead. Each had its own on/off switch, some of which worked, some of which did not.

Thinking this would be a small project I could accomplish while Vali was away on a work trip, I decided to replace the switches and sockets and freshen up the brass lights a bit. Maybe a rub-down and polish would bring them back to life. So, I tore into one of the fixtures. They had definitely been in place for along time. Connecting their wires to the house were ceramic wire nuts. I’d never seen ceramic wire nuts before.

I got one looking good, although not rewired because I had to order parts, before Vali returned. On first look she was not impressed. Come to find out, she had never really loved those lights, and isn’t a fan of brass finishes anyway. Okay, now we’re back to square one and I have parts to fix them on the way. After some shopping on-line and research, I proposed we paint them with an oil-rubbed bronze finish, which I know Vali likes. It’ll only cost five bucks and if it doesn’t work we’re buying new ones anyway. If it does, we’re saving money. BTW, those silly little wall lights you see all over the place are not inexpensive. When you have six or seven to replace it adds up quickly.

After much sanding, spraying, clear coating and rewiring we have beautiful lights again, capable of putting out more light than before, with their upgraded sockets. I even painted the inside of the shades white to reflect more light into the room.

Now we have light in the dining room again, more than before, which has made a huge difference, even though it wasn’t a very big job.