Lucky Find for the Office (Or: I Really Should Be Working on a Foam Core Model...)

Get it, lucky...for St. Patrick's Day?! Lame, I know. Thank Andy for that. Cheesy humor is contagious - I can't stop myself anymore. Dumb jokes aside, I was lucky to score this pretty thing from the thrift store for seriously cheap:

See that blue tag? That means 30% off. Of $10.50. I got this thing for $8 and some change after tax. I felt a little bit like I was stealing from Children's Hospital.

 

The price isn't the lucky part, though it is a total bonus. This whole thing started when I decided to stop into the Seattle Children's Bargain Boutique one day about a month ago, when I was procrastinating killing time while running errands. I go to Aaron Brothers pretty often for project supplies (it's in the same complex), and had been curious about what sorts of things might be inside this bargain boutique. The first thing that I noticed is that it's so much more organized and clean-feeling than the standard Goodwill/Value Village thrift stores in my area. People donate some really good stuff, like amazing original artwork - block prints and paintings and drawings - and pretty vintage hats. And they had a pair of turquoise leather chaps. Wish I would have gotten a picture of those bad boys. It was super tempting to take them home as a joke. They weren't there on my last visit, so I can only assume Macklemore stopped by and bought them. I am so sure he frequents Shoreline.

See? He wears western-y stuff sometimes. (Source)

Anyway, the lucky part is that I saw it on that first visit, about a month ago, and almost snatched it up, but then I saw this weird thing on the top and it scared me off. None of the tutorials I found online about switching out light fixtures included anything about weird plastic plug-in boxes.

Anyone know what that is?
Andy said he thought it looked like a European plug.
I have yet to Google it.

Plus, if you look closely, that copper wire is fraying, which doesn't seem safe to me. Did I really want to try to teach myself how to rewire a light fixture? Getting down to the technical stuff in lighting class was not my favorite. So I put it back.

But I kept going back to that light in my mind. The metal was in perfect shape (unlike my other brass score, our guest room headboard, which needs some serious soapy love) and it was a great scale for the room. With some round bulbs (like this) and maybe a color change on the wood arms? Just quit.

So yesterday, I was procrastinating taking a break between working on finals projects, catching up on blogs. I was swooning at Manhattan Nest over Daniel Kanter's seriously gorge new office space, and found the motivation I needed when he talked about his vintage light fixture: "I rewired the whole thing (which is really very simple, I promise!) and with a few new pieces of hardware and bulbs, it was super easy to hang up!"

Well, if it's very simple and super easy... As I reread that now, I realize he probably meant compared to tearing down walls and patching plaster, but whatever. No going back now! I have been debating tackling a version of this light tutorial for over our kitchen peninsula. So really, what's wiring from scratch vs. taking wires out and starting over?

I decided to further procrastinate grab Tank and go for a little ride back to the Bargain Boutique. I was sure it wasn't still there, but if I was wrong, it was meant to be. So glad I was wrong (and that I decided to go look in the hidden corners, because it had been moved)! She was just as I remembered: the foundation of her style is great, she just needs a little accessory tweaking to make her look current again.

I figure, if for some reason I can't take this thing apart to rewire, I can always donate it back and Children's can make some more money off it from someone who knows what they are doing. And if it does work, then I can grab some of those awesome round LEDs and some black (or possibly white but probably black) paint and a ceiling plate and my tall husband to help me install, and we will be in business. Oh, and a weekend devoted to actually cleaning out this room. Considering we can hardly walk into the room packed with moving boxes. Minor details...it's all so easy in my mind!

For now, I will just stare at our new light fixture, envisioning it done and working perfectly in our office.