i'm interrupting my to do list post (it's my blog, i can do what i want, right?) to get some ideas about our dining room light fixture out there... i'm at work so this is the only semi current dining room picture (that shows the whole room with current fixture) i have:we are in the process (yes, still) of selling the extra couch... if anyone wants it, let me know! i might even give it away at this point! anyway, we also have these curtains on the window. we are planning on getting some type of woven roman shade to replace the pink blinds:and of course, our lovely chairs:
we need to replace the light fixture. it's the same fixture that was in the living room before we replaced that one, it's old, and now it's covered with paint and 1/2 broken cause we weren't very careful when painting the ceilings (thinking we would have replaced it by now). awhile ago i came across some light fixtures that i loved but were way expensive (very very expensive), but i thought i could make a similar one somehow on my own. after some research, i found this diy fixture:
i can't find the photos of the original fixtures, but essentially they were some version of this, with clear glass balls mixed in with a few light bulbs. i drew up some plans and made some sketches and decided to design/make my own fixture. we even bought a large number of glass balls last time we were in chicago. and they have been sitting in a bag in our dining room ever since. i still love this idea but am now wondering if it is still going to work with the rest of the space. plus i still need to make it and i'm getting impatient :-) last night i was going through the west elm catalog and come across this:
i really like the woven texture, i think it would be a nice compliment to the woven chairs in our living room. and the price isn't bad... i've also have had this similar fixture from ikea in the back of my mind:
the ikea fixture is about 1/2 of the price of the west elm fixture, but i think i like the west elm fixture more. i think that both would look great in the space. but i'm not sure i'm ready to give up on the glass fixture yet either... plus i already have most of the pieces i would need. all that is left is the actual light fixtures (i think i can get them at lowes), some type of wire, and some kind of ceiling canopy. i think i could finish up that project for under $50.

so what do you think? stick with the original plan and just wait until i have time to make the glass fixture? or think about going with a new direction (a woven fixture like the ones above?) or something else completely different?

for reference, here is a shot from the dining room into the living room, keep in mind that this fixture would need to compliment the large drum pendent that we have in the living room. i like mixing different pieces in unexpected ways, so i don't really think i need to stick with one overall "style" - i think the photo above really describes me best with the eames chairs mixed with the clean lines of the bamboo table.

maybe i need to take a better photograph of the current dining room and photoshop in some different fixtures.