Project Sneek Peak, Custom Lighting Design Done Very Right

Recently while shopping for my current project I came across a light, and when I saw this light I had a moment of "ahhhhh" where the clouds parted and the skies became blue with sun rays bursting all over the place. Has this ever happened to you? I call this a "design crush".

It sometimes happens that these "design crushes" real as they may be end up becoming a cross roads of sorts. This is due to the "do I buy the chandelier that is well over $10k or do I install the new stair case????". It all depends on the budget at the end of the day and in this case I had to make a judgement call and go for the stairs. That doesn't mean however that I wanted to rule out my "design crush" all together, but rather where there's a will there's a way. So in true Whitney form I had to figure out how to create an amazing fixture that delivered the "WOW" affect, but also came in a price range that I could justify (i.e. around half the price of my crush).

And so.....I did! Ha! I designed a custom light fixture with 16 blown glass pendants, and a custom 36" canopy for the foyer. I am lucky enough to work with an amazing lighting designer (who I've worked with for years), and the results are absolutely stunning. It exceeded my expectations, though I won't say it was easy. It was in fact the exact opposite and required multiple trips to the designer, careful design and structure, a VERY difficult installation with a 3 story scaffolding, lots of sweat but is also one of my favorite design moments of all time!

Take a look at the light as you walk in the door.

And just in case you got too big for your britches and thought it wasn't worth it, here is the previous light fixture.

Before:

After:

Now, there's still that notably awful arched window at the entrance that needs a complete face lift and so shall it be, but in the mean time this new 16' tall fixture with amber and silver glass pendants is just stunning and completes the look of the new and improved stairs and foyer.

What do you think of the new custom chandelier? You as in LOVE with it as I am??

Project Sneak Peek, The Stairs Are Done!!!

Good morning,

One of the biggest anticipations for my current bachelor project has been updating the stair case to a new and improved and dare I say BAD A$$ glass paneled stair case?! I couldn't be happier with the results. Sometime you have to look at these details when updating a modernizing a space, and if budget allows a change like this will transform the entire space.

Take a sneak peek at the stairs with the newly installed glass panels.

Now take a look at where we started with the stairs in the beginning of the project before the paint and new wood floors came in:

Here are the stairs in progress with the new paint, the new wood floors and also with the interior walls removed.

Finally, here are the new stairs the glass panels:

The stairs are beyond amazing, and when everything is touched up and finished will absolutely complete and tie this space together. I went with a mix of the stainless steel brackets, and mixed that with a dark brown/grew powder coated finish for the rails themselves. This helped keep things modern but still warm and also blended the new stairs with our exposed beams and door frames.

I have a large custom chandelier coming in the end of this week which will be visible upstairs especially with the new glass panels. I just love how the glass just opens up the home even more and keeps things light and crisp.

These stairs went from traditional and dated, to modern and are now a show case for this home. Job well done!!

I wanted to show you one more mini transformation that made a huge impact. The door that you see in the last image went from this.

To This:

This made a huge impact to the space, and was done by simply removing the white panels from the glass and painting the metal frame with a metal paint which was applied with a paint gun. That white door is an eye sore no more;)

I plan to share more with you this week such as the 3 newly completed bathrooms. I also have additional shipments coming in so the fun should begin. Can't wait!

By the way, Happy Monday!!!