Guest room update

Progress in the guest room was mostly put on hold after Hannah's arrival, but while my dad was visiting for a few days this week, he helped Adam install the Ikea light fixture we bought for the room back in March.

Here's the ugly and oddly placed light fixture we inherited with the house:

And here's the new fixture - the KNAPPA pendant lamp:

The pendant lamp is designed to be plugged into an outlet, so they cut the plug off, shortened the cord to our desired length, and wired it to the existing junction box. Unfortunately I was busy nursing Hannah, so I couldn't snap any photos of the process. We bought an inexpensive cap to cover the junction box at Canadian Tire. It's a little smaller than the old fixture, so we still need to touch up the ceiling paint around it.

Originally I planned for the pendant lamp to hang straight down over a bedside table (like this), but we decided to buy a queen bed for the room instead of a double, which leaves no room for a bedside table (a double bed would have been a better size for the room, but not for our guests). Instead, I asked Adam and my dad to center the light over the bed (the plan is to install a dimmer switch so the light can double as a reading lamp).

The height is to accommodate a DIY headboard (more on that later) and a mirror that will hang on the wall behind the bed.

This picture doesn't do the new lamp justice - in real life it casts a warm, soft glow (even with a fluorescent bulb). I especially love the modern light fixture with the rustic wood panelling we added to cover the two textured walls in the room. Still lots to do, but I'll have more to share soon!

Have a great weekend everyone - we're taking Hannah to her first wedding, so wish us luck! Here's the bean on her lambskin yesterday. She didn't feel like staying still for a photo, so this is the least blurry of the lot :)