Let’s talk about some Shady Business. You know the $herdog in me wanted to make that title a Slim Shady reference, right? Anyway, we’ve actually been working on a secret project for over 14 months and we finally get to spill the beans. Jazz hands don’t even begin to cover it. See, back in October 2011 Shades of Light asked us to help them design a lighting collection. And we said “who, us?” quickly followed by a “yes please!”
When it came to our goals, we really wanted to keep things casual, playful, happy, and – the biggest challenge – within our budget. Which broke down to keeping the entire collection under $99. There are even $3 add-on items to spice up the lamps that you already have (you know we love using what you’ve got). But keeping prices under that $99 mark (especially on larger lights, like chandeliers that are 2 feet wide) was a tall order. Shades of Light sells a ton of fancy $400+ designs, but they were amazingly willing to get all hands on deck to inch prices as low as possible without compromising quality, and we LOVE them for that. It was hard to mash all of the lights our bundles of joy into this post, so you can click here to browse our full collection of shades, pendant lights, and decorative add-ons.
Not only do side gigs like this help us provide for our family, they’re some of the most exciting work that we get to do (you know when we’re not juggling house projects, blog posts, book stuff, and playing with The Bean and The Burgs). Switching gears keeps us creative and it’s always fun to try something new, so projects like this are the icing on the DIY cake. Well, playing with Clara & Burger land in that category too. Which is fitting because these lights are sort of like our babies.
Here are a few “studio shots” of some of our kiddos. The apples of our eye. Picture us grinning like proud parents watching their child play “Tree #2” in the elementary school play.
That’s not all of them, so here’s the whole collection for ya. The coolest thing about this collaboration is that Shades of Light is based right here in Richmond, so it was a local affair. They came over to our house and we dropped by their headquarters a bunch of times over the course of the last year to draw sketches, look at prototypes, sample paint colors, see the products in action, and even shoot them in our own home for their online shop and their catalog.
Which means many of the lights are made/wired/painted right here in good ol’ Virginia! But of course they ship ’em nationally on their site in case you’re not a local (you can even call them for overseas shipping rates). So… woot! It’s pretty exciting to think that our babies are going to be making little pilgrimages to other cities across the country. Well, assuming people buy them. Haha.
As for Clara’s job, she played the role of quality control. When we asked her to pick her favorite one of the guys in the photo above, she kept changing her mind. She’s like her momma. She wants to rub her face on all of them.
The most exciting part of the entire process was when we finally got to shoot some of the finished lights in our house back in November (right between two book tour stops) to see how they looked “in situation” and to use some of those images for the Shades Of Light catalog. This is a farmhouse pendant that comes in a bunch of happy colors. Doesn’t the pink one look sweet when it’s fake-hanging over our the sink?
How did we fake it? Well, see the green-shirted guy on the stool in our kitchen? He actually held the mercury glass pendant that hangs over our sink out of the shot while they snagged a picture of the pink one that you see in the photo above (clamped to a rod above the sink so it appeared to be hard-wired there). It was our kinda shoot. Grass roots and lots of laughing.
Here’s another shot to show the magic of in-house photoshoots. See that giant reflector in the foreground and those three lights all clamped up to a rod that was later cropped out of picture? It’s so funny how we look at catalogs like Pottery Barn and think “oh man those rooms are so amazing and clean” – but in reality they must look at least this crazy from afar, thanks to all of the magical behind-the-scenes gear.
Here’s how those drum pendants actually looked in the photographer’s final shot. Oh and spoiler alert, we bought the scallop pendant in the middle. We couldn’t resist. We’re actually planning to hang it right in the window that you see here.
And remember the chandelier that we gave you a sneak peek of in Monday’s holiday post? Yup, it’s part of our collection. He’s one of our favorites.
We bought it as soon as the catalog shoot wrapped up in our house. At $89 for such a large chandelier (it’s two feet wide!) we thought it was a great deal, and it looks awesome with the oil-rubbed bronze glass pendants over our nearby peninsula. It also comes in a bunch of other colors beyond the rusty bronze finish that we went with (they’re painted locally in colors like plum, dark teal, white, black, gray, and red by an awesome lighting artisan).
One of the coolest “special effects” from it are the shadows that it casts on the ceiling if you use a clear bulb (if you don’t love them you can use a frosted bulb for a softer look).
And you know Burger is our muse, so… this happened. Yup, dude has his own chihuahua-riddled shades in a bunch of colors. We wanted things to be flexible for someone who might just want a shade for a table lamp or floor lamp that they already have, so we asked Shades of Light to sell the shades alone as well as with a finished pendant kit for hanging them (the full pendant kit even comes with a ceiling canopy, so it’s all ready to hang). People gotta have options. And chihuahua shades.
And see those sculptural white metal diffusers under each of these geometric-ish ikat shades? Those were another add-on that we thought could spice up someone’s life light. Say you already have a pendant light at home but want a little more flair – one of these (in either the hex pattern or the quatrefoil pattern) can definitely up the ol’ lighting ante.
We loved adding small (and inexpensive) DIY options, like these $3 add-ons. They’re basically decals (fancy word: appliques) that we thought would be fun on a lamp base that you might already own (or one you could score at a thrift store and spray paint in a solid color). So whether you’re into a white, black, or yellow bee shape; a favorite number in black or white; or even scalloped patterns that you can use alone or layer like crazy, you’re covered. Can’t you see a big white #7 on a navy lamp base? Or a white bee on a cheery yellow gourd lamp?
And now for a Burger story. Remember way baaack when we posted this picture of Burger for Thanksgiving in 2011? Well, that half-loaf of Panera bread that he snuck off with was actually from one of our first meetings for this project. The Shades of Light team was over at our house and we were excitedly talking about colors, fabrics, and shapes when Burger snuck ONTO THE DINING TABLE and grabbed it without any of us seeing him until it was way too late. Sneaky little bugger. It was the first and last time he had such brazen food-stealing confidence. Thank goodness. Just look at the regret in those big brown eyes…
So that ends our little 14-months-in-the-making collection o’ lights, shades, & add-ons. Oh and to anyone who isn’t currently shopping for lighting or doesn’t have any money to spend, we also hoped this collection would inspire the DIYers out there – perhaps just to paint a metal pendant or lamp base that you already have – or even to make little personalized decals to spice up a lamp base in some personal way.
And now for some gushy love for you all. We’d never be “here” without you, and for that we’re eternally grateful. To think that this all started with one little blog post back in 2007 is crazytown, and we’re so grateful to you guys for making it possible. Oh heck, you guys are like our babies too. Come to momma, I feel a hug coming on…
Lindsey says
Ssssoooo excited for this I’m in the market for new lighting but it’s been hard cause I’m über cheap and let’s just say Martha is not always on my side when it comes to gussing up things you find at the goodwill! Definitely going to purchasing from your line!!
Cherie says
So exciting!
Silly question- do the pendant lights get plugged into an outlet or do they need to be ceiling mounted?
I have a room with no overhead light fixture and would love to hang one of these if I can!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re hardwired (so they go into a ceiling fixture box, and even come with a canopy for installation). If you don’t have a fixture box, maybe just order a shade (they’re much cheaper) and use a plug-in light kit from Ikea (they’re $5) to make a hanging pendant? Hope it helps!
xo
s
Cherie says
Great idea. Thanks!
Ryan says
I’m all aglow after reading this enlightening post! What a bright idea!
That’s enough lighting-related puns (I don’t want to seem dim). Congrats guys! The collection is absolutely beautiful!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha! Love it.
xo,
s
Lindsay says
OMG i want every single lamp!!! We are definitely buying the globe lantern in grey for our dining room!! And the metal strap pendant will be mine as soon as a figure out where to put it…. maybe the bedroom reno on the docket for this spring? As always, well done you two!
jodi says
so amazing!!! you guys rock, 100%.
Lisa G says
Shut up!! These are awesome! I love Shades of Light. It would be really cool if we could find one that will work in our dinning room (that’s up next on the project list). So fun!
Lindsey says
Congratulations!
Sarah Kyle says
Congratulations! I’m so proud of you guys! Y’all are such an inspiration as to what can be accomplished if you work hard and love life! Thanks for all that you do (and for all that you contribute to making RVA so cool :) )
Marsha S says
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!! I just ordered 4 of the bubble glass pendants (over a breakfast bar) and one of gold metal stap drum pendant (formal dining room)…seriously guys AWESOME JOB on the lights!!!!!! We are building our dream house and these lights are going to look AMAZING!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! We’d love to see pics!
xo,
s
Meg says
LOVE your new collection – congrats!! We are moving in about 6 weeks and I can’t wait to incorporate the Burger lamp shade into the new place.
Kerry says
WOAH! These are totally awesome! Congratulations on another successful project, Guys! What an awesome reveal and treat for us readers! I just gotta say that you’re sneaky little hobbitses for keeping this such a secret for so long! (Sorry for the LOTR reference but I love that line!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo,
s
Erin says
I was soooo excited when I received an email today about your new collection!! And even more so when I actually saw the products — you guys did a stellar job! I love everything.
Cheryl says
I really like the large globe chandelier. I just wish that all of the color options would be shown on the website in a photo rather than just the names of the colors. Or, maybe they are and I’m just missing them.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes that’s just a little glitch. If you go back in a bit they should all show up for you :)
xo,
s
Bethany says
I seriously can not wait until I have my own place so I can use a few of these fixtures. Truly guys, I’m not just saying this because I’m a fan of the blog, you created some real works of art here! My only complaint is that the blown up pictures on the website are blurry for me (when I click on them to open an individual page). Super excited for you guys to come to Miami though, I already got the day off :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes that blurry thing is just a glitch from all the traffic (they aren’t fully loading) but they’re working on fixing it! Maybe check back a little later?
xo,
s
Teresa says
Oh, wow…it’s hard to believe that a “celebrity designer collection” would be so reasonably priced; usually, there is a premium price when there is a “name” attached to a product. Thank-you for making the “under $99 stipulation” to the company. There is a product I’ve seen at Lowe’s that is really intriguing, but I don’t love the designs offered…I’m sure you could tweak yours to accommodate the product. They are pendant lights that retrofit “can” ceiling light fixtures by simply screwing into the socket. Recessed lighting is great for illuminating a whole room uniformly, but leaves something to be desired in the decor category; used strategically, these pendants add style without any new wiring needed. Please consider looking into designing some of these for us!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes those are fun and Shades Of Light has them too. Maybe we can do a budget version!
xo,
s
Karen Q. says
Congratulations-this is awesome!! So happy for you! Love, love, love everything- so bright and charming and bonus affordable. You two light up the world- hehe :)
ps- my fave gift on Christmas morning was my very own YHL book- I was screeching with excitement and haven’t been able to put it down- love it!!!!
HUGS!
Jennifer says
Love the ones you featured, now here is hoping I can find 3 I want for our house!! I have been searching and searching literally for a year and a half!!! I’m not much on the Burger one (sorry Burger) but ONLY because I have a lab and if that puppy (no pun intended!) had labs on it, I’d be all over it!! Other wise, I LOVE the dog one! I think it’s fun & different!
Congrats!!
michelle says
Yay!! just bought the metal pendant in sunshine yellow!!!! I have been looking for a new light above my tulip table. Thank you for being so creative and not living in a beige world!!
Desiree C. says
“Well, assuming people will buy them.” I don’t think you need to worry about that! My girlfriend and I have already emailed back and forth at work about what our favorites were–pretty sure one of your Bubble Glass Pendants will be making it’s way into our hallway.
LOVE the collection and you guys. In an obsessive-yet-not-creepy and proud-of-you way, I’d love to bring it in for a virtual hug. Congratulations, you two! How incredible! I’ll justify the cheeseburger, french fries, and cheese curds that I’m about to food coma with tonight as a celebration for you two.
And by the way, Clara is a spitting image of Sherry. Except with blonde hair, of course. Just sayin’. Sorry, John.
Sara says
Freakin awesome. I love it. And also, you guys rock.
ErinY says
I’m going to quote Clara here, because it’s totally appropriate: “Oh wow, man!” You guys are great! Happy to see your hard work pay off. Looks like 2013 is off to a great start for you!
Petra says
Congratulations to you all!!! With all of the fame that’s present and coming, would you keep this sweet blog? Yours is my very favorite!!!
YoungHouseLove says
But of course, this blog is our first love!
xo,
s
Jennifer Knight says
Love the collection! I just pinned 3 for our new house we are completing within the year. Congratulations
Katalina says
wow! that is wonderful
i have been looking for cheerful drum pendant (under 200!) to have flush mounted to ceiling in my office. I love those add on metal bases.
would these be hard to hang like that? is there a special converter drum light package that you can have flush mounted to the ceiling?
so excited! the cage drum fixtures–are there alot of shadows with those?
love the big orb above your table!
YoungHouseLove says
If you use a frosted bulb with the strap pendants the shadows are lighter and a clear bulb makes them more pronounced. As for making pendants flush mount, maybe call them to see if they sell a conversion kit? Good luck!
xo,
s
Andrea says
Eeeek! Congratulations! These all look amazing and I am SO buying the large wire chandelier. I just need to figure out where to put it…
Lindsay says
Love them! And the prices are very affordable. The pink one in your kitchen is my fav :)
Ashley says
Gosh you guys do such a tasteful job with all that you do. Really an inspiration.
We have an offer in on a foreclosure that is in pretty great shape and just needs some TLC. I have two spots (high ceiling leading to attic- wire orb and dining room-farmhouse pendant) already picked out for your uber cute and super affordable pieces!
Oh yea, and I WILL use the YHL coupon code for an additional 10% off. BOOM! THANKS GUYS! :o)
Claire says
You guys. YOU GUYS! You are, seriously, all stars!! In love with your collection. As usual, you guys have phenomenal taste!
Kelly M says
Congratulations. How exciting! All of your lights look amazing – I can’t wait until I have a space to reno so I can buy one!!!
Caroline says
Congrats, guys! Love these!!!! What an amazing line! We just made our first purchase from Shades of Light – through your site and actually one of the pendants in your book (although we fell in love w/ it online before we saw it in the book – the book just sealed the deal for us!). Love it! :)
Stacey says
Love how you guys are always up to something awesome, in addition to everything you do on a daily basis. :)
Tanja says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. We have the IKEA Maskros (same as you have/had in your bedroom) in our dining room and it just isn’t bright enough. I can’t wait to pick a new one from your collection.
KatieV says
No WAAAAY! I just ordered–as in yesterday–a farmhouse/barn pendant for our dining area. And it was way more than $99. Bummer! Love your collection. :)
Carolyn L says
This is the most exciting news of the year! I want the chee-wa-wa shades!
Brandi from Bloomington says
Crap, I finally waited until the pair of boots that I wanted are on sale and now these lights. Ugh. My boots may have to wait. That large ball needs to shine above my table. No, I’ll just pick one of the projects from my new Young House Love book to update my current, ugly chandelier.
Elizabeth says
What?! This is amazing! So proud of you guys! Off to look at the whole collection… :)
Morgan says
Hey S+J – How long will this collection be available? Is it a limited time deal? Just wondering if I should buy now and hoard for later…
YoungHouseLove says
It should be out for the long haul- assuming it doesn’t tank! Haha!
xo
s
Morgan says
Thanks Sherry! I’m sure your collection will do great!
Elaine says
HOW do you keep secrets like this???? Simply amazing!!!
Julia @ Hooked on Houses says
Um, WOW! I don’t know what else to say. We never know what amazingly creative project you’re going to surprise us with next!
I’ll take one of each, please. Love ’em all. I’m looking around my house, trying to figure out which light fixtures I can justify replacing right now… :-)
Congrats, Guys!!
Megan says
Congrats! Love the collection! Question: are any of the lights in the collection safe for use outdoors? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re all indoors so far, but adding outside ones would be fun!
xo,
s
leslie says
Love these shades! Can’t wait til the hubby comes home so I can convince him we need one :)
Ofelia, México City says
Ya era hora! Felicitaciones. The collection is amazing! I love triple tone ikat drum shade pendant!
Reagen says
So this may have been asked and answered in your comments area but I’m just curious if these are all hard-wired pendants? I’m a huge fan of several of the designs but have a spot which is dying for light over my dining table but there’s no way to hard-wire it in (I’m in an apartment so making my own alterations there is strictly a no-no). I’m fortunate to have a socket near-by that so I could swag the pendant but without a pluggable option that’d obviously be a no-go. Thanks!
Reagen
YoungHouseLove says
Yup they’re hard wired but you could get a shade from our collection and use a plug in light kit with it for $5 from Ikea.
xo,
s
Heidi says
I never take the time to comment on blogs but I L.O.V.E. every single one so much!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!! Ps I have seen my share of celebrities and never felt as star struck as when I saw you guys in Dallas! ???? I had to get home to my kiddos so I couldn’t wait in line to chat. I think it is because I feel like I know you guys more than I know celebrities if that makes sense.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! People sometimes got sweaty but we do too! We geek out together.
xo,
s
Brittany B says
Oh emm gee!!!!! I have been desperate as to what I am going to do for shades, since I am re-doing our downstairs, including the lights and now I know where to go! I am so about the Burger shades! Can’t wait to see what the color choices are!
Angie says
This is so ridiculously exciting! I’ve been looking for a farmer’s style light fixture JUST like the ones in your collection but they’re so hard to find at a reasonable price! I can’t wait to order one! Boom…it’s on! Congrats guys!
Sada says
Crap, I want all of them!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo,
s
Kate says
Hardcore crushing on that Globe Lantern. Oh and the burger shade.. and the farmhouse pendant.. and the bubble glass… AKA everything!
Nicely done. *tips hat*
Michelle N says
No Freak’n Way!! This is amaze-balls! haha Congratulations YHL! Love Love Love your collection!
Will you guys be adding more designs down the road?
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to!
xo,
s
Shannon Cooper says
I may have called an electrician to put a light socket in my living room just so that I can order that gorgeous bronzey orb pendant. The shadow on the ceiling is gorgeous. I love it!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhhhhh that’s so exciting! Send pics!!
xo,
s