Young House Love

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Hanging A Moravian Star Light In The Foyer

Dude, things just got real in the foyer.

Foyer7

We found this light at the local lighting outlet here in Richmond called The Decorating Outlet for $135 (down from $455 at Shades of Light, just because it had been returned). I had always pictured something big and architectural in there – most likely in an oil-rubbed bronze finish because there are a bunch of ORB doorknobs going on in the foyer and I thought it would look nice. Thankfully John was game too since the guy’s down with geometry and shapes and stuff. UPDATE: Here’s an incredibly similar moravian star pendant on Amazon since the Shades of Light version is currently out of stock. 

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Boom. The foyer is now my favorite room ever in the history of rooms. I want to sleep in there and eat in there and braid its hair and tell it all of my secrets.

In keeping it real news, it took us forever to hang. Like the longest it has ever taken two adults to hang a single light fixture. Someone call the Guinness Book Of World Records, for real.

Foyer Light Install

That’s the only shot I got of the process (snapped one minute into things, before this turned into the longest lighting installation known to man) but picture both of us on different ladders next to each other trading off on holding the weight of the light and messing with wires. The hanging hang-up (har-har) had to do with being sure to hang it high enough for my tall hubby to have clearance under it, while still being sure the canopy would thread (if we made it too short, the canopy had nothing to catch on, and if we made it too long, John would graze his head on it). Ten hours later – ok, that’s a slight exaggeration – we’re high fiving under it while holding one arm up with the other one because they were so tired.

I also hung some art and a mirror (the mirror’s heavy so it got 2″ anchors and screws while the art just got a few nails each). This mirror used to hang in our guest room at the last house (from Joss & Main a while back).

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Gotta love when a detail shot reminds you to go dust the mirror.

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I hung an Ikea Ribba frame with some linen-ish fabric and a favorite instagram picture next to the coat closet door.

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Eight of these were over the sofa in our last house, so I let John pick the one he liked best for the foyer. Turns out it’s me in a bathing suit. Men.

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I also hung our favorite swimmer girl next to the door (that’s a print we bought for our last house’s kitchen).

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We also have two favorite paintings by our friend Lesli (one of Burger and one of John’s Granny’s house) that we hung next to the bathroom door.

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And with that, the foyer makes every other room in our house look a whole lot worse by comparison (why do pretty rooms do that to the other ones nearby?!). But we can’t even stay mad. Oh foyer, thank you for making me see stars. Literally. You are the Hershey’s bar to my s’more. I can hardly remember when you looked like this…

Foyer Before1

Love you. Mean it.

Foyer1

UPDATE: We’ve finally transitioned our entire house to LED lights (they save tons of energy & money, and they’re a lazy person’s best friend because you never have to change them). For anyone wondering, these are our favorite interior LEDs. Their glow is warm & natural (not weird/blue like some of the others we’ve tried) and they use around 90% less energy.

* This post contains affiliate links

Comments

  2. Jessica says

    LOVE it!!! We also have a Moravian star light in our foyer. It’s mirrored which gives it kind of an antique look. Very similar to this one from the Mexican star light link on the first page of comments. http://www.directfrommexico.com/jo3041.html

    But we got ours a couple years back at a website that sold stuff related to fairies… don’t ask me how I found that site! If we ever move that light is coming with us!

    Reply

  4. Cindy says

    I love this! It reminds me of the stars you hung on your porch (I think) at Christmas time that I’ve had saved on my Amazon wishlist ever since! xo

    Reply

  5. Eri says

    Quite a transformation already!

    IIRC “a shade darker” of edgecomb is revere pewter (which is actually our main bed wall color). Have you tested the swatch up there? If so how did it look? Just like edgecomb, it cam be drastically different colors depending on lighting. Curious how it’d come out in your foyer.

    Oh, and ever considered changing the stair railing balusters to black metal ones? Some straight line stuff that matches the new pendant light… (fun just to imagine!).

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We haven’t tested ceiling paint yet but I can’t wait! As for the railing, I think we’ll paint it for the short term but I like the idea of upgrading or tweaking it someday!

      xo
      s

  6. Linda says

    Sherry, it looks beautiful. What if you took the color of the door and lightened it a good bit till it was the palest shade of blue (airy if you will) and painted that on the ceiling? Just a suggestion by a designer I saw on another website.

    Reply

  7. Laura says

    The foyer is now a reflection of your style. I am sure this helps make the new place feel more like home. Great find with the light fixture. If you do paint the ceiling, you might consider a really subtle hint of turquoise. I think that would really make the light shine.

    Great job as always.

    Reply

  10. Diana Buchanan says

    Love this, mean it.

    WOW what a perfect choice. Sorry that it sucked so much to install, but I love love love the fixture you chose!

    We are going to embark on the same entry light switch soon, except we have lots of things holding us back like “ooh make sure the door doesn’t hit the light”. Gah, small houses! Although, this light literally stopped me in my tracks at good ol’ HD the other day:

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/Regal-King-Hampton-Bay-4-Light-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Tallarook-Panel-Glass-Semi-Flush-Mount-EC3788OBP/203382475?N=bvm1#.UhznKRva8mI

    Thanks for the inspiration, as always!

    Reply

  12. Stephanie S. says

    Oh Sherry, that light!!! Swoon! You’ve created the most warm and inviting foyer I’ve ever seen! Love, love. And for all those turquoise door haters out there, I think it goes beautifully next to the swimming girl art. Love the instagram photo with the linen fabric. I have this bookmarked from a long time ago. I definitely want to use this idea for our dining room. Here’s to hoping I can find some cheapo fabric! Keep up the great work guys. So fun to watch the progress unfold.

    Reply

  13. Lil says

    Love. Seriously. Isn’t it great when art/mirrors you love in one room in one house can so easily transition to an entirely different space/kind of space in a new house?

    You do realize that painting ceilings typically involves removing light fixtures from the ceiling? *wink*

    Reply

  15. KJC pdx says

    Your entry looks totally amazing!! How are you cleaning and maintaining your slate floors? We have them in our kitchen and great room, and I definitely have a love/hate relationship with them…mostly because with three kids and a dog, they look filthy ALL THE TIME! It’s time to reseal them and I’d love any advice you have!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ugh, cleaning is a total pain. We can’t get it to look clean and we’ve tried a bunch of methods. Will definitely post if we figure out the trick!

      xo
      s

  16. caroline [the diy nurse] says

    oh. my. god.

    shut the front door!

    I couldn’t help myself. I’m so in love. I don’t think my little brain could’ve even imagined the space like this at the beginning. It’s to die for and the light fixture makes the space. I totally plan on going by this place though the next time we are in the area. Not sure when that is but you’ve made me a believer!

    So stunning. I would be bff’s with it too if I could!

    Reply

  17. bex says

    It’s insane what just a couple of changes can do! (I was going to say “tiny” or “easy,” but I’m pretty sure you guys would block my readership for calling them either of those…) You guys have totally inspired me. It’s time to get going on the couple of small changes we need to in our entry. I want to make the other rooms look ugly in my house too! :)

    Reply

  19. beth says

    I have mentioned in previous comments that we have literally the exact same floor. I think it is like 25 years old and original to the house. I have a love/hate affair with it. The previous owner (original owner) was a neat freak, but the grout is still really kinda gross. I’ve steamed it, scrubbed it, etc. and it gets some of the ick out, but it is kind of a sad concrete-y color. What is yours like? I know you are going to try to keep your floors, just wondering how your grout is and if you need to do anything to fix it. I’d like to seal it, but I need to get it clean first :/

    Reply

  20. Jean (notsupermum) says

    Love your hallway/foyer – what a fantastic transformation! By the way, I’m being very nosey but what is the door next to the front door for? I thought it might have been to store coats, but looks like that’s under the stairs?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      There are two closets in the foyer so we want one to be for coats and one to be for Clara-phernalia (games, toys, etc) so we can pull them out and tuck them away.

      xo
      s

  21. Diana says

    I LOVE this. I think my favorite part is how the door color ties in with some of the art, really makes it come together.

    Reply

  22. margaret says

    Hi- The foyer looks great! I love the blue door. How about painting the mirror a pop of color too? orange or red to go with the swimming print? (I haven’t read through today’s comments, so forgive me if this has already been discussed).. Just an idea..

    Reply

  23. Claire says

    You have such wonderful decorating tastes! Love the light fixture and the painted door! One question though, what did you do with Clara when she was young while you were renovating? My husband and I renovated our first home but had our son when the house was already done, he is a year old now, and we just bought our second home to renovate. I feel like we never have time to get anything accomplished with a busy busy toddler running around.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We usually do DIY at night when she’s in bed or during her nap, just because its easy to get frustrated and lose focus with a toddler around since you sort of feel pulled in two paying attention to them and your project.

      xo
      s

  25. Emily F says

    Your foyer is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Wow! It looks so good! I want to join the slumber party and braid its hair also! :-P You two have such a good eye for potential in a house! And I’m LOVING watching your ideas for this home come to life! :)

    Reply

  26. Lesley says

    Is there any way i can get your old light from you? I know, I know, not your cup of tea, but I have a beautiful solid brass chandelier in my dining room and I have been looking for something to coordinate for the front hall, that is less than $500 please….

    That would look amazingingly similar to the chandelier. I could pay shipping and even whatever you would get as a tax write off from donating it.

    I’m dead serious!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Lesley! A few others have talked about buying it so it might be the fairest thing to put it on Craigslist or eBay. I’ll post a link if we do!

      xo
      s

  28. M.C.@ ThousandStoryKitchen says

    Oh man- I LOVE it. LOVE: 1. the white mirror on the wall color. LOVE:2. The swimmer print- going to have to check the deets on that one LOVE:3. idea of painting the ceiling. High five, even if you have to prop your arm up.

    Reply

  30. Lacey says

    Looks great! I think we may have you beat though for the longest lighting install ever. Our hanging pendant light in our two storey entrance way took two days to get it installed(with many hours spent each day). Apparently hanging a light fixture while 14 ft up on a ladder is really difficult. My hubby is afraid of heights so I thought I could do it myself, until I realized that I wasn’t strong enought to hold it while attaching the wiring. Eventually we rigged up a pulley system and he got over his fear and we conquered the light fixture install. It looks great, but I am reminded of the feat everythime we have to change a light bulb.

    Reply

  32. Meredith Jones says

    That look SO GOOD! I sucked in a deep breath at my work desk when I laid eyes on that light! Love. The foyer looks amazballs guys! Coming along so well :)

    Reply

  33. Barb says

    Gorgeous. That light will send MAGIC through your foyer. It’s coming together amazingly. Thumbs up to you guys!

    Reply

  36. Kay says

    I can’t believe it’s the same space–what a transformation. It’s so bright and clean and I love all the personalized details you use.

    Reply

  38. Erin says

    I want to take a road trip to Richmond from NoVa just to go to that lighting store… You find the best stuff there!!

    Reply

  41. Jackie says

    Do you have 8-foot ceilings? Love the light for our foyer, but I’m Sherry-size d and my husband is tall like Long John. Has there been any head-banging?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thankfully John has clearance! Our ceilings are around 8’2″ (odd but a little higher than standard) and John’s around 6’1″ but can clear it even with shoes on.

      xo
      s

  43. Ellen Kelly says

    Boy you are good! Light is gorgeous and a bargain!!!!What color is your door painted, it’s beautiful! Ellen

    Reply

  44. Kek says

    Thank you for telling us locals about The Decorating Outlet! Shades of Light is right near my office, so I pop in to drool every once in a while, but I had no idea they had an outlet!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, for the longest time we had no idea they were connected but they always seemed to have SOL lights in there for cheap! Then we saw a guy who works at SOL there and it clicked! Haha!

      xo
      s

  49. melissa says

    I loooooooooooooove the new light fixture! I also love all of the artwork. My husband keeps asking me why I seem to be hanging art/photos on every wall. I think you guys may have influenced this habit.

    Reply

  50. Madeline says

    That looks great! I painted my foyer a color I love in the day, but at night it looks totally washed out. I was wondering if that paint color looks darker or lighter at night with the artificial light?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ours looks warmer at night I think with the lights on (more tan than greige) and maybe a bit lighter from the artificial light, but I wouldn’t call it washed out – maybe more like ambered-up? Haha!

      xo
      s

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