Glorious Light

I am a snob about some things. Water is right there at the top. We drink filtered water and I can tell a difference. I don't judge you if you drink tap water, but don't be offended if I skip a drink from your faucet.

I am also a light snob, but I don't have as much control over that. Our last home had some nice big windows in the main areas of the house. Bonus. But when we moved, I'm afraid I didn't use light as the only factor for choosing a new abode. I was more concerned about school systems, location to frequented stores, and number of bedrooms. And so we ended up with a house that I love, but that had some lighting that could use an upgrade. Our family room in particular...we call it Midgard. It is so dark. There is track lighting that highlights the fireplace and mantel, but that isn't very helpful for the room. (And it doesn't move in case you were wondering.) There are two can lights, but they aren't in the middle of the room, and I still can't decide why only the two?? This is how it looked.

If you are watching a movie, fine. But for almost anything else, it feels too dark. Family Home Evening is dim, reading is almost impossible. We put some sconce lights around, but it was still murky at best. The final straw was conference. We were watching together and I was trying to stitch on the couch. Robyn had the spot by the lamp. I had a little reading light that I attached to my stitching. Ivory borrowed it, and as it left, I was swallowed up in darkness in the middle of the room. Ridiculous.

I called a guy that next Monday. It was time. Actually, well past time. He put in four more cans and replaced the two originals with ones that give more light. (Really, the two original can lights had rims on them so they gave less light. Were the last owners vampires??) See the difference?

Amazing. There was a flub since the guys put the lights close enough to the track lighting that they ran into some existing can lights that had been covered up. (What? Can lights that were covered up? Why would you do that? says the light snob.) That resulted in the ceiling cracking in two places. We will have to fix that eventually, but in the meantime, I am loving that you can see...everything.

One of the first comments from the kids, "Mom, look how dirty the carpet is." My reply, "I know. Isn't it wonderful. You can see the carpet!" That's an easy fix. I guess it is time to clean the carpets. Maybe next month. This month I spend my budget on light and it was well worth it.