I would not let lights stand in the way of me buying a home BUT why live with something you hate for 5 more years? I love lighting and would enjoy the new light fixtures for the 5 years until you sell.

I know you are exactly right. If you can see it, I painted the yellow one but there was not a can of the red paint laying around the house. I will definitely paint it the same when we redo it all. Margo so good to hear from you! How about those lights though. Do you think they're ugly? My family thinks I should leave them.

I am not a fan of those lights either but maybe you could give them a makeover instead of just trashing them. Simply painting or perhaps silver leaf could give them a whole new feel. Great point about the vents Margo.

I would sell them on Craigslist and put the money towards some new ones. Like I said, I love lighting, so changing them would be fun for me;)

I have thought about painting them oil rub bronze like the rest of the hardware in the house. In the bathroom I switched out the globes for white instead of yellow ones. That made a huge difference. Since the globes cost about $12 apiece, I could almost buy a new light fixture though!

You do not have to do all the lights at once. I would start with the dining room chandelier. That is a statement piece.

They're a little too ornate for me other than the sconce.

I don't think you're going to get a good result with painting them as they have so many grooves and whatnot in them that aren't going to take paint evenly. We painted most of our light fixtures, but they're very basic ones so we didn't have that to contend with.

I don't think it be that expensive to update the worst of them. I just was looking at lighting on Home Depot's web site, and you can get a chandelier for as little as $104, and a sconce for $30. If you start by replacing the one you hate the most, and then every month as funds are available, replace what you can, it would go a long way towards changing the granny feel of your home.

I really hate choosing lighting. In fact in our real house I don't have any hanging lights. I think I need to remove some of them in here. There are hanging lights all over the place. I would love love love your help in replacing them. A couple of months ago I walked into a ReStore. Someone must have just replaced all the lighting in their house.I could kick myself for not buying what they had donated. They were a style I could live with although they were silver. I should have painted them and used them here.

OK- what do you mean in your *real* house? What house is this?

I agree with you. I hate hanging lights as well, but then I don't have vaulted ceilings.....

Basic lights are cheap. Check Home Depot or other web sites and see what you can find. Is your husband handy around the house to where he could rewire the lights himself? If not, that's where you expense is going to come, not the lights themselves.

Yes, Margo loves her lighting!

You're right Hayley, and that's why I didn't get the ones at ReStore. Our real house is in one state, but both of our daughters and their families live in another state. We bought this house, knowing we would resell it, but we come here monthly to be grandparents.

Don't judge all the junk. Our house is a cacophony of stuff the previous owners left, stuff I just inherited, and our daughters stuff from their apartment. They are living here for awhile. Hate the wall colors. There are SEVEN hanging lights! all in one line of sight.

Which would you discard and what ideas can you give me that aren't going to be too clashy with what I have?

Focus your energy on the real Light, that little sweetie in the bouncy chair. If you look at her/him instead of the fixtures you will completely forget they exist. (especially cuz you are only here occasionally)

I could live with those lights....I do not hate them. But I understand what you are saying!

We are in your exact situation.....buying a second home near our daughters and their babies! I have tried to do everything on a budget. It is furnished....a lot of tables from thrift stores and Craigslist ( I actually enjoy the challenge), but the decor is nowhere near as complete as yours! You have done a great job!

You have really high ceilings so I think you're stuck with hanging lights for the best outcome. Unless you want to have a bunch of recessed cans installed and that's not cheap. You said you don't like choosing lights so avoid that option! Paint them oil rubbed bronze and they might feel a little updated from the old-gold look. You might also consider just replacing one or two of the your least favorites.

I've done the very same thing. I sold a very ornate dining room set on craigslist because I knew I would never use it. Instead that's where the kids play on the table and the floor. I am just living with a lot of this furniture I don't like, somehow seven hanging lights just drives me crazy with all of their busyness. First, I think I can totally get rid of the one in the middle of the kitchen. I would like one for over the dinette and over the peninsula. If I am not going to have a dining room table, maybe I can just totally get rid of the one where the dining room was. Could someone please help me choose lights that would work in here?

I love this house and high ceilings;) After seeing the big picture, I think I would spray paint them the oil rubbed bronze;) You also have the fan too.

Given this is a part time home as well as short term, I don't think I would change them. With them all being so close, it looks like it would have to be all or nothing. Even if you spray them another color, the shades and the shapes will still feel old fashioned I think. You'll get used to them and anyone that is visiting may for a minute look and notice their style, but go on to other things - there are a lot worse lights out there!

Some of those lights are by Jessica McClintock for Minka (Kitchen and Breakfast room), and they are quite pricey. You can always put them on Ebay and see what you can get for them. Good Luck!

Yeah, there are a lot worse things out there, like animal heads, lol...;)))

Maybe try spray painting with the hammered silver paint (rustoleum, I think). You could try that on one. I've done it before and it turned out fine. And change globes to white. Whether that is cost effective depends on how good the current fixtures are. If they are not expensive, new might be best.

Interior deluxe, you are right! They are Jessica McClintock and they are quite pricey! That still doesn't make me like them, though. Maybe if I sell them on Craigslist I can recoup the cost of the electrician. Thank you!!

Being cheap, cheap, and cheap, I would live with the lights. I would go for the British Colonial look.

The walls would have to be painted asap, however.

Ta da:

I do not llike #2. #1 is meh-OK (would be better with lighter shades), & I like the sconce.

Here is a place where you can get great deals

http://www.lampsplusopenbox.com/

I would change out the ones in the more visible & highly used areas of your home.

I would remove the light bulb from the bottom glass piece, if any, and paint it, and the base, a flat black, and replace the chain with flat black one. You can get inexpensive simple white glass shades (bells) from any big box hardware store to replace the ivory ones, for around $4 each.

Is entry lantern new? I've enjoyed the comments / and that you could replace the ones that seem the most 'off' for its area.

These were all here when we bought the house. Yesterday I went to Menards. I bought big box, inexpensive lights to replace the expensive ones. I plan to remove two of the hanging lights completely, and replace the other three. I just think I will like the look better, no matter how much The existing ones cost. Instead of having seven in view from one spot it will be reduced to five, and they are much simpler and I think it will make me happy. Pictures to follow. I have calls out to both painters and electricians. Still waiting for a response!

arent you lucky.... we made noises to buy an apartment near our son and daughter in law and caught them making the sign of the evil eye.... LOL.

There are four children under four. I think that means they need us. No evil eye for the babysitter! Free babysitter, that is!

I would not pick them but I would live with them for a while. They don't bother me much.

They look like good quality lights. I would not ditch them out for lower quality hardware store stuff.

Toriat, I fully understand your sentiment. I haven't liked these in the two years we've owned the place. I think that by updating the house it may become a good investment for us later if we resell. I see now that I'm not alone In disliking these lights. I often doubt my own taste and wanted to make sure I'm not alone in my opinion. If everyone had said they were great, I'd let them go. But obviously no one else would be attracted to them. So I'll change them. Cost and value don't matter if I don't like my home while we are living there. Thanks so much for your opinion bi value every single one.