A Little Glitz & Glam in the Hallway

I am such a fan of statement hallways.  Hallways with bold stripes, amazing gallery walls and fabulous lighting.  Our hallway takes us to the upper level bedrooms and the main bathroom, and it is traveled quite a bit throughout the day.  And it is far from a statement anything.  The last peek you snagged at our hallway was when we decided to bring some beautiful stripes into our dining area.

The hallway had received a fresh coat of paint (Glidden's Smooth Stone), which is the same color that is seen within the stripes and will ultimately be on all of our main walls in our upper level.  That was a huge start to a few updates I am wanting to make.  It always amazes me what a simple coat of paint can do. 

But do you see what I see?  Those lights....?  Those are 12+ years of gettin' things done lights, but not anything all that pretty to look at.

For the past couple of years I have been on the hunt for some sort of fun statement solution that wouldn't break our bank or hang too low.  I kept finding myself coming back to these beautiful capiz shell options.  My tummy would get first-kiss butterflies every time I would set my eyes on one of the pretty pendants, and then it would get that deep aching pain of rejection every time I would set my eyes on the prices. 

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Last August I spotted some similar style capiz shell candle lanterns on Joss & Main.  I have since also seen them for even less at HomeGoods.

I couldn't help but cross my fingers that we would be able to somehow take these candle holders and use them for our hallway pendants.  I triple checked the size and couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance to the inspiration versions, so I took the risk and ordered.  I figured that in a worst-case scenario, these beauties could be hung on our front porch during summer months should this not go as planned.  That is not a bad worst-case to be in.  When we finally received the lanterns, they were just as beautiful as I had hoped.

And then they sat.  Sat in the storage room waiting to be installed.  And then we started cleaning out said storage room and found them and remembered that we needed to get on it already.  And then Christmas came....

If we would have known how simple this project would be, I am guessing it wouldn't have taken us so long.  It was crazy easy, which makes for a really happy hubby.

Because the original fixture couldn't be retrofitted to work with the candle holders, my Mr. started out by installing new ceiling fixtures that fit the opening of the holder much better.  We found these ceiling mount light kits from Home Depot, and once I got them home I dug through my spray paint collection and gave them a quick coat of brushed nickel.  The original white finish wasn't jiving with the capiz shell structure.  

Bryan has always been the one to change out our light fixtures, so this was really straight forward for him.  However, if you are a newbie, you can find many tutorials online similar to this one here.

After the light kits were installed, it was time to attach the candle holder.  We started by using a wire cutter to snip out the actual tea-light holder portion from the bottom. 

This left a nice opening for light to shine down through the bottom of the fixture.  The top of the lantern had small loops for hanging.  We just used some picture hanging wire to loop through the candle holder and the small holes in the side of the ceiling fixture.

Once the wire was wrapped tight and secured, that was snipped down as well.

The bottom of the holder has an opening wide enough that I can just stick my hand inside to change the light-bulb without the need to remove the fixture entirely.

Candle holders as light fixtures.  Who knew?  We are smitten!

Last year I had found some $1 square unfinished wooden frames from Michaels.  I thought they would make for a fabulous Instagram gallery wall.  So, a few coats of paint and some gold gilded label holders later...

Super happy and cute and they make me smile every day, but something is still lacking as they just are not substantial enough.  The hallway is calling for a chunkier gallery wall install, so I have been building up frames and prints for that, and I am hoping to sprinkle these smaller frames in with the updated mix. 

The style of light definitely is not for everyone, but we are crushing over this quick and easy upgrade.  And knowing that we saved hundreds over the inspiration options, well, you know how that feeling goes.  The belly butterflies are back!  It is the perfect way to kick off our quest to add a little pizazz to the hallway.

How do you make your hallways a statement area in your home?  Have your been turning any odd items into lighting pieces?