So we went with the immediate gratification light from Lowes:

Immediate gratification and saving $50 or so were two of our motivations. I also liked that this light fixture is different from any others I’ve seen. I really liked the gold one, but it’s super of the moment. And, finally, I started to think the gold one was a little too fancy for this space.

The light we went with has awesome reviews on Lowes website, and the style is described as everything from transitional to mid-century to craftsman. Because I think in truth it’s a bit of a style chameleon: a little bit modern, a little bit retro. Casual but elegant, as they say. It stands out without being showy.

(Skillful transition to philosophical part)

At some point I started to realize that I needed to apply the same ideals I was looking for in a light fixture to the hallway as a whole.

Like, when I first started in here, I was all excited about getting a runner and some kind of vintage cabinet for the end of the hall under the poster, etc. etc. “Do you think a runner is just going to get in the way,” I asked Dave. “Yes,” he said. A cabinet might look nice, but it might also be in the way more than anything else, and it would be right next to the ridiculously long powder room with tons of cabinet storage, so we didn’t really need it.

And, really? It’s just a hallway.

Its physical job is to connect four different spaces downstairs, and, really, its aesthetic job doesn’t need to be anything more complicated than visually connecting those spaces…..and not trying to compete with them for the spotlight.

So. I did buy some (simple!) ORB doorknobs to replace the shiny 80’s brass ones, and I do plan to order some family vacation photos to go on the blank walls, and I need to de-yellow the doorbell box thing up there somehow, but then I’m going to call it done. I mean, at some point I might spot the perfect cabinet for that space and buy it–who knows? But I’m not going to force it so I can do a grand reveal of an overly fancified hallway. I try to be aware of always making house decisions for us and not for the blog (which, I mean, ultimately makes the blog better, ironically, I think)…but I nearly got carried away in here. Phew! Close call!

Okay, so how about that light?

Dave doesn’t like doing electrical stuff at all, so, of course, he found installing it frustrating. But, as near as I could tell, the only real issue is that the screws they included weren’t really long enough; we ended up using the ones from the old light instead, and that was fine.

Our old light fixture only had one bulb in it, and this hallway was perpetually dark and dreary. This one has three bulbs (we got 60 watt equivalent LEDs–the daylight-y ones) and now the hallway glows like the surface of the sun! It’s SO bright! I love it!

Progress (even without a runner, this is still a pretty big change):