It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Light!

It is all about the Light .. or the lighting .
When we saw this apartment for the first time, there was nothing on any of the windows, light poured into the rooms, the ceilings are so high, it seemed so vast and open.
I immediately fell in love with the place.

Those light-filled  rooms with high ceilings held very old pipes and wires and a decrepit bathroom and a crumbling do-it-yourself kitchen on top of an ancient kitchen .. but the charm was there, the light was there.

We had seen a few apartments and many had low ceilings and regular sized windows and no open views and I had to stop myself from clutching my husband , gasping "Let's get out of here, quick !!" .  I do admit that one warren of small, dark rooms had me walking out and waiting in the hall. Who knew I was so neurotic??

Then we walked in the door of this apartment. Love at first sight for me..

So we bought it .. another adventure, another story,  another time.

The fun part about buying a new home, is furnishing and decorating it.
At least that is the fun part for me, there may be a difference of opinion from my husband.

So the search began , we went looking for Lights.
The style of the apartment being French, I was determined to fill the rooms with chandeliers and replicate those wonderful apartments I have seen in Paris. ( they do call Buenos Aires the Paris of South America )...

Our days were full of wandering Antique shops in San Telmo. Returning home dazed and confused and starting to see one chandelier pretty much looked like all the others.
Then we went to antique shops in the more expensive parts of town where the Wonderful Things are sold .. of course, right away, we found just what we loved.
Then we asked the price.
I got a photo of it instead, and we continued our search.

We found a light that we really liked, but we needed two. The store owner made some calls, sent us an email and told us she had two and it would be too many pesos.
We continued the search ..

We went to the Flea Market.. now that is fun.
One day, we found a light, but we needed two. The man referred us to another shop, they did not have it. So we wandered aimlessly, when there in the gloom and dust of another shop, was what looked like the twin of the light we wanted.
The price was right, we grabbed it.
We got the other one and the living room was taken care of ... now only 6 more lights to find ..


We did it, we found them all, at various antique shops and the flea market and if we ever move from here, I am taking most of them with me.
Yep, I am in love with my lights.
I lie in bed and admire the chandelier, although the drawback is that one must climb a very high ladder to clean all those little pieces of glass, I do it and I love my chandelier.
I would take the light that comes into the rooms with me too, if I could.

But in the meantime, it is time to grab the Pup and go out into the light and soak a little warmth from the sun that is getting a little less strong, a little cooler breeze is blowing, there is a hint of fall in the air.

Soon we will be cozy inside , with the  winter sunshine lighting the rooms, until the early evening comes and the lights go on.

2 comments:

  1. Mmmm...flea market. The lights in my flat are terrible. It's a rented flat and I have begun to yearn for my own place in order to do just what you are doing - looking for little things that will make it my own. Enjoy that glass when it is all polished and perfect.

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  2. Omigoodness, that place looks absolutely exquisite. It's so true that light is one of the most important decorating features. Light during the day, and light in the evening. It creates a mood like nothing else.

    Those light fixtures are so beautiful...

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