The Red Lantern

When I spotted this red lantern in one of my favorite interior design shops it was love at first sight! I knew that it would make the perfect accent piece for my bedroom at the lake cottage. It was love at first sight until I turned over the price tag. Talk about sticker shock, $1600. That is not a typo. Sixteen hundred dollars! There was no way I would pay $1600 for my short lived new love. Even though the entire light was about 28 inches tall, it was still over priced.  Make that grossly over priced.I finished my browsing and mosied on out. I then decided to visit the other stores nearby. Stationary store. Skip that. Liquor store. Absolutely skip that. Tuesday Morning. Good browsing but no purchases today. Import store somewhat like a no-name Pier One. Great browsing. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear but the almost identical same lantern with no light inside!!! Price tag:$59. Oh yes. Then, 20% off!!!! OH YES. I’ll take it. I was ecstatic!  I know where to get light fixtures. I hustled on down to the Habitat Resale store and picked one up for $5. I had to remove the glass part of my habitat fixture but that simply involved turning a few screws. I took my handy dandy little power drill and drilled a hole in the very tip top of my red lantern for the wiring and hanging hook to go through. I opened the little door and inserted my habitat light and pulled the wire through the hole.

I purchased the little thing at the ceiling (I think it’s called a canopy) from Lowe’s for a couple of bucks.
I just saved myself $1640!! Cha-ching! I made this light for less than the taxes on the original one. When I visited that store one year later, the red lantern was still there. I could not work up the nerve to take a photo. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE it when a plan comes together!
I’ll be linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and to the DIY showoff.