Sometimes I have an idea and it just doesn’t work….

A few weeks ago I figured it would be fun to make my owl into my own version of this owl lamp.  I was so confident it would work I went ahead and bought the light kit.  It took a few weeks to find the right size shade but I finally found one.  I’ve learned to try to rig up the final look of something before I commit so I grabbed one of those plug-in light socket things and a light bulb and balanced it on the head of my owl before I drilled the hole.

I’m glad I did.  I’m not sure I like it.  Actually I do like it but, with this huge shade he’s gigantic and tall and when I turn the lightbulb on the shade become see through and I can see a light bulb silhouette.

But I do think he looks much better without that unfinished canvas behind him.  Now he owns that wall.  I still think he’s large for the scale of the room {although I love playing with scale} and I still don’t like the light bulb but, I’m not ready to declare this decision made.  I’m going to live with him like this for a while, in my room, maybe in the hall, maybe I’ll think about another place to put him.  I might end up keeping him just an owl or maybe I’ll find a shade I like better or maybe I’ll decide I love him like this.  He could very possibly sit around half put together for a month while I decide.  That’s just how I work.

Yeah, someone really needs to put that tree away. 

I have things in just about every room in my house that are in process like this.  I try to live with them or rig it up before I commit.  It’s one of the baby steps of risk.  Like painting a poster board a color and tacking it to your wall before you paint an entire wall.  Or moving an old bookshelf and laying it on its side behind the sofa to see if you like it before you buy a sofa table.

UPDATION:: I wrote this post a few weeks ago and never hit publish.  I’ve since decided that I have absolutely no place in our home to put a three-foot tall owl lamp so I returned the shade and the light kit.  I’m really glad I rigged it up first instead of going ahead and drilling a hole in the top of my owl.   Also, you’ll be happy to know that my husband put that tree up in the attic and it took me about two days to even notice.