Garth and I have been on a quest to find and creatively reuse old or discarded objects in our kitchen makeover. We hope that the result of our labor is a unique kitchen that is very functional. Alas, finding the right item to reuse can be tricky when we are problem solving. This was the case when we decided to replace the wall sconces next to the windows. The wall sconces that graced our kitchen walls when we moved in were not offensive, but as we began to pull the room together it became obvious that we should investigate other options.

Not knowing much about wiring a lamp myself, I ran to all the light fixture stores I could think of (this didn't take too long, as we don't live in a big town). Nothing felt inspired enough to go on our walls. Garth and I began to brainstorm what type of object we could re-purpose into wall sconces. Mason jars? Bottles? Cans? Hmmm. I headed to the source for all things handmade: Etsy.com. It didn't take long for us to discover an Etsy shop that we fell in love with called lightexture. Their self-description reads:

Lightexture is a collaboration between an architect and a lighting designer, We work together to explore light through the construction of lighting fixtures. In our light construction we incorporate ready-made objects, lighting components, pottery by ceramic artist Sharan Elran and more. The lamps are fitted and assembled by hand in our studio. One of our goals is to create energy efficient fixtures, while maintaining our focus on their atmospheric and spatial performance.

Not only were all the lamps in this shop interesting, the light each piece casts is artful and exciting. We were sold on the SteamLight Sconces almost at once, which are made from steamer baskets. The re-purposed cooking tools felt like the perfect thing to hang in our kitchen. These lights have the added bonus of opening and closing to allow more or less light into the room while casting amazing shadows on the wall.

Although I am committed to doing things ourselves as much as possible, I also love to support people who make amazing and beautiful things way better than I could. This is definitely the case in this situation. We placed our order and received our sconces in a very timely fashion. If I wasn't already in love with the object, the packaging certainly helped---each sconce was beautifully packaged in recycled cardboard boxes with a small, silver stamped image of the lamp on top. It felt like Christmas. Installing them did not seem to difficult (though I admit, you have to ask Garth about that)---they came with very clear instructions to follow. In no time we had new sconces on the wall. Check out lightexture's other website, which includes animations of how these amazing lights work. While you do that, we will be having a SteamLight disco party in our kitchen.

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