I’m really trying to stay focused on working on the bathroom instead of getting sidetracked with other projects around the house. It’s getting difficult, though, because I’m so tired of working on trim. So while I did make progress on trim and finishing the newly installed door yesterday (which is very close to being finished), I decided to end the day with a fun, creative project. I decided to start on the bubble light that will go over the bathtub.
A bubble light over the bathtub has been part of the plan from the beginning. Remember this image I put together showing the direction for the bathroom? I added a semi-flush mount bubble light that I found online (it’s above the bathtub and kind of blends in with the mural, so it’s a little hard to see), but after having a hard time finding exactly what I wanted, I decided to make my own.
Until yesterday, the light above where the bathtub will go looked like this…
It’s the same type of ultra thin recessed light that I have in the rest of the room, and throughout the house.
So yesterday, I got out the nine boxes of large 4-inch frosted white Christmas ornaments that I’ve had tucked away since last fall (when I found them on sale at Hobby Lobby), and started working on my bubble light. What’s funny is that all of these months, every time I saw that stack of nine boxes of ornaments, I would think to myself, “There’s NO WAY I’m going to need all of those! I’m definitely going to have some extras left over.” Well, I was wrong. Not only did I need every one of those, but I could have used about three or four more boxes.
I’ve had to order more, so my bubble light isn’t finished yet. But here’s the progress so far…
I’m not going to share a tutorial until it’s finished, and I have no idea when I’ll get the ones I ordered last night. I might not get them until next week, so for now, I’m stuck with a half finished bubble light. But it’s still fun to look at!
And this will be my view as I’m soaking in the tub…
So far, I love the light. It’s turning out better than I imagined, and was so much easier to make than I had anticipated.
But now I’m second-guessing the white bubble light against a white ceiling. I don’t need or want the light to stand out like a sore thumb, and I don’t necessarily want it to be a main focal point. But I would like it to show up, and I wonder if it’s too subtle against a white ceiling.
I have three options here:
- Leave the light and the ceiling as they are, and be happy with the subtle look.
- Paint the ceiling an actual color, but keep it very light so that it’s just enough to show a difference between the trim/bubble light and the ceiling. I could maybe try the wall color at 10% or something like that. Or,
- I could try something creative with the actual light, and find a way to make the “bubbles” a very light, subtle color while still keeping them translucent. Y’all know I love a good functional art project (like my pantry backsplash tiles), and this might be a fun experimental, artistic project. (You can see what color on a bubble light looks like here. I wouldn’t want that color — it’s way too dark — but it gives you an idea.)
The funny thing is that I started off writing this post leaning towards painting the ceiling. But I think I may have just talked myself into an art project, because I’d love to see what it would look like if I could add some very subtle color to those bubbles! I’ll give it some more thought. I have a few days before my new order arrives, and I can’t finish the light until then anyway. But don’t you think a very subtle (and still translucent) color on those bubbles would be pretty?
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!
