The Night Light

When we remodeled our kitchen and utility room a few years ago, we wanted the space to be warm and welcoming.  We love vintage style and in the hurry-scurry world we live in, old-fashioned decor takes us back to the days when Moms stayed home, Grandma lived nearby and every night the whole family gathered together around the supper table.   

I fell in love with the shape and colors of this Victorian-style stained glass light fixture and we bought them in several styles to hang over the bar, for above the kitchen sink, and to light up the supper table.  This one hangs in the  utility room.  It's fairly small--the perfect size for the little space and it doesn't put out much light. At first I thought it was a mistake, but it is so cute (the picture really doesn't do it justice), that I was willing to live with the dim light it provides.  

But really it has turned out to be ideal.  It complements the bead board ceiling.  It ties in with the kitchen lighting, and the low watt bulb it requires is the perfect brightness for a night light.

This is the night we leave on for late arrivals.  The light that is still on, no matter how late the hour, when the wandering family member returns. The glow is visible from the bedroom but it's not distracting when I'm ready to go to sleep.  Sometimes I sleep through the 'Mom, I'm home' announcement, (even though I answer!), but if I wake with a jolt in the middle of the night and the light is off, I know everyone is home safely.

As I was shutting up the house tonight before bed, I got kinda sad as I turned on the light.  With one daughter married and the other soon to be, we will hardly need the 'night light' anymore.  But I guess we raised them to let them go, right?