Simple Solutions for Ugly Fixtures

I've been working to ready the Speakeasy Boutique for its February 29th opening, but no matter how great the space was starting to look, there was a small problem: a really ugly, ancient lighting fixture, coming straight out of the wall. It is clearly a relic from the VERY old days. The building was built in 1874, so there's a lot of decades that could have spawned it.

Often times, older fixtures in older buildings are desirable, if not beautiful details, like the wooden mouldings around my doorways and windows in the studio. But this lighting fixture...I guess I should have posted a picture, but trust me, it's ugly...it's like it sprouted, Alien-style, straight out of the wall, and it's got parts missing, and it won't light up, even with a modern light bulb. It had to go...but couldn't be removed from the wall without damaging the wall, and I wasn't up for that project.

So I headed to the Mecca of simple solutions, IKEA--if you're going to participate in our capitalist culture of consumption, you may as well do your necessary acquiring at a store that recycles, and utilizes renewable resources, right?

Anyway, without further ado, here's the simple, attractive solution: