no boobs allowed

i am finally getting ready to kick off renovation (cross your fingers for me; we’re just a few weeks out, hopefully!), and that means i can FINALLY start BUYING THINGS. with that, however, comes a crazy amount of indecision; as excited as i am to start actually turning my pinterest boards into reality, i’m also terrified of spending money on the wrong pieces.

my latest obsession? entryway light fixtures. i know, this is basically the tiniest and seemingly irrelevant space in the entire apartment–but it’s also the first thing people will see when they enter the space, and i have my heart set on making a statement. because i am building out a closet on one wall (the other will house the entry to the kitchen as well as the breakfast bar), i’ll have just a small portion of wall space to play with.

on that small swatch of wall, i’m hoping to install a little bit of this eskayel wallpaper (seen above in taylor tomasi hill’s ULTRA FAB chelsea apartment)–but the real showstopper of the space will be the light fixture i intend to purchase.

which brings us to the topic of today’s discussion. now, i know what you’re thinking (especially you, mommy): entryway light fixtures are NOT an important piece of the puzzle, nor are they a place to spend a lot of money. why would you spend $300 on a light fixture for a hallway when you could spend a mere $30 on this?

i’ll tell you why: because no one, and i mean NO ONE, needs a nipple on their ceiling.* ladies and gentleman, i introduce you to one of the biggest design sadsies in all the land: the simple flushmount fixture (more commonly known as a “boob light).

boob lights have been gracing hallways and the odd living room for decades now. they’re the default option for rental apartments, builder’s units, and for anyone who built their home in the 80s. but just like bad eighties hair came and went, so too should boob lights. i’m not sure WHY a light fixture that looks like a breast ever had a moment in the sun, but boob lights certainly did, and for some terribly sad reason, they refuse to die.

let me tell you this: cheap boobs are NEVER in style. ever.

thankfully, there are no cheap boobs in my future. i’ve been blessed by what my mama gave me, and i also have a bit of a budget to spend on my entryway lighting. so, let’s see some options, shall we?

the first contender is one i’ve had my eye on for years. actual, literal YEARS. this light fixture from furbish is at once simple and eclectic, and it’s also made of mirrored glass, which in my book translates to GLITTER which is my favorite thing in the whole wide world. unfortunately, it’s also rather pricey, so unless i can snag it on sale, it might be out of my budget.

the second is a simpler, less expensive option from shades of light. though it’s not particularly fancy, it has the same geometric lines of the star pendant from furbish–and it’s $100 less!

the third offers some serious GLAM factor, but might be a biiit too gold for the space (i can’t believe i’m admitting that something in life could be a bit too gold for me).

so, friends, tell me: which one would you choose? i have a few months before i have to actually start ordering, but if i settle on one i truly love, i’ll go ahead and pull the trigger ahead of time. help me decide!

*i (of course) recognize that interior design is not a given. it is a luxury. not everyone can afford a nice entryway light. some of us just need a light, any light. in those cases, a boob light is perfectly acceptable (though even then, i’d say you can spend your $30 on something better than the above. this, for example, is a way better option for just $5 more).