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    Emily Fazio

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A Dimmer Dinner

November 30, 2010

Oh, to move into a dirty, dusty house. Even the light switches and outlets were discolored, mismatched, and had dirt worn into the “on” and “off” raised lettering. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I could easily replace those for a consistent and clean look (without hiring an electrician) and also check the condition of the wiring (which is kind of like taking an xray of the house) to make sure nothing scary was going on in the wall with the wiring (never know! Gulp.)

Not only did this exploratory and cosmetic surgery help me familiarize myself with the breakers in the basement, which I would encourage every homeowner to do, but it was a quick lesson in basic electical work, giving me the confidence to other things solo (like replacing a hard-wired fan or chandelier). Sidenote: I have a few great DIY/Construction books which are my bibles – look for things like this at garage sales, because it seems like people are constantly getting rid of books like these.

Anyways, where was I going with this electrical stuff? Oh yeah. One thing I had been meaning to do was update the light in the dining room to be on a dimmer switch. I knew it would make a big difference (and maybe make me more eager to eat in the dining room). The new switches I picked out were inexpensive and sleek ($9.98/each), and would fit with the existing stainless faceplate I already had over the wiring.

Here are some action shots – really, it’s not all that exciting, but Pete was nice to take some macro shots and make it look technical :)

  • Power off, time to take the old switch out of the wall.
  • New dimmer switch in. Attaching the ground wire.

And the final shot — looking good. I think I’ll be much more inclined to set up meals in here now that I don’t have to deal with bright bulbs.

  • New, clean, sleek switch. I like how subtle the dimmer functionality is.
  • Lovely, dimmed-down pendant lights in the dining room.

Now, two things – first, need to find affordable CFLs that work for dimmer switches, and secondly, what’s for dinner?

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Dining Room

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

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Mark Winters
December 3, 2010 at 1:52 pm
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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

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