Thursday, September 23, 2010

Chandeliers and Used Furniture: Endangered?


There was a story on the national news this evening about GE shutting down its last incandescent light bulb factory today. 


So, I ask, what will happen to chandeliers?  Are they obsolete?  Will they become worthless?
Will people hoard incandescent bulbs to avoid having to use these?

I'm all for the environment but, I have to admit, I don't like the quality of light from CFL light bulbs and I've taken out most of the bulbs I've purchased.  Secondly, given the special disposal procedures of CFL light bulbs, I wonder how many people are really going to be compliant.  I imagine most of them will go straight into the trash.


And while on the subject of endangered, what about second-hand furniture given the rapid spread of bed bugs?  I don't even think about that one.

What do you think?  

12 comments:

  1. It hadn't occurred to be to be worried about light bulbs for my chandelier. And 3/5 bulbs are burnt out right now. There must be some good replacements being developed. LED?

    A lot of my furniture has purchased used, and since all the bedbug news I have become somewhat wary about it, but if I saw something really great, I'd risk it.

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  2. hi steve,

    although i should, i'm too tired to worry about this. i'm just going to look at the pretty chandeliers you posted. god, they are gorgeous!

    ~janet

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  3. Bed bugs are just that-bugs. There are ways to be rid of them, and they've been around for quite some time. I remember my grandmother (memere) telling me about how they would use a feather, dip it in kerosene, and wipe down each spring in the "box spring/foundation" under the mattress. They would also put the legs of the bed in a small dish-also filled with kerosene. Maybe that accounts for some of the distinctive scents we have with our grandparents/great grandparents homes!! Maybe we should bring our own stash of kerosenewith us when we travel??just a thought! I'm guessing a "No Smoking" policy goes hand in hand with this extermination plan. Anyway, I'll also risk it for a wonderful piece of furniture. Maybe lightbulbs will be the baseball cards of the future...everyone will horde, thinking they can make a profit, and we'll still be able to buy them. Why is this all so difficult??

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  4. Oh my, I never even thought about this until you brought it up! Yikes, I love my incandescent chandy bulbs!! There really isn't anything that compares, except for candlelight!

    And tomorrow I'm heading to a huge barn sale that I'm photographing for a magazine...let's hope everything is bed bug free. For now I will just plug my ears, and cover my eyes singing La La La the whole while! ;-)

    Kat :)

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  5. Oh my, I never thought about the light bulbs either. This is not good. Should we be hoarding them? I don't even want to think about the bed bugs!

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  6. Hi Steve,
    I read your post and then left to google this bed bug frenzy that I somehow managed to not hear about! Let me just say that all of a sudden, I've started to feel itchy. : O
    And funny you should mention the chandeliers as just yesterday I tried to go online and order replacement bulbs for ours...but they didn't make the ones I needed anymore!
    Have a great fall weekend in beautiful New England!
    Trina

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  7. I have an old French chandelier and also a variety of second hand furniture on which I happily relax. Under the microscope we would see that bugs are everywhere.
    As they said in WW2, "Keep Calm and Carry On"!

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  8. I never thought about light bulbs and if they become extinct I will be in bad shape...last count, I have eight chandeliers (one outside). I am kind of a "chandelier-aholic".(-: Bed bugs to me are the new big bugaboo; Gee, I have even picked up chairs off the street to redo.

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  9. bulbs?? I'm hoarding. I'm a hoarder, there I said it!! Seriously, you should see my light-bulb drawer! I knew this day would come, but haven't wanted to think about it. I'm off to buy bulbs... little 7 watt, 15 watt, 25 watt, straight tip, curved tip, chandelier base, regular base BULBS!!!!
    joan

    p.s. the leaves are starting to turn!

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  10. oh, and the bed bugs... can't think about bed bugs as I'm too upset about the bulbs;) Those new bulbs don't dim.... and they're ugly.... did I mention they don't dim? and they're ugly?????!! :)

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  11. Please, if I have to live with one more of those ugly bulbs -- my husband has them everywhere! My chandelier is one of the last frontiers in my house -- I'll manufacture them myself to give us the right light. What a labor of love this must be for you -- I'll stay tuned. And thanks for following my blog!

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  12. Chandelier bulbs. I don't know, is it really hoarding or just making a sensibly huge purchase? That's what I'll call it.

    I've been looking forever for the right sofa, but every time I see something approaching what I want on craigslist I worry about bringing bedbugs into the house. It's just not something I want to deal with. Ever.

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