Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

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The Lights of My Life

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Chandelier in McCall house

I bought my first chandelier in 1997 while building a house on the east shore of Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho. I was divorced and had sold my interest in the family business. I wanted a new start so invested the proceeds to create a dream home in McCall.

Joan at the construction site in 1997

For the interior design, I consulted my friend and designer Joan Whitacre. She found a brilliant and massive chandelier for the entryway but when it arrived from Boston, the construction workers on site laughed at her. They told her it was too big to fit inside the door. She sent them to lunch and proceeded to manipulate the enormous chandelier one prong at a time to maneuver the entire fixture through the doorframe. The chandelier was perfect.

I sold the house ten years later, a greedy action I still regret, and was dismayed to learn the new owners replaced the chandelier with lights hidden inside a jumble of antlers. The new owners also removed the custom 1950 kitchen downstairs, but their payment cleared so I tried not to care. My personal drama included another marriage and divorce, so I started over again.

Over the following 16 years, I moved to eight different houses, always searching for the best light in the perfect home. I built a cabin in Garden Valley in 2008 and ordered lights from a local lighting company and a few online options. I added wall sconces to add indirect lights for a dozen writing retreats I organized at the cabin under the name “Write by the River.” I intended to retire there, but I sold it in 2021. Again, that’s another regret. The cabin recently sold again for a substantial profit for the owners.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Anthony Doerr speaks at the “Write by the River” writing retreat in Garden Valley
Chandelier and copper ceiling in Eagle home

When I moved to a third new house Eagle in 2009, I contacted Joan Whitacre for help with design and furnishings. Again, she found the perfect chandelier and recommended a ceiling covered in copper. The results were stunning and dramatic. I found a cute guy from Texas and invited him to share the home. The chandelier continued to shine over family holiday gatherings, book signing events, writing workshops, and birthday celebrations.

Moving the chandelier from Eagle to Meridian

 

We moved again in 2018 and brought the chandelier to the new home in SpurWing for my piano room. An earthquake in 2020 caused it to sway, and I captured a video on my cell phone. The video, posted below, received more than 18,000 views on Twitter.

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Piano room at SpurWing

I had to leave the chandelier behind when the house sold in 2020. After living for 16 months in a rental house without a chandelier, we moved again to a custom house back in Eagle. Joan had retired and was traveling the world with her husband, so I searched for new lights.

I found the perfect chandeliers in the Hyde and Seek Shop in Boise and purchased five in two sizes. I hung hundreds of crystal pieces on the chandeliers, and now they sparkle in the entryway, the powder room, the piano room, my office, and the main bathroom.

I also prefer eclectic lamps, including a “Storyteller Lamp” from Villa Decor in Eagle and a natural-leaf “jelly fish” lamp from North End Organic Nursery in Garden City, Idaho. I painted the shade to match the walls in my office.

“Storyteller Lamp”
Leaf “Jelly Fish Lamp”
Chandelier and tile wall in power room in Eagle
Chandelier in my office

The lights of my life have illuminated grand, poignant, and painful moments inside a wide variety of homes. I’m finally where I should be, and I don’t intend to move again or purchase another chandelier. I know the darkness can’t last long when rooms and attitudes are bathed in brilliant lights in a safe place that says, “Welcome Home.”

 

The Couches of My Life

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1978 emily chest

My parents owned one good set of furniture that lasted 40 years. After the first 20 years, my father had the couches recovered with leather so they would last longer. I didn’t have that same attachment to any sofa, and I’ve lost count of the good, bad, and ugly selections that have entered and departed my living room.

As with most newlyweds, my husband and I didn’t have extra money. We found an inexpensive fuzzy, green striped couch with a matching love seat at a big warehouse and brought them home in a borrowed pickup truck. We moved those bulky pieces several times over15 years, and the fabric endured multiple assaults from busy, messy children. (That sleepy baby in the photo now is married and has kids and couches of her own.)

1995 family room

When my two children were 10 and 12, I decorated the room with colorful furniture. I loved my custom-ordered, teal-green leather couch, and sadly learned years later that no one liked it. We eventually gave it away to a young couple who covered it with a blanket. Now, I cringe when I see those boring white walls that practically beg for paint or wallpaper and a creative spattering of art.

1998 living room hickories

After my first child left for college, I went into my pristine, virginal white stage. Misguided by a young and eager interior decorator, I installed white wool carpet and christened the living room with elegant white furniture. No one would step into the room because it was too immaculate, and I finally sold the couch and table on consignment and gave away the chair. I lost the fabulous tapestry in a divorce.

living room

My current couch is ten years old, and I moved it four times before finding my forever home. I’ve mixed sturdy leather furniture and wooden lamps and iron mirrors with colorful patterns in my favorite colors of red and gold beneath a tapestry of Portofino, Italy. There is a sanctuary corner on the left with a hand-carved statue of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travel. I bought it in Bolzano, Italy when I was there during the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and couldn’t fly home. This room is safe for playing grandkids and elegant enough for adult soirees.

As I look at the couches of my life, I’m reminded of the significant events that occurred while I was busy setting up a home, working full-time, and raising children. Those scruffy early pieces were good enough for my babies. The teal monstrosity made me happy. The white mistakes were my reaction to divorced life and an attempt to make everything perfect again. And, my current leather couch symbolizes the comfort and stability of my present home. I’m grateful that I have a house with furniture, and I support charities that offer assistance to homeless families.

After moving 16 times during my adult life, I’m finally home. I encourage my friends and family to come inside, get cozy on the sofa, share a glass of wine, and give a toast to life. The furniture is replaceable, but the memories and good times last forever.