rainbows in my home

by Kaylah Stroup

I’ve been thinking about getting a rainbow maker for a while now. Both my last apartment, and my current one get lots of direct sunlight. Watching that light move across the wall throughout the day is one of the most relaxing things ever. The only thing I could think of that could possibly make it better was a rainbow! I had seen a solar powered rainbow maker by Kikkerland that I was interested in getting but it had such mixed reviews that I held off. Looking back at it now, it has four stars out of five but for the price too many people were mentioning it died within a month. I wasn’t really sure what options I had, everything seemed too expensive or was too hokey looking.

Fast forward until a few weeks ago when Jeff and I were at a local toy store when he spotted a prism and mentioned how he’d like to get it for photography. I told him to hold off, Valentine’s Day was approaching and I figured I’d be able to get a much better one online. I ended up deciding on this one since it had such awesome reviews and claimed to be made specifically with photography in mind. As soon as it came, and before I wrapped it up for him, I gave it a little test run.

I held the prism up to my living room window, which is where we get the most direct sunlight, and BAM instant rainbow! I ended up falling back in love with the idea of having rainbows in my apartment so much I decided to try another product. My second purchase was a sun catcher. Instead of just sitting in the window like I had the prism, it hangs on the window from a little suction cup. It’s not exactly my decor style but the rainbows it produces are AMAZING!

the rainbow sun catcher in my window

I decided to write this post for two reasons. One being I really love the photos I’ve gotten so far, and wanted an excuse to share them. Ahem. And two, when I was looking into how to have rainbows in my home I couldn’t find very much information. There didn’t seem to be many solid reviews, and there definitely weren’t any good photos. I wasn’t sure what product would be best for what I wanted so hopefully this post will help someone else who would like a little color in their life!

Prism
▴ Makes shorter square rainbow, like in the photo below.
▴ Can either sit in window or be held in your hand.
▴ Best if used while being held since the rainbow is smaller, and correct angle needs to be hit with light.
▴ You have more control over the resulting rainbow than with the sun catcher, as in you can move it around the room, and change the shape and size slightly.
▴ Your cat is probably going to love to chase the light it produces.

Sun catcher
▴ Makes many long skinny rainbows that fill the room with no effort on your part.
▴ Attaches to window with suction cup.
▴ While you can remove it from the window its probably best to just leave it be so you really don’t have any control over where the rainbows go.

For me, the clear winner here is the sun catcher since it produces SO much more color. That’s not to discredit the prism though. It’s definitely a fun little toy to play with, and like I mentioned above, Professor loves it. Either way, both of these items make for fun photos.

Had to post this one because it looks like he’s producing those rainbows and that it takes a lot of effort on his part.

You don’t even have to say it, I agree, it’s a liiittle bit tacky but I can’t help myself. The rainbows make me smile every time I walk into my living room. So much so that I bought a second sun catcher for my kitchen as well.
xoxo

Updated 8/17 – It’s been over a year since I originally wrote this post and in that time I’ve only fallen more in love with rainbows, and purchased even more items to make my home magical. Check out the rainbows these crystals make! Also, I bet you didn’t know your home was missing a disco ball!

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28 comments

Alexandra March 1, 2017 - 2:59 pm

That photo of Professor is so cute!! Mozart LOVES chasing lights we used to have a laser pointer that she'd go crazy after, but now it's mostly just reflections from my phone 🙂

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:56 pm

Professor loves phone reflections too! So darn cute.

Hannah Peterson March 1, 2017 - 4:38 pm

My Mom had three prisms in our living room window when I was a kid. Her's were all different shapes! They hung from fishing wire, and in the summer when the windows were open, they would sway slightly and the rainbows would dance all over the room. Thanks for bringing back such lovely memories!

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:56 pm

Ah! That sounds so dreamy!

hello haha narf March 1, 2017 - 5:29 pm

i love the rainbows produced from front door window at the boyfriend's house. at my place i hung a crystal from an old chandelier. LOVE the rainbows it throws. although i think i need one of those sun catchers you have because those rainbows are off the charts fantastic. looking forward to seeing how the rainbows from your new one look!

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:57 pm

So kind of a bummer update – the rainbows are exactly the same from the new one!

MFerPhotography March 1, 2017 - 5:50 pm

This is scary. I have a box of crystals, pewter dragons and fairies I used to collect way back in the late 80's and early 90's that I had not opened in 20 years until 2 weeks ago…anyway I found a prism in there and put it on my window sill so I could have rainbows in the morning! Now I am reading this. Too funny!

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:57 pm

Hah! So weird!

big mamabird March 1, 2017 - 6:38 pm

Nay, it's never tacky getting some rainbows on! I had a couple of those kikkerland solar powered window hangers, they both worked very well, one for so long we lost track and the other for several years. Every once in a while they need cleaning, dust will interfere with them charging! I miss them.i have various crystals hanging i all my sunlight catching windows. Now i am tempted by that suncatcher…

mandie March 1, 2017 - 8:05 pm

WOW I really love this post. It might be because I already have a lot of feelings today, but I just really loved seeing such rad photos of rainbows in your home and with your sweet lil bbs.

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:57 pm

<333

Alexis March 1, 2017 - 8:45 pm

🙂 I really love how different this post is!! It's funny lol, since I missed your Found on the Beach posts, and this kinda reminds me of the rainbow "junk" photos, only with cute critters 😛

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:58 pm

I've been wanting so badly to get back at those but the beach has been surprisingly clean lately!

Indya S March 2, 2017 - 11:13 am

Rainbows always make me so happy, but I've never thought about trying to create them in my home! I might have to keep my eye out for some suncatchers, I think they'd bring me a lot of happiness, which is always good ☺️

http://www.thesmalladventurer.blogspot.com.au/

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 4:07 pm

Yes! They make me smile every time I walk into the room!

Kristina Burkey March 2, 2017 - 9:09 pm

Rainbow Pup! Love it!

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:58 pm

He's da cutest!

bellissimadarling March 3, 2017 - 10:26 am

If you want rainbows for cheap, visit antique (and sometimes thrift) shops. They often have baskets full of crystals from old, broken chandeliers. They already have holes in them so they're easy to string on fishing line or any other string. From there you can attach your own suction cup or hang them from the lock on your window. Rainbows aplenty. My grandma used to send them to me when I was little. They tend to be way cheaper than suncatchers and they're vintage.

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:58 pm

Ahhh. Good idea!

Erin March 4, 2017 - 5:37 am

What a beautiful little series of photos xxx

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:59 pm

Thanks, Erin! 🙂

Jess Acton March 5, 2017 - 9:44 pm

These photos are so pretty! I love the one where the rainbow is casting a shadow from your kitty cat's head. I've actually been wanting a rainbow maker for a while, partly because I get so little sunlight in my flat and I wanted to brighten it up a bit. Do they work at all if you have no direct sunlight? xx

Jessthetics

Kaylah March 7, 2017 - 3:59 pm

Thanks! That one was my favorite too!

No, sadly, they don't.

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