Happy Wednesday! I can’t believe it is the last day of November! I took down all of the Fall decorations and stored them away. It’s time for Christmas decor! While I am digging out my decorations from my Christmas Closet, I am taking a detour to work on one of my chandeliers!
This chandelier is one of my all time favorites. Maybe because it was my first one! I bought it for about $20. (Yes, it really was $20) But it was missing the bottom piece that covers the wiring. It was also missing the brass arms that hold a single crystal. There were no bobeches either. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t that great of a deal. But, I bought it anyway! It had 8 arms and a great shape! I love the pineapple which is a universal welcome symbol.
I had the chandelier rewired at a local lighting store. They found a brass piece to cover the wiring and it matched pretty well. My sweet friend had a stash of chandelier parts and she gave me the 8 brass arms that were missing. I bought 8 glass bobeches and attached some vintage crystals. It hung in every one of my dining rooms over the years.
Until I found this one: I think you can tell why I switched it out! (You can read the story behind this one on my blog under Consignment Chandelier.)
So, now my pineapple beauty has been hanging in the treasure room until now. My plan is to use this chandelier along with the one hanging in my kitchen eating area in our next house. I want matching chandeliers to hang over the island in the kitchen. Or maybe over the table. Do they match now? No. But they will! I am going to paint the brass one heirloom white like the other one. (Then you won’t be able to see the mismatched bottom piece.) Also, I bought 8 arms on eBay to match the other light fixture. They won’t be identical, but it will be close enough! Here is the chandelier over the kitchen table:
If you ever shop for chandeliers, you know how expensive they can be. So, when I find one that needs a little TLC, I buy it. I can always fix it up myself, and give it away or sell it. In this case, I found the S-shape arms on eBay under brass chandelier parts. It was one of those make me an offer deals, so I did and they accepted. Yay!! Once I switch out the arms the two chandeliers will be a better match. Here are the new arms:
I’m switching out the 8 arms and will save the smaller ones for future use. A simple change that will really make a difference. Changing out crystals can make a difference too. This is the chandelier after I unscrewed the small arms. A flat head screwdriver did the trick!
Now that I’ve switched out the arms, I think the chandelier looks more substantial. Plus, the old arms only held one crystal and these hold three! Win-win!
My kitchen chandelier was already painted when I bought it so I didn’t feel bad about painting it again. It was green and I painted it white. And this one will match soon! Some people frown upon painting anything from its original state, but I say to each her own. I’ll switch out the candle sleeves too with white drippy ones once I paint it.
Do you have a chandelier story? Please share! Thanks so much for stopping by today. Tomorrow is December 1 and I’ll start hauling out my Christmas decorations!
