Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Chandelier Which Took Eighteen Months to Finish

A couple of years ago, I started looking for a chandelier for Pinkerbelle’s room.  I wanted it to be small, and I didn’t want to spend much (as usual).  Goodwill and ReStore were busts; for the most part, their offerings were too big, too ugly, and too expensive.  In December 2009, I found what I was looking for at a small church-run thrift shop.  The antique brass chandelier was small (about 12” across), pretty, it worked, and it was only $8…an unheard of price!

I don’t have any before photos, because right about the time I got around to starting the makeover in November 2010, the Great Computer Crash occurred and we lost three weeks’ worth of photos.  This thing is real solid brass (it weighs about 10 lbs), and it had an antique-y patina.  Although it wasn’t the super shiny 1980s brass, for my purposes I wanted to paint it.  I originally went with satin white, but after a paint malfunction back in Nov., I set it aside until last week.

When I went to Home Depot for some paint, I had decided to step it up a bit by using gloss white.  But I  came home with gloss hot pink.  It was a step out of my “safe” zone, but I’m so glad I did it!

 

IMG_8055

 

 

I ordered 10 crystals from etsy and added them, although there are eyelets for 34 crystals on this little 12” chandelier if I had wanted to do that many! 

(I used wire to attach them and it doesn’t look that great if you look too closely; Craig says I need to use fishing line.)

 

IMG_8057

 

Look at the details!  I wouldn’t have got that with a 1980s relic.

 

IMG_8056

 

IMG_8059

 

Pinkerbelle loves it as much as I do!

 

IMG_8061

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh I just love it! I really want to do something like that for my daughters room. She would be in love with it too.
The hot pink looks great too. What a fun mistake.

Paula@SweetPea said...

I love it!! This was well worth the wait!

Sarah @ Modern Country Style said...

I'm not surprised she loves it - it look BEAUTIFUL!! Really pretty. It makes such a difference to the feel of your daughter's bedroom. Pinkerbelle is such a sweet nickname - and now she has the perfect light to match!!!

I bet you could use see-through sewing thread instead of fishing line, if you had some lying around. But, having siad that, the wire looks fine in the photos!

Sarahx

Anna said...

this looks great! My daughter really wants a chandelier in her room too but she is a ceiling fan junkie and has to have it on year round, so we would have to get some kind of fan that could sit on her dresser or something else to replace that.
The hot pink is really fun!

aggieam01 said...

Super precious for your little girl's room. The color is bright and cheerful, and I think you made a good call on pairing back the number of crystals used. :)

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

It looks great Holly. I especially love the shot of it in her room. :) Great details!

FrouFrouBritches said...

Oh, wow! I totally love it!!! I love the antique look with that jolt of color. Gorgeous!!!!

Melinda said...

I bet she does love it. It is perfect for her.

Melinda

Kirsty Girl said...

great idea! Love the pink.

Rustown Mom said...

Just the perfect size for a little girl's room - I'm sure she loves it.

Donna said...

Oh, how I love this! I have a chandy in my basement waiting for some spray painting love. Thanks for the inspiration!

Funkytime said...

Looks Beautiful, this could go in my bedroom as well:-)

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness that is fabulous! I don't know why but I'm terrified of spray paint! This could get me motivated to give it another try!

Jessica said...

Very cute! Great job. :-)