I Just Want to Light You Up

"I just want to light you up, Light you up like a fire, I just want to turn you on, Turn you on and take you higher"... Shawn Mullins

Now Shawn meant a different kind of light you up but I just couldn't resist using that chorus for a blog on chandeliers... I'm always happy to do a shout out for a local guy who has "done good"... Really nice guy, met him on one of my flights but I digress...  Can we talk lighting???

Atlanta is all about subdivisions. These have three or four models and 400 copies.  Each builder has their standard and upgraded features but rarely do they upgrade lighting.  Additionally, most will not put special pieces in for you.  I've had two homes built here in the past 20 years.  One lower budget and one that made me scream "TARA!" Both left me to change light fixtures as I found the time and money to do so.  Lighting can make or break the ambiance of a room.  The rooms in our house that don't require ceiling fans, all have vintage lighting to go with the other vintage decor.  Like other aged pieces it shows our personality instead of the builders designers who I never met.

I have an obsession with chandelier crystals.  I grab them whenever I see them in sales.  All shapes, colors and sizes - the only common denominator is that they are old.  I don't do new crystals.  They're made cheaper.  I love the old ones that have been taken off old broken down chandeliers and pieced out.  I used to grab them from Bandit's Down Under when Lakewood was still around.  Dave would be upgrading old beauties and I'd come clean him out of his stock.  Miss his little store in Lakewood.  Ran into him recently at Scotts and asked him where Bandit (his dog) was... His response "On the mantle waiting for me"...  Funny guy!!!  When Lakewood closed that was an end of an era for alot of us for sure...   Anyway, I keep the crystals I find in a box for future projects.  They glam candlesticks and chandeliers up with vintage beauty in no time.

A girlfriend just moved.  We went over to her house to see what she needed to downsize and she pulled these two chandeliers out of her basement.  The heavy metal one had an ugly three armed yellow globed piece hanging in it, but I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it... and when she handed me the vintage brass one... my heart started to sing...  "Yes puhlease!!! I'll take both of those babies!!!"  I had visions of where they'd hang in our booth... and pulled up pictures of my visions for the restoration to show to Bill.

Bill's job this time was to clean up the chandeliers and rewire them.  When he started on the brass piece he pointed out that the brass was too damaged to make it look right.  We decided that he should paint it a dark rubbed bronze color.  It totally brought out the design and made it pop.  We went looking for the piece to go into the heavy iron piece and couldn't find one the right size that called my name.  I figured that job would be shelved for a bit... until I went into our master bath to get ready the next day.  I turned around and saw it...  You see years ago when I bought this house new, since the builders wouldn't change the spec, I had my father (this is BB... Before Bill... my dad LOVES Bill) change out the canned lighting over my master bathtub and hung a small crystal chandelier I found at an online garage sale.  From boring to PRINCESS in an easy upgrade.  Over the years I felt that the chandelier could have been bigger but I haven't bothered to change it out... that morning I grabbed my tape measure and went running into our workshop...  "Honey!!! I've got the piece for the heavy iron chandelier!!!"


"Where?"

"In our master bath!  It'll fit.  You don't mind taking it down do you?  We can find one we like better at Lowe's or somewhere else this weekend."

"(grumble) It'll work.  Ok."

I've told you my hub is ever suffering... he loves doing projects but let me tell you what he HATES doing... changing light fixtures.  :)  Did I mention he loves me?  I'm grateful for that... he'd kill me otherwise... 

As he worked his magic in the workshop, I poured a glass of wine and sat down to work mine with the crystals on the newly painted brass chandelier.  I hung upwards of 200 crystals on that piece.  It started off lightweight and now that puppy is about 40 pounds of bling.  About halfway done I realized I had a problem.  Other dealers, you'll feel my pain here... I fell in love.  When you're a dealer, nothing other than family items are sacred.  Your decor rotates as you bring in pieces to up-cycle.  Some just can't leave home when you're done.  I finished that piece and told my husband...  "Good news and bad news... Good news... you don't have to go light shopping with me for our new bathroom piece... the bad news is we've only got one chandelier for the booth... I want to keep this one."

"So when we move, we'll take out all the antique chandeliers in the house and change them out?"

"Yup."

"Ok.  That'll look pretty upstairs."  Then he hung it for me today with my help.  OMG that thing is HEAVY... but its beautiful... see?!?  He'll totally want to kill me the first time he stands up from taking a bath and hits his head... but I'll remind him again how beautiful it is and how much I love him for hanging it... and he'll grumble again but not kill me... again...

Back to the other chandelier, which we WILL sell... The two irons were different colors so Bill had to paint them to match.  He's rewired the piece, and the crystals have been rehung.  It's a glorious juxtaposition of bling and metal.  Masculine and feminine.  We think you'll love it as much as we do.  It will be put in the booth this week.

It's a glorious fall day but we hope you will find us at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta.  Crow on Broad Street.  Come out and see us soon!