At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

Brass Chandelier(s) Makeover

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In the 3 1/2 years that we have lived in our home, we have replaced every single fixture and faucet.
Every single one that is, except for these.

This is was my shiny brass dining room chandelier.

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And this is was my shiny brass entry chandelier.
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I knew that something needed to be done. But light fixtures that big cost A LOT of money!
And if I was going to replace one shiny brass chandelier, I needed to replace the other one too.
Especially since they are in the same line of vision from several points throughout the house.
I looked high and low trying to find replacements that wouldn’t break the bank, knowing all along that we would also have to hire an electrician to come out and do the actual replacing.
My handy hubby has been able to do everything else himself, but he put his foot down when it came to trying to replace a light fixture in a 2 story foyer.
He’s not the biggest fan of heights.
And then, it hit me!

Why not just hire an electrician to come over, take the lights down, let me paint them and then pay him to come back and re-install them? It would definitely cost less than buying 2 new fixtures.
So that is just what I did!
And, if you want to feel really badly about your housekeeping skills, I can’t think of a better way than this.
Just check out that dust….oh yeah!

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I decided to use an antique brass color (Rustoleum Spray Paint) rather than going with a true oiled bronze. I really didn’t want the fixtures to be too dark and I also wanted them to still have a reflective quality.

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But, as anyone who has tried to spray paint something round will tell you, there is just no way to avoid those drip marks. See that one on the left?

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I decided to just work with them but sanding it a little bit and then going over those spots with darker paint (Espresso colored craft paint) and basically doing a dry brush technique to get the look of an aged patina.

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It took a few days of painting to get it all just right and then the electrician came again and hung them right back up. Here is my giant entry brass chandelier
BEFORE

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And here it is AFTER!

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    Before                                                                     After
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                                                                                             113                                   064

               

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I’m still debating putting simple off-white shades on this fixture just to soften it up a bit.
What do you think?
I just absolutely love how much warmer my entry feels now!
And now, let’s move onto the next fixture! Here is my Dining Room chandelier


BEFORE


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And here it is
AFTER Well, sort of After.

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I loved the new off-white linen shades but I still felt like something was missing.
Something like maybe some…

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BLING!
This chandelier needed to be bling-i-fied.

I found these packets of crystal prisms for $5 each at Lowes and wondered if it would work to just clip them onto the fixture.

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And, it DID work!
I think they were the perfect finishing touch.

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Before

After with crystals
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I absolutely love how they glimmer and shimmer at night with the light on.

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Here is a close up of the round ball at the bottom to give you an idea of how the
“aging” paint treatment (a.k.a. working with drip marks) turned out.

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While I was at it, I decided it was time to do something that had been bugging me for awhile.
This room has really high ceilings and I knew that the mirror should have been hung vertically to maximize the height. I was also feeling like the blue plates were just a tad too busy in here.

And I really wanted to get that white table back into the family room where it belonged.

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Ahhhhh…sooo much better!

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Notice the new table too?

I found it at Hancock Fabrics and was able to get it for 40% off!

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I love the detailing.
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I just love seeing my “new” chandelier reflected in the mirror now.

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So, for the cost of an electrician plus a few (more like 8) cans of spray paint, some elbow grease, new shades and crystal prisms, I have 2 new light fixtures!
And I couldn’t be happier with my old-turned-new chandeliers times two!
Thanks for joining me today at the Fence,

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Comments

  2. They both are really beautiful–great idea not going too too dark with the finish!
    The crystals added just enough sparkle, I think!
    Great job!
    ~april

    Reply

  8. The finish came out amazing. I love how you blingified the chandelier with the crystals. I just love the bling. I had to laugh when I read the part about your husband not being a big fan of heights. This week I have a post scheduled just about such a thing. Love the makeovers. Just perfect!

    Reply

  13. Vanessa, Great inspiration! You’ve done a beautiful job. Love the new look! Going in my inspiration files. I also have two shiny chandeliers that are in need of a makeover. What color paint(s) did you use? Whatever you used is perfect!

    Reply

  16. I {heart} simple, yet dramatic makeovers! Lovely lovely!
    I did this same thing to my brass chandy, only I painted it black, like iron, but I love this ORB. And I have a can in the garage…hmmmm.
    OH! Hey! What did you do with the with pre-Hancock table (which is very lovely)? Can I have it? 🙂
    Love, me

    Reply

  21. I love the new look! I need to do that with my chandelier in the foyer too. We just replaced burned out light bulbs and cleaned it real well while we were painting the foyer. My foyer chandelier is very similar to yours. The good thing is that it’s a classic design. You saved a ton of money going this route!

    Reply

  25. WOW!!! what a transformation… Isn’t it AMAZING how the simplest things become the GREATEST things…. I think often we get caught in that mindset that it has to be New or Expensive…. When Cheap ends up being actually the BEST!!! That is if there is a CREATIVE mind behind CHEAP!!! Great job

    Reply

  29. Vanessa, The light fixtures look fabulous. I know what you mean about the large chandeliers costing so much. Painting really updated them and now they look like new. Thank you for sharing this transformation at the Open House party.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

    Reply

  30. Vanessa, you did an amazing job on both of those chandeliers. The color is perfect. ORB would have been to dark. And yes, they are very expensive to replace so what a great way to get a new look. I have a very similar on in my foyer and actually still like it because Mr. Country would have a bird if I wanted to replace it.!
    Marianne 🙂

    Reply

  33. What a world of difference! They look like brand new lights. Fantastic idea, and on a budget even better. We can’t get to ours that high either. When we replaced the foyer light, because it was a light I hated…the electrician did not overcharge us at all.

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  35. Looks fantastic! Love the new color and your little additions to make it so pretty!! 🙂 Well done!!

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  36. Both fixtures look beautiful! I really like your “aged” look even if it was to cover drip marks! Making old things new again is one of my favorite things. And I vote for NO shades on the entry fixture. It’s pretty just the way it is!

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  37. GIRL, these are STUNNING! I love your “new” chandies, which you took to a over-the-top level! I love the color and the added bling (you *know* I love me some bling) … fabulous, V! And, I gotta say that I love the chandie in the foyer as is, without shades. Thanks for inspiring me to do this to one of mine, too!

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  40. You really did an excellent job on both of these fixtures and I love the traditional feel of them too. I never expected any less of you–great job, as always.

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  41. This is just a wonderful transformation and with very little money involved! Thanks for the tip on the “aging process” I’ll remember that if I ever do a round ball project!
    Truely a great post! They turned out just beautifully!

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  42. We must have had the same builder as you!! I just changed out our brass dining room chandelier and am trying to figure out solution for the one in our foyer. I love how yours looks with the paint – it makes a world of difference.

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  43. I had to pop over from the email and comment. Love, love, love the way the fixtures turned out. They are beautiful! The mirror looks great turned vertical too! Great job!!

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  45. Yay!!!!! Providentially, I’m at the “change out the ugly brass light fixture” stage of the dining room right now. I’m trying to decide if I want shades and if I want to do the ORB or something else. I love the way yours came out. I don’t know if it will fit with the rest of my dining room or I’ll end up with a darker finish, but I do feel more gutsy to paint it because yours looks so great. (Both of them)

    Lucky me, I have a daughter who learned to hang light fixtures working on a summer “flip” job a few years ago.

    Reply

  46. First your light fixtures turned out great. The crystals finished off the DR light. Your mirror accentuates the height of the room better now and I didn’t even know Hancock sold furniture. I noticed your pillows because I have used that fabric all over my house.

    Robin
    Robin Flies South

    Reply

  51. Wow! That chandelier is massive and beautiful! LOVE your makeover! Seriously love all the beautiful pics!!! Thanks so much for the fun treat of being featured on your site tomorrow ~ I can hardly wait!!! I’m your newest “follower”!!! I’d love you to “follow” me too on your next visit!!!

    Aimee @ ItsOverflowing

    Reply

  59. Both lights look fantastic! I’ve been thinking about doing that with the ceiling fan in our kitchen. I just don’t know if I’m willing to do all that work! But you’ve inspired me to think about it again.

    Reply

  60. Admiring the persistence you put into your website and in depth information
    you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material.
    Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including
    your RSS feeds to my Google account.

    Reply

  61. Hi Vanessa! I am planning on using your technique to paint my sisters chandelier. My quesion is about the craft paint that you used. Was it acrylic? Also did you seal the chandelier with anything or no? Thanks in advance and beautiful job:-)
    Jess

    Reply

    • Hi Jessica! So glad you like it! Yes I just used basic acrylic craft paint and I suppose I could have sealed it lol but I didn’t bother and haven’t had any issues with it. Let me know how yours turns out! 🙂

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  62. Very nice work on painting the chandelier! I need to do exactly the same. Two questions: how much did it cost to being the chandelier down and the. Back up? Where did you paint – did you spray or use a brush?

    Thanks

    Reply

  63. I have the exact same foyer chandelier! I’ve been looking for a year, for a suitable replacement, and there is really nothing I can see that is THAT large for less than a couple of grand. I’ll try it!

    Reply

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