Hello everyone!  I hope you’re all having a great Saturday.  How ’bout those tornadoes yesterday?!  Thank goodness nobody I know was directly affected, but how scary and devastating!  I heard that there was golf ball sized hail in some areas also!  There is a lot of piece of mind that comes with living in Idaho!  We don’t have potentially devastating weather very often, thank goodness.

Anyways…I’m working on redoing some side tables that I bought at an auction recently, but they aren’t quite ready for the big reveal, so instead I’m gonna talk a little about chandeliers.  I LOVE chandeliers, and always have.  Most new chandeliers (at least of any larger size) are going to run you a couple of hundred dollars, so how do you get a similar look on a budget?  You find one second-hand and give it a makeover!

I really wish I had some before pictures for you on these, but unfortunately I don’t.  These were done before my blogging days, so I am only able to show the “after” and the “how to’s”.

This chandelier in my daughters bedroom is probably my favorite.  I got it years ago.

Here’s where it’s a total bummer that I don’t have before pictures.  I found this at a yard sale for $10 and it was hideous!  It was a cream color and someone else had already attempted to give it a makeover by painting the little leaves green and the flowers pink.  It was a nice try, but I’m not surprised they decided to yard sale it.  It didn’t have any crystals on it at that point either.  I spray painted it black and adorned it with crystals that I have collected from yard sales, flea markets, etc.   The crystal garland was actually purchased from Bombay Company as it was going out of business.  It has always been a favorite of mine, and it seems to be the first thing people notice when they go into my daughter’s bedroom.  Here are a couple more pictures of it:

The installation itself is super easy also.  First turn off all the electricity leading to the room, then just connect the wires on the chandelier to the corresponding wires from the fixture you removed.  It really is easier than it mays seem.

I recently switched out a couple of can lights in my kitchen eating area for some chandeliers that I found at a Habitat for Humanity store here in Boise.  Those kinds of places are located in most towns and are the perfect place to find used home improvement items at a fraction of the price.  Keep in mind that you have to use your imagination, because most of these things need a makeover.  After all, that’s why someone donated it to the store in the first place .  Here are my chandeliers in my breakfast area:

Again, I don’t have any before photos, but both of these chandeliers were different colors to begin with, and they didn’t have the crystals.  I spray painted them both with an oil rubbed bronze.  The crystals are actually two candle holders that I bought many years ago.  I modified the candle holders a bit, and just put them right on top of the neck of the chandelier (the chandelier can be dissasembled and put back together rather easily.)  Obviously the chandeliers don’t match perfectly, but they are close enough.  They both had glass globe shades on them also, but I knew I wanted those to go.  Here’s a close up:

 Those light bulbs are actually chandelier bulbs.  If you notice, one has a skinnier base, and the other has a wider base.  Here’s what I’m talking about:

The bulb in the middle has a wider base, while the one on the right has a narrower base.  The bulbs actually look the same once they are screwed into the fixture.  I got both kinds of bulbs at Wal-mart, and they are only like $2-3.00 a box.  Some light fixtures require the bigger base, while some are fitted for the smaller base.

The last detail is the round medallion at the top of the chandelier.  I used that because when the can light was removed, the hole underneath it was bigger than the chandelier base.  These were purchased at home depot and there are quite a few to choose from.  I went with super simple because I wanted them to blend with the existing ceiling as much as possible.  Here’s a photo of the medallions:

 If I had wanted to, I could have put little shades on them also, like this:

That of course is a really expensive chandelier that I found on Overstock.com, but if that is the look you’re going for, it is attainable on a budget!

I have a couple of other places in the house that I plan on adding chandeliers to.  Do you have any existing chandeliers you can give a makeover to?  You know those awesome brass ones that were so popular in the 90′s?  With a little work you can make them fabulous!  Thanks for coming by!  Have a great day!