When we moved in to this house I was super excited to finally have a chandelier in the dining room.  This one was the original “antiqued” 1970s brass model with some DIY upgrades by the previous owner. Painted and adorned with fake greenery and some very Laura Ashley shades.  We have looked on and off for a chandelier to replace it and then got serious over the winter.  We were frustrated with what we had to choose from and decided just to spray paint it for now, swag it over the center of the table and, in a few years, replace it altogether.  The project was put on hold while we waited for the coldest winter on record to pass.  You know what happens over time, minds get changed, again.  We searched anew and found something that everyone could agree upon.

Here a close up of the chandelier from when we did our final walk through before closing on the house.

I never took any better before pictures because the hubs id a proactive guy and got right into removing the shades and greenery as soon as we had access to the house.  Notice the popcorn ceilings are still there.

This is what we have been living with for about 18 months.  We oriented the dining room table in the opposite direction from the original intention.  The chandelier was totally off center and in danger of head on collisions.

It had been painted copper, which I preferred, but with a brush – and the strokes showed. Also, it was only partially painted and two tone in a bad way.

We were thinking an oil rubbed bronze finish.  I find that to be the most neutral finish and we already have quite a mix of metals in the room.  The china cabinet has a similar aged finish on the hardware with a hint of verdigris, and there are various brass tones as well.  As you can see, our furniture is very French, but I didn’t want a chandelier that was too frilly.  This chandelier at Lowes worked.  A mix of classic elements with some sleek lines to balance all the curvy floral French Provincial details.  The glass globes are a bit frilly…we can change those later.

It has an oil rubbed bronze finish with brass accents.

Here is the final after view.

Having the chandelier swagged and centered above the table looks so much better.  This chandy also has a bit more volume with a more appropriate scale to the space.  It is such and improvement and the light is also much better.

Still, I am not crazy about the globes.  Hubs likes them.  The debate will continue.  I like these two.

or even these.

All of these styles have a nice amount of curve to maintain the elegance, but with a little less frill without that ribbed texture.  Switching the glass globes is such an easy project to do during the cold months, we will revisit then.  For now the dining room feels a lot more grown up and pulled together.