That Chandelier has GOT to GO!
The 80’s were over the top in excess and glamour. It was Bold. Gold. And now… very outdated. I know brass is again having a moment, but it’s not that 80’s shiny gold. It’s thankfully much more muted. Having said that…it’s still not my thing. I like silver better. Maybe because it’s more accessible. I’m not sure, but silver is just my metal of choice.
Imagine my utter delight upon seeing a giant 7 ft chandelier in gold hanging from the entry of our newly purchased home. After the initial shock, I looked at Jeff and said, “That chandelier has GOT to GO!” He must have agreed because he didn’t argue or say it would be too expensive…. He just nodded his head.
I did have some pushback from friends and family about getting rid of said lighting fixture. (I’m talking about you, Dad…) Since a majority of those who objected to my removal of the offending light were men who are 50+, I promptly ignored their advice….
They have NO clue how to decorate….
Cut to a few months later, and we’ve purchased a giant lantern in polished nickel to replace the golden monstrosity. Don’t get me wrong, a giant chandelier has its place. Large buildings like churches or banks are perfect settings for chandeliers.
Not suburban homes styled for comfort.
You would think, reading this blog, that Jeff wasn’t involved in design decisions except with the mighty veto power he executes when my items get too spendy. In this you would be mostly correct, however, he zeroed in on our light fixture of choice and overruled my others. (Note I said “choices”-it’s not like I was giving him free range with this decision….)
As I do not like to throw out anything (see earlier mirror entry), I asked around to see if anyone would like the chandelier. Our flooring guy, TJ, liked it and wanted it for his new building, where it would work perfectly and be valued. We decided on a trade. His electrician would remove the chandelier and then install our new fixture. It was a win-win. He gets a massive chandelier for his new building, and we get our new fixture installed for free. Score!
TJ and his team came to remove the offending light fixture and realized pretty quickly that they needed scaffolding. It was quite a process which required them to rent said scaffolding, build it, and then climb it like monkeys and remove all of those smaller pieces a few at a time. Once that was done, they carefully had to remove the base structure. (I personally thought it looked better without the crystal pieces.) They then had to install our light which didn’t take very long as it was a MUCH more simplistic in design.
So there our lovely new light hangs, sans crystals, and I have been admiring it daily since! It’s not flashy, but it makes our house feel more like a home, not a bank entryway.
