Kitchen Chandelier Update

As a part of our kitchen renovation, I started cruising the internet for some new lighting options. We were looking for a chandelier to hang over our table in the breakfast nook and also for 2-3 pendant lights to hang over our island (these were currently recessed lights).

I was really struggling to find something that I liked that wasn't going to cost me a fortune (the story of my life!). Then one day, I hopped on Overstock. I was floored at all of the great lighting options and the GREAT prices! Lots of them looked just like the lights I had seen at Pottery Barn or other retailers for substantially less. But because I needed to purchase at least 3 lights, these were still above my budget. I happened upon 2 potential chandeliers and decided to just order them and see what they looked like in real life.

The One we Sent Back
Our Overstock Chandelier

The first one was more expensive and it was actually really small in person. The second one was really big and it was a different finish than what it looked like on the web. It was actually a brushed nickel with portions of the chandelier in a matte black and then the glass was topped with more of a chrome finish. The finishes were a deal breaker for me but the bones of the piece were good so I decided to try my hand at making some changes to it!

The before:

So after the hubby lovingly hung the chandelier.... I waited until he was at work the next day, shut off the electricity, and took it down to work some magic on it!

First - I taped off the wiring on the chandelier, the glass, and the actual area where the light bulbs go. Its hard to see but the piece that actually holds the light bulb was originally black too. Luckily - these are just housings for the wiring and slip right off. That was the first piece I painted. They went from black to white thanks to a quick couple of coats of spray paint.

And then the real transformation began! I set up a broom across 2 patio chairs in the very back of our yard and hung the chandelier out there so I could get to work with some more spray paint.

I did several base coats of the Hammered Dark Bronze color and then a light dusting of the Hammered Silver to give it a more flecked and worn look. I toyed with taping off the glass and spraying that too but I ended up using QTips and dabbing the color on following spraying some paint onto a paper plate. Yes - I am really creative!

After a quick dry time - it was back inside and up it went to see how I did! I was pleasantly surprised with how much of a difference a little paint can make! It now has a more vintage feel than than the super modern look when it was black. I also really love how painting the pieces that hold the light bulbs now make it seem like these are candles! The white is the perfect contrast to the dark finish! The icing on the cake for me was that since the color was sprayed on I knew that I could match whatever pendant lights I finally found! (Ironically - this was a moot point to be covered on another post!)

And here are the afters!