Monday, February 4, 2013

Easy Chandelier Update



I've been getting a lot of flack from my family regarding my dining room chandelier. They think it belongs in a haunted house. Or a junkyard.



Although their disapproval initially made me second-guess myself, I still think it's a pretty cool chandy.

However, there was one small thing that bothered me about it... the candle sleeves.  I'm sure the intent was to make them appear aged, but I found the gold color too jarring and distracting. So, I decided to make them more to my liking with a bit of spray paint.

You can try this at home if your candle sleeves need a color update or if they've gotten "burnt" looking over the years.

I just removed the lightbulbs and gently slid the candle sleeves off. (Mine required a little tugging and twisting). Just be careful.



Once the sleeves are removed, you will need to come up with an ingenious contraption to hold the sleeves in place while you spray paint them.

You may be shocked to know that I don't have an engineering degree when you get a look at my invention...




Green tea bottles weighted down with rocks and pierced with large twigs. Patent pending.



Since it was 8 below outside, I took my contraption down to the basement workroom.



I sprayed the sleeves with Krylon ivory spray paint. One coat got the job done.

When they were dry, I slipped them back on the chandelier.




 There. Not a huge change. But it's easier on my eyes.




And perhaps a bit less "haunted" looking?




Not sure about that. You'd have to ask my family :)


15 comments:

  1. I find your chandy PERFECT! I have them in my master!!

    I had to really laugh at your patent pending...I thought it could win the science project this year!

    And I can't believe the color made so much difference, but it really did!

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  2. My candle sleeves on mine were the same way and I aged them with paint and a brush and made them match the finish on the chandy. Yours look great.

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  3. You are so funny! And your chandy is gorgeous! Great job :)

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  4. Love your engineering and the chandelier!

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  5. Clearly it's that great, Marietta education that makes you so wildly creative. All of those last nights (well, SOME late nights) and term papers have certainly paid off.
    Hugs,
    Linda @ A Toile Tale

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  6. PS --Oh, yea! The chandy is perfect. I love it. What do all of those men in your family know?
    Linda

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  7. They look great and necessity really is the mother of invention!

    My mother was always able to figure out how to rig something to make it work. I think about that sometime when I hit a snag in my projects.

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  8. Love the new look. Sometimes a subtle change can make a big impact!

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  9. Carolyn I LOVE your chandy!! That little bit of paint did the trick on those sleeves! Looks beautiful!

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  10. Haha love the "patent pending." It looks AWESOME. Don't listen to them - it's perfect!!!
    Stacy

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  11. What a nice change! The color makes a huge difference. I hope the family likes it too!

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  12. what a great idea....it made such a bid difference. I love your chandelier....

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  13. I can not believe tyhe difference!!! I LOVE it now it is perfect. Hope your family comes around too. Great job and I love the contraption. BTW, another blogger just painted her sleeves and put them on a dowel....just an idea for next time:):) XO, pinky

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  14. I have a similar chandy but my sleeves were not so yellow. Love how yours turned out!

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