apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I like the idea of the chandelier in this space but it is pretty overwhelming, particularly if it isn't your style. Hard to tell from the photo - is there any way it can be partially dismantled/simplified? Maybe one tier removed, and maybe those little grey shades (?) removed then paint it dark grey.

If not there's always e-Bay and I can see a large simple drum shade up there.

I say spray paint it a crazy color (or white) and remove those awful shades/glass shades. Switch out the lightbulbs with small round bulbs for a more modern look.

Sell it. Don't bother trying to make it work. There are a lot of great lighting options--from Ikea or Pearl River to Artemide--at every price point for what I see is a clean, modern look. Even a huge paper lantern would look fabulous in that lofted space.

I second eg's idea. Just sell the chandelier if it's not your style, and put the $ toward a new light. Y Generation Lighting is an online store. I have made a few purchases there, and I think they have good prices and customer service - and good selection, at least for more contemporary styles.

If you want to go really low-budget, Ikea is the way to go, unless you just want to go for a simple paper lantern (or maybe a group of them?), in which case Pearl River is a good option.

I've gone from hating things to loving things with a can of paint. If you still hate it after you paint it, just sell it on Craig's List or ebay, non?

We have a chandelier in our dining area that we hate, have hated it ever since we bought this place last October. Every day or so I look at it and wonder why I don't just take it down and replace it with something else... I think it's because like you I figure I can't afford to replace it with something I really want. But to hell with that, I'm getting rid of it this weekend and will put up a $30 something or other from Home Depot, and will wait for the $350 fixture, maybe around Christmas. Point is, I will not be looking at this one until December, oh no way.

yeah i don't think it goes at all with your great table and chairs. i'd sell it and put that money towards new lighting.

and is it just me or does that chandelier look like its hung way to high? i'd hang the new one a bit lower.

I think its the walls that are not working.

if the chandelier is painted the same color as the chair upholstery, and the walls were a dark and warm cement/plastiline color (like in the rug tiles) I think it would all tie together nicely-

I'd sell it or just get rid off it.
To have something you don't like is worse than having nothing.

Hi Maxwell, I sent you my questions with a few pictures in the weekend. I'm wondering how I could tell whether you will post my questions or not...you have not posted today so that means I'm out of luck, yes?

I'm with EG -- sell it. When we bought our house, the previous owners left several incongruous chandeliers, and I had no trouble selling them on Ebay. They were snapped up in a heartbeat, and I used the funds to buy suitable replacements.

I think you should sell it if it's not really what fits your style. Don't get a light at IKEA. For your home get something that's better quality for a good price.

http://www.inmod.com/chandeliers.html

personally i think it's just too high above the table.
if the top of the chandelier were about in line with the window sill it might look a little more in tune with the room and the intimate table.

Definitely sell and as noted above, hang the new fixture much lower.

A few options at moderndose:

http://www.moderndose.com/index.php?cPath=28_51
or
http://www.moderndose.com/index.php?cPath=28_74
or
a simple drum shade--maybe dress it up with paint or printed vellum or silver leaf on the inside. you can make a lamp out of just about anything, from a birdcage to a waste paper bin to a basket to an upside down bowl to...just about any vessel-like object. if you're not a DIYer, bring whatever you want to turn into a lamp to a decent hardware or lighting store and ask for help. it's just a matter of drilling a hole in the bottom if needed and threading a lighting kit through, then installing it.

You should try playing around with it, make it into a cool focal feature for the room, considering everything else is fairly plain and simple. And if you could lower it, that would probably help a lot.

You could make a mesh shade that covers some of it, like on Myles of Style she used black sheer ribbon that she wrapped from two rings to make a shade that covered most of the top part but left the bottom exposed.

You could also try hanging some shells, beads, or crystals from it. Maybe play with it and make it like your rug with the dark interesting stripes with different materials (branches, wrapping it with some ribbon or wire?).

PS would love to see what you end up doing with it!

I vote for nixing the shades, use round bulbs, paint it, and it does need to be lower.

I also think it will look better if you paint your walls darker so the room doesn't look so huge.....you've got a warehouse look going on there.

just don't get rid of it until after you've tried working with it.

Go everywhere. Go to hotel lobbies EVERYWHERE. Go see some gorgeous stuff in modern places, and scour magazines EVERYWHERE. Search out not just Home Depot, but EVERYWHERE. Although, I really have to say that the Manhattan Home Depot has some very nice light fixtures these days, no kidding. Anyway... you can't sell it until you replace it with at least something to give you some light, but I also say you should look at every single entry in the House Tours here on AT, and every single entry in every single contest, ALL of which are archived. You'll get some brilliant ideas, some of which may merely inspire you, some of which may send you directly to a source to buy the exact thing they've used.

But I seriously think that any space as huge as yours, which has room for a chandelier that huge really CANNOT have a chandelier that the occupants/owners hate, because a chandelier contains the DNA of the room. Seriously. Not all lighting does that, but a chandelier does.

Carrie,
Follow your gut - that thing is horrendous. get it out of there.

a put in my bid for a huge paper lantern, drum shade, or industrial shade for a replacement, permanent or no.

the chandelier is WAY too high, like alot of folks here said. and #2, the walls definately need to be darker like alot of folks said as well. both of those changes would make a world of difference. i wish you had posted more photos with a closer look. and i'm not understanding what those two big blocks of color are on the walls.

i actually really like the chandelier, and makes for a much more interesting environment, then going sort of matchy-matchy with style groups, and getting some boring drum shade. i'm not sure if i'd paint it, (is it clear glass?) perhaps, but at the very least, take the shades away.

some large pieces of art on the wall, or one large piece, and then on the other wall a grouping, would best great. bring some color in that way.

Wow, thank you everyone for such fantastic advice. I think the general concensus is to sell and replace with something I love, or at least like a lot more until I find something I love.

I'm in complete agreement that the original owners hung it too high, although the picture doesn't really show just how high that ceiling goes. I've been struggling with the openness of the space. What you can't see is that the dining room is open to the entryway and the livingroom, which flows into the kitchen and familyroom. Painting the room a darker shade, which some of you suggested, didn't seem like an option with the way the walls all connect together (it used to be light beige, the yellow is an improvement). The room is still very empty and I plan on adding window treatments and a large mirror or something behind the table with a narrow consol below. I hope that will help alot wth the vacousness.

Back to the chandellier, I think maybe I've just gotten used to the abundance of light the three tiers gives off, so whenever I see a drum shade pendant type chandellier I think it can't possibly be enough light. Since everything else is pretty simple I want the lighting to stand out.

I'll keep looking for something more striking and in line with the style I'd like to achieve. I really appreciate all of your suggestions!

blkbrrry, the shades on the chandellier are frosted glass with a wave-like pattern (ick), I think painting them would emphasize the dated shape, I might try just putting in round bulbs like another ATer suggested. If I can find a way to extend the chain then I'll lower the light, but the off-white color will still sort of blend too much with the walls.

My home was built in the early 90's and is typical of florida homes of that time, with vaulted ceilings and lots of awkard planter shelves. The blocks of color that you see are the yellow walls, a very large window to the left (shade is pulled down in pic), and a planter shelf above the wall behind the table. I painted the wall above the plater shelf a lighter color to break it up, but i'm thining I should have gone darker. That said, the walls look a lot darker most of the day, after the sun has passed.
But yes, just as you said, the room needs color, art and whole lot more interest. You should see the rest of the house (aghh). Daunting, but step by step...

More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28390193@N03/