Out with the old, in with the OLDER!!!

The charms of a rental house. . .

When we found a rental house that worked for us I had 2 stipulations.  I needed to get the brown paint that was on the walls and ceilings painted over, and I HAD to replace the brass light fixtures with my own lights.  So the brass lights are now in the attic and I had to find a great light for the foyer, without spending too much.

After a month of searching the internet and checking every clearance rack I was at a yard sale and saw an old broken crystal chandelier.  I got it for $20 and I knew I could probably re-wire it.  I had seen all the stuff to rewire a light at Lowes and I consulted a friend who is an electrician.  I took the light apart and saw the old wiring was coated in fabric and definitely needed to be replaced.  The bonus for rewiring the light was that I could now make it long enough for the foyer.

I took the light apart, pulled out all of the old wiring, and cleaned it really well.  It looked like it had been in a box for many years.  There were so many beetles and bugs in the light, and it was coated in thick dust.  It took me a good couple of hours to clean each piece of crystal on the light.  The sockets were still in good shape and all that was needed was new wires.  There is a place on the light were all of the wires merge and need to be connected with wire nuts to the main cord that connects to the power source.

One of the arms was broken and I was able to glue it back together with some E6000 glue.   The light was completely reassembled and the chain was added.  The Home Depot had a huge ladder that we could rent and my husband put the light up for me.  

I call her crystal and she is a great focal point to the entry of our home!  

I was very fortunate that all of the crystals were intact and I was able to restore her to her beauty.  I still need to find some candle socket covers, but I love the vintage touch she adds to the home!