Jewelry for the home

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This article was published 10/09/2008 (6300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some people call chandeliers jewelry for the home. Others talk about their bling value, the touch of glitz and glamour they instantly provide.

The fact is more people are dressing up their homes with chandeliers. And they’re hanging them all over the place — in dining rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, hallways and children’s rooms.

“I’ve even used one in a walk-in closet,” says Ernst Hupel of 2H Interior Design.

The chandeliers come not only in traditional designs, but also in very modern ones — some with shades, others made of black glass — as well as transitional designs that bridge the gap between old and new.

“Today’s chandelier is not like your grandmother’s crystal chandelier,” says Jimmy Yu, owner of Living Lighting.

Sharon Tobin installed a transitional-style crystal chandelier surrounded by an organza drum shade in the dining room of her west-end Ottawa home. Since Tobin’s home mixes traditional with contemporary furniture, her chandelier ties the two looks together.

Her home was part of a house and garden tour this year, and she found the chandelier seemed to attract as much attention from visitors as the plants. People kept turning it on and off to see the lighting effects. And the lighting effects, she says, are stunning — particularly at night, when the sparkling chandelier light reflects off mirrors on the walls.

It’s that pop, that glitzy look, that attracts people to chandeliers.

“I think we all want a bit of bling in our lives,” says Hupel, adding that he’s seeing chandeliers all over. For example, he decorated a downtown Ottawa loft that couldn’t have been more modern, yet included a crystal chandelier over the dining room table.

“Bedrooms are big for chandeliers,” says Hera Arevian of Arevco Lighting. “And people like them in bathrooms.”

One word of caution, however: some building codes do not allow chandeliers to be hung directly over bathtubs.

“I’m seeing them in master bedrooms and little girls’ rooms,” says Carol Gunn, model home decorator for Domicile and Holitzner Homes.

Hupel says one reason chandeliers are popular is that, because they come in various sizes, shapes and designs, they allow homeowners to put some personality into an otherwise neutral or classic decorating scheme.

In some ways, he says, they are almost like artwork; not just lighting fixtures, but something you hang to showcase your tastes or to get people talking.

“I like the element of surprise. Sometimes using a chandelier in a modern space feels like a piece of art. It’s personality. And that’s where the trend in overall design is going. You add some of your personality.”

And now there are many styles to choose from.

There’s the traditional look, of course — the crystal chandelier that has always been associated with luxury and wealth. But the traditional look has been joined by a wide range of new cousins — pink chandeliers, rectangular chandeliers, chandeliers made of black glass, chandeliers dressed up with shades.

“The lampshade look has been very in,” says Arevian. “We’re selling a lot more modern fixtures than traditional chandeliers.”

Gunn is seeing all sorts of new shade designs, including mesh iron shades, fabric shades, sequined shades, or even shades made with tiny crystal balls. Sometimes, the shades are used as collars around the chandeliers.

Prices are as varied as the styles.

You can get some hardware store models for $150 to $250, or pay significantly more for glittery crystal.

“It’s like jewelry. We have some at over $10,000, and you can easily spend $4,000,” says Yu.

Hupel cautions his clients against spending too much on a trendy chandelier they may tire of in a few years.

“If you stick to a classic model, it will be timeless. If you are going to spend a lot of money, research the crystals and make sure you love it.”

Keep your lifestyle in mind, too. Gunn has a pet parakeet that loves to perch on her chandelier and peck at his reflection in the crystals.

Of course, that means Gunn also finds herself cleaning the chandelier often. There’s no getting away from the fact that chandeliers, with all their intricacies and hanging pieces of glass or crystal, are not easy to clean.

Arevian says it happens all the time: A female buyer takes one look at a fancy chandelier and says one word: “No!” That’s because, however beautiful, she knows it’s going to have to be cleaned regularly. And she knows she’s going to be the one doing the cleaning.

The best way to clean a crystal chandelier is the old-fashioned way: Take the crystals off one at a time, soak them in lukewarm soapy water, rinse, and dry with a lint-free cloth.

No one says it’s easy. Arevian knows from experience that it can be particularly hard to remember where each piece goes when putting the chandelier back together. She sug- gests taking photos before cleaning.

There are other options.

Arevian recommends feather dusters. “That’s the easiest way to maintain them.”

There are also spray products that eliminate the need for physically handling the pieces.

Yu prefers a product called Sparkle Plenty, which can be sprayed on some chandeliers. Coat the chandelier with the liquid spray, and all the dust and dirt drip off onto a cloth below. When the chandelier dries, it’s clean.

Arevian doesn’t recommend sprays because some metal finishes can be damaged.

Sometimes the simplest thing to do is change the bulbs, says Yu. “Half the time, it’s the light bulbs that are dirty.”

Simplest of all, he says, is to opt for one chandelier model that can be run through the dishwasher.

Canwest News Service

Sized to fit

Want to hang a chandelier? You need to consider the size of the room, the height of the ceiling, and whether it’s going to hang over a table or be in a place where people will be walking under it.

If the chandelier is to hang over a table, designers say its bottom should be 30 to 38 inches (76 to 96 centimetres) above the tabletop.

Decorating consultant Carol Gunn says that at that height, there’s room for a floral arrangement on the table.

If the chandelier is not over a table, Jimmy Yu of Living Lighting has a simple rule of thumb: Add the length and width of the room, in feet, and that will give you an idea of the right diameter, in inches, of a chandelier.

For example, he says if your room is 16 feet by 12 feet, 16 plus 12 equals 28, so the diameter of your chandelier should be about 28 inches.

If the room is open to other rooms, or if the ceiling is particularly high, you might be able to go bigger.

Ceiling height is the final consideration. If you’re not hanging the chandelier above a table, you’ll probably need ceilings of nine feet or more.

“I don’t think you are going to hang a chandelier in a room if you have an eight-foot ceiling and it’s not over a table,” says Hera Arevian of Arevco Lighting. “The bottom line is you don’t want people hitting it.”

Gunn cautions that you have to take care to match the chandelier to its place in the room. A long, rectangular chandelier, for example, will look best over a long, rectangular table, and a round chandelier over a round table.

It’s also important to remember sight lines, Gunn says. Don’t put one chandelier in the hall and another in the dining room if you can see both lights. “You don’t want to look like a lighting store. You want to show off your piece.”

Canwest News Service