I really love the idea of a chandelier in the kitchen. I like how it plays with the idea of formal versus casual, so the second I found out that the new house had an eat in kitchen I knew I wanted a chandelier for over the kitchen table. There were a couple of things I was looking for in this light fixture:

1. It has a traditional design.
2. I could modernize it in a way that is fun and playful.
3. It is cheap.

I was immediately drawn to the 10-arm brass chandelier that was hanging in my mom’s dining room. Honestly, I couldn’t miss it since her dining room was then acting as my closet and I often hit my head on it. These types of chandeliers are a dime a dozen in homes built between 1970-1990 in our area. They are usually referred to as a Williamsburg lights which was perfect considering our nearness to the colonial capital and that fact that our home was built in a colonial design. I scoured Craigslist and finally hit on the one below which I scored for $15 and was located in our new neighborhood.

Now, in it’s current state this chandelier is rather stuffy and formal. Not at all what I want, but nothing that a little paint couldn’t fix. My arsenal of tools for this project includes a TSP substitute* for prepping the light for paint, spray primer*, and mint spray paint. Mint has become our accent color of choice for the kitchen and family room and goes perfectly with all the white and gray of the walls and trim. The color I choose is La Fonda Mirage in flat by Valspar Color Radiance from Lowe’s.

I started by giving the light a good cleaning with the tsp substitute to remove any dust and oil and insure that the paint adheres properly. I also removed the little white wire covers that look like candlesticks. Next, I gave the light a once over with spray primer. I recommend that you hang the light up when painting it so you can reach all the sides at once. Don’t forget that the bottom of the light will be the most seen.

Next up came two coats of mint spray paint. One thing I really love about the Color Radiance line is that it’s ready for a re-coat in 5 minutes! Perfect for the impatient DIYer like me.

Finally, the light was ready to be installed. I love that I gave this chandelier a complete makeover and all it took was one afternoon from start to finish. Cody had already mentioned that he hated the look of painted chains (like the one at our last house), so I had already been racking my brain for ideas on what to do with the chain. I had considered replacing it with a new chunkier, industrial chain or a solid pole made from galvanized piping, but in the end I settled on covering it in sisal rope because it was free. The sisal rope was left over from the sisal rope lampshade that are in our bedroom. To be completely honest, there were a couple of moments when I thought I’d regret this choice (like when I burnt myself with hot glue and my arms felt like they were going to fall off from holding them above my head for too long), but in the end I’m glad I went with it.

All I did was wrap the sisal rope around the chain and adhere it with hot glue every couple of turns. This isn’t a difficult project, it was just kind of a pain in the butt. It really requires 3 hands or 2 people. In the end we are really happy with the result though. I love the rusticness of the sisal. It actually gives the light a very coastal or cottage feel, maybe even shabby chic. I tried to get a good picture of how everything was coming together for you, but the sunlight was really working against me, so this was the best I could do. Can you see the bright airy feel we are going for starting to emerge from all the dark wood that was once in the room? To the left, you can see a hole in the wall that we still need to repair and if you look to the bottom left you can see a sneak  peak at our newly stained counter tops!