How to Update a Chandelier

Once I had all my Christmas decorations up, I decided that I needed to make a change in my dining room decor. And of course I wanted it done before Christmas or at least before our family party which because we were too slow picking a date before Christmas is going to be an OLD CHRISTMAS celebration in January. This How to Update a Chandelier is such an easy DIY.

Like many living rooms, especially those built in the 70’s, there is no overhead light fixture. I have two floor lamps and two table lamps and I use the entry overhead light and the dining room chandelier to illuminate my living room, since they are all one long room.

A while back, I decided that I wanted to add green shades to this chandelier and I tried to buy some, but colored ones were WAY expensive! So I purchased boring beige ones and painted them. It worked great!

I really love the green shades, but sometimes you just need a change. My sofa is a deep blue, which I love but I’m not totally happy with the whole look of my living room, so I’ve been researching rooms with blue sofas to find out what I need to do to tweak it more to my liking. Pinterest is my best home decorating friend. I found a few ideas, but this was one seemed like a quick and easy upgrade.

So now I have decided to go with dark blue shades with a gold lining, and repainting is the obvious solution. The green paint was watered down quite thin when I painted so it was more of a wash than it was a coat of paint. These shades are fabric so I thought that it would be better to use the thinned down paint so that it would soak into the fabric.

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This time I would be covering up the green so I decided to still water down the paint, but only a tiny bit. I felt like I wanted and needed more coverage so I only added a splash of water. The shades are made with silk fabric so it doesn’t soak in like it would on cotton, or if you had paper shades. I bought two shades of blue. The Tulip Royal Blue was much too light in color, but the Apple Barrel Real Navy was perfect!

After one coat of blue wash, I could still see too much green, so I added a second coat, which I only watered down with a couple of drops of water just to make it spread easier. The second coat did the trick. I am in love with the new blue shades. Although I also wonder what they’d look like with a coat of straight paint (no water added), which I might try later.

Now for the inside. I bought some Folk Art pure gold metallic paint to try, but to get the results that I want, I may have to use gold leaf. But first, the paint.

Two coats of this metallic paint did the trick! It gives a unique warm glow when the lights are on and the gold color is elegant with the lights are off.

 

This new look is much more elegant and refined with a dash of pizzazz! That’s what I call perfection.

 

If you’d like to see more cottagey home decor updates, you might like How to Add Cottage Style. Or if you are into chandeliers specifically, check out my Outdoor Chandelier!