Our Restyled Copper Chandelier

So far, working on our studio has brought a pretty good mix of different types of projects: Sometimes we are completely removing features, and sometimes we are creating features from scratch, but we’ve also had our fair share of restyling/makeover projects as well (like our concrete countertop).

When picking out lighting for the house, we debated over keeping the existing chandelier in the dining room or picking something new for the space.

Of course, a beautiful chandelier is one of my favorite choices for lighting a room, but this chandelier was in need of some major TLC, and we weren’t sure if we could really bring back its proper shine. Eventually, its potential got the best of us, and we decided to dive in and bring it back to the life it deserves.

Since we loved the idea of being able to restore the original metal finish (not sure exactly what metal it is—maybe brass?) I tried a few different cleaning methods to try and bring back the original color.

The metal had become extremely dark and grey over the years, and even with all the elbow grease I could muster, my cleaning attempts hardly made any difference at all. Bummer.

So instead, we moved on to plan B and decided to paint the metal to mimic its original luster.

I removed the crystals and taped off the glass and candle elements of the lighting fixture and took it outside for a few coats of my favorite copper spray paint. As the paint dried, I set to work on cleaning the crystals.

Man, were they dirty. With all the renovation dust from our construction on the home, there was definitely not going to be any sparkle coming off those crystals anytime soon.

Luckily, all they needed was a bath in warm, soapy water and once they dried, they were good as new!

Once the crystals were reattached, we hung the light back up, and the difference in sparkle and shine was instantly clear. And we weren’t even done yet! I wanted to turn the crystal volume up just a bit, so I ordered a few crystal octagons from here and made some long chains to add to the chandelier.

I also replaced the candle sleeves (the long white tubes around the “candle” part of the lights) and added new bulbs.

Voilà! What was once a dingy and dark fixture is now full of life and sparkle. This little light is ready for its close-up! xo. Laura

Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman, Photography: Laura Gummerman & Sarah Rhodes.