The Magical Allure of the Chandelier

Ever since Louis XIV enclosed a terrace at Versailles and transformed it into the Hall of Mirrors, chandeliers have captured our imagination and drawn us to their beautiful reflective light. In the previous post I wrote of creating contrast in a room. Anytime you create contrast you capture people's attention and what could be more attention grabbing than hanging a chandelier in an unexpected place?
The kitchen is an exciting and unexpected place to hang one. If your ceilings are not high, there are plenty of vintage 5 to 8 arm chandeliers from the 30's and 40's made to hang from a lower ceiling. A chandelier should always be hung a minimum of six feet from the floor. If you haven't the place to hang one in the center of the room, consider placing a large chandelier in a small out of the way space. The juxtapostion of an overscaled chandelier in a small space can really make a statement, as can taking a minimalist space and hanging a grand beauty.
If you have never purchased a chandelier because you didn't want to clean it, cleaning is relatively simple. I remove the crystal prisms and soak them for a little while in a 50-50 white vinegar /alcohol solution, then wipe them dry with a lint free cloth. I prefer torpedo shaped frosted bulbs to the flame tipped clear ones. The flickering bulbs that simulate candlelight are interesting but do not produce much light. You will want the combined wattage of your bulbs to be 200 to 400 watts depending on the size of your chandelier.
In addition to the beauty at the top of this post here are a few magical ones I have come across at barn sales and auctions this year to inspire you...oh la la y'all!

Antique Wardian Cases

When I moved into my present city apartment, a mere 680 square feet, Things had to serve a purpose. No longer could this antique wardian case hold trinkets for display, it had to be functional. So I gave up a rather large chunk of my micro kitchen to grow fresh herbs. I figure it is a fair trade off. I have a full spectrum vita light shining on the plants and they seem to do quite well in there. I adore wardian cases, terrariums and the like. They were a fixture in the Palace of Versailles like the one above, and later the Victorians made great use of them when it was discovered that they could successfully transport rare species of plants home from around the globe. I thought I would share some pinned photos of various styles.. Imitation cases are usually zinc and plexiglass ,like this one I spotted at a local market. You can tell the age of a real one by the thickness and color of the glass.The glass will most often be 1/4 inch to a 1/2 inch. They are always quite

Southern Bacon and Crawfish Cornbread Dressing

Imagine you are dining outside at Blake Shelton's house this Thanksgiving and deep frying some big turkeys. A crawfish dressing would probably be on the menu. Deep fried turkeys and outdoor dining on Thanksgiving day is very popular in the South. And while people don't wild catch crawfish like they did a century ago, crawfish are always popular on the menu. Here I have paired it with bacon, corn, mirepoix,and jalapenos to give you a dressing with real local flavor. Here is what you need: 5 cups crumbled cornbread 1 1/2 lbs boiled crawfish tails ( frozen is fine) 10 ounces bacon, cooked and coarsely crumbled 12 ounces yellow corn 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1/1/2 cups chopped celery 1/1/2 cups green red and orange bell pepper 1 jalapeno ( optional) 2 eggs beaten 2 cups chicken stock salt, thyme, and sage to taste. Fry your bacon until it is ready to crumble, remove from pan and set aside. Saute the mirepoix, (onions ,peppers and celery) corn and jalap

How to Restore Old Brass Without Losing Patina

Brass is really trendy right now. Much of the home decor brass commercially available is cheaply made and will not retain it's beauty long. But brass made in the first quarter of the 20th century and earlier, develops an exquisite patina. Assuming of course that it has had reasonable care throughout it's long life. Sometimes, a good piece of brass will have just a tiny bit of verdigris, that is the crusty blue green stuff caused by oxidation and tells you corrosion is setting in. I see this a lot on furniture with brass mounts, lamps, chandeliers and light fixtures. Most brass tutorials give directions only on bringing brass back to it's super bright finish. Many antique dealers restore brass to it's bright finish, removing the patina and then apply a commercial solution to darken it again. I can always spot those. They never look quite right. There are some pieces that devalue when you remove the patina. Natural patina enhances the beauty of a piece, like this cl

Oh La LaY'all......French Style and Southern Charm

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