Retro Chandelier Makeover

A few weeks ago I visited our local thrift store, Re, upon its grand reopening. A locally sourced resale store (that gives a ton back to the community) sounded like just my kind of place, and I had been excited to check it out for a while. Check it out I did, and let me tell you I hit the proverbial junkpot. Not only did I get two sets of hardwood table legs (for only $2 per leg) but I found this beauty for only $15! (When I brought it home, Matt was surprised that I’d even paid that much for it.)

As soon as I walked in the door, he asked me if I’d been garbage picking again. When he found out I actually paid money for it, he just kind of stared at me, and I stared back at him. We just stood there staring at each other until one of us farted (can’t remember who) and the silence was broken.

At any rate, I had big plans for this 1970s throw back! I can confidently date it, because my BFF recently bought a house that has literally been untouched since the PE Trudeau administration, and the exact same one is hanging in her kitchen! It didn’t look like much when I bought it, but that’s why spray paint was invented, mofos!

I immediately knew I wanted to put it in my bedroom and get rid of the hideous ceiling fan that was in there. (DEATH to all ceiling fans…we have one in every room!)

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know how I feel about a classic white and wood combination, so I taped off the middle portion of the fixture, and sprayed the rest with three light coats of Krylon Brilliant White, in a flat finish.

I had Matt take the ceiling fan down because I don’t mess around with wiring. If one of us is going to get electrocuted, I would honestly much rather it be him.

It took about ten minutes to bring the fan down and rewire/hang the ‘new’ fixture, then voila! Brand-new-to-me chandelier.

I love, love, LOVE it! Hot damn lighting is expensive, and this was a great alternative to spending a couple hundo on something I would probably hate/get sick of in a few months years anyways. I think the white really modernizes it, but the shape keeps it feeling pretty vintage. Even Matt admitted that it worked out perfectly and vibes with what we’ve done to the rest of the room. I screamed “I TOLD YOU SO” as loud as I could in his face and then ran away.

I put the fan out by the road for clean up day, and it’s already been snatched up — that’s what I call the circle of life, people! If you have a chance, you should definitely check out Re. Support local business and keep some stuff out of the landfill: win-win!