I was tra la la-ing my way through my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore a few weeks back, admiring all the great salvage and scheming of ways to put some of it to good use.  I was there because I had spotted a few cool cabinets on Diggers List and wanted to investigate further. 

As I chatted it up with one of the managers, I couldn’t help but notice the sign just behind him. 

Do you love the exclamation point for added emphasis?  Like rejected brass light fixtures are something to get excited about?  Well actually, I kinda do get excited about them.  A lot. 

I actually like antique  brass fixtures, just not these super shiny leftovers from the early 90s.  So with a fixture like this, one that just happens to have a completely fantastic shape, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be spray painted.  White.  Pronto! 

Hello gorgeous.  Don’t you just fit right in ? 

Aaaaaand, she was free.  Fah-reeee. 

Yep.  Free.

I was over the etched glass chandy that was previously hanging in our kitchen.  I had picked it out at a Home Depot many years ago and I’ve never been totally thrilled with it.  I wanted something “Frenchier” looking.   For awhile I was trying to figure out how to convert its standard sockets into candle fixtures, but just couldn’t find anything to make the conversion. 

I was wanting a new chandelier, but I couldn’t find one online that I was in love with that would make it worth dropping some serious cash.  Months dragged on.   I’m a lover of all things that look like they came from a French flea market, or could be found in a Ballard Designs catalog, so when I spied the ten arm brass chandy among the wreckage at my local ReStore, I couldn’t help but squeal, especially since it was free.

Did I mention it was free? 

The teensy problem?  It needed some rewiring.  Not every arm thankfully, just the interior portion.  Enter True Value electrical supply aisle! 

I am pretty proud of myself that I figured out how to rewire this piece all on my own without any help ~ it was definitely a new discovery for me.  I’ve rewired a lamp before, but never a chandelier, however the logic is the same.  Whites to whites, blacks to blacks, yada yada. 

You can find a detailed tutorial about rewiring a chandelier here, and for the step-by-step on installing a chandy, hop on over to This Old House.  As for me, let’s just say I spent a solid hour teaching myself how to rewire this puppy ~ here’s a few action shots. 

After it was all rewired, I was patting myself on the back.  But then something dreadful happened.  One of the arms broke off.  Dangit!   So frustrating!   I couldn’t get the arm to screw back into its holder, it was completely stripped.  Gah!   After all that work, I almost gave up on this, seriously. 

But then I decided to give it one more try with some plastic steel epoxy designed for metal, also found at True Value. 

It worked ! 

The last step was painting the chandy, so I bought Rustoleum’s ‘Shell White’, a close kin to ‘Heirloom White’, at True Value.  I also gave the chandy a bit of faux distressing.  With the side of an artist’s brush, not the tip, I rubbed some oil rubbed bronze spray paint onto the limbs here and there. 

Voila.  A perfectly lovely Ballard-esque look.  

And to think she once was shiny brass. 

Simple.  Elegant.  Love it !

The fixture actually works too, which made me squeal with delight when I flipped the switch !

Here’s some really cool news.  My old chandy with the etched glass shades?  It’s already sold!   A reader wanted it, so it will be sent to a new home next week.  Yay!

The new fixture complements the style of our kitchen a bit better, and I think it was a worthwhile rescue of a shiny brass chandelier.  Don’t you ?      

The necessary legalese:  “I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience.  I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project.   However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.”

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Tags: chandelier, kitchen, spray paint, true value

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at and is filed under Before & After, DIY, My Home, Spray Paint: My BFF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.