DIY 70's Chandelier Revamp

My husband inherited some ugly... uh, I mean *lovely* vintage antelope lamps from his grandmother. Definitely unique, but not exactly as chic as I would have hoped. And being an "heirloom" I couldn't doctor them, paint them, change them... nothing.

Finally, my hubby said, "It's too dark in here and I don't have any space on the bedside shelf. We need new lamps."

HALLELUIAH!

So we traded them in for a pair of chandeliers! They couldn't be too big because we want them by the bedside, and they couldn't be just any chandelier...

Here's was my idea:

I took another uncool 70's light fixture, the kind that hangs in the dining room, and took it apart. I didn't want the glass dome, just the mini chandelier inside of it.

But don't throw away the glass dome! You can use it for gardening... but we'll get to that another time. :-)

I taped off the electrical connections and sockets, and then spray painted it a happy red.

Time to reassemble! Of course, since it was made as a light fixture for the ceiling, the chord needed to be replaced. I rewired it so it had a 15 foot chord (long enough to hang AND plug in), then added the plug and a switch on the chord.

*Be sure to put the switch in a place you can reach it!*

Now for the finishing touches... must have BLING! Being the beadoholic that I am, I found a giant crystal bead and wire wrapped it to the bottom of the chandelier.

Ooooo... Aahhhhh...

I found a beautiful, yet simple garden hook from the hardware store to hang it from. Yes, I could have used ceiling hooks... but what fun is it to be like everybody else?

And there you have it - my 70's lamps replaced with stylish updated chandeliers!

The hubby is happy with the brighter light, easy-to-reach switch, and complete space on the bedside shelf!

Speaking of those shelves (ugh!), time for another revamp...

~Jannie