Dining Room Chandelier

When we moved in, the dining room wasn't wired for a chandelier.  We thought that the space called out for one, especially with the curved wall at one end.  So with the first set of work we did, we had the room wired for a chandelier.

And we started to look for a chandelier.  To be fair, it wasn't a high priority and we didn't make any special trips.  But when we were out looking for other stuff, we always kept an eye out for possibilities.

We saw a lot of nice ones, but knew that an all crystal one would get lost in the room.  And, much like the sconces, finding the "Goldilocks Zone" was proving to be hard.

Until we stumbled across this one at H&B last fall.  We didn't buy it right away.  We loved it and it was the right size, but were still a little hesitant because we spent two years not really looking for a chandelier.  So the hunt began in earnest.

Nothing else really "wowed" us.

So we bought it knowing it had a couple of problems:

• it had been installed in a room with 9-foot ceilings (ours are 10-foot) so we'd need another foot of chain
• the canopy was missing (the previous owner had saved it to use with her new chandelier!?)

And off we go to John's to get parts.

Now, this chandelier weighs about 85 pounds, so we quickly take pictures and head down there about 30 minutes before closing time.  He's already turned off most of the lights, but cheerfully greets us, patiently listens to our explanation, and looks at the photos on the digital camera.

He smiles, turns around, opens one of the many drawers lining the wall behind the counter, and pulls out a length of chain.  Right color, but too small; this is a beefy chandelier with thick chain.  Again he turns around opens another couple of drawers and pulls out a length of chain that is exactly the right finish, and so close to the original size that most people will never notice.  "So you need about a foot?", he asks as he pulls out a pair of chain pliers and opens up the correct link.  Then he asks, "You'll need the other end opened up too, right?"

He read my mind.  This chain is too thick to open the "Primitive Pete" way without the proper tool.

Then he opens another drawer and pulls out a canopy that's an amazing match.  I was a little concerned that the opening for the collar was too small.  He replied, "If it is, just bring it back and we'll fix it."  He also threw in the mounting strap and threaded rod saying, "If they aren't the right size, we'll get the bigger ones for you."

Then we talk coordinating sconces.  He has the perfect ones, but they're spoken for.  He has an alternative that's beautiful, but might not be the right size.  He lets us take one home to see if it's right.  "Either way," he says, "bring it back tomorrow and we'll rewire it for you or look for other alternatives."

What a guy.

We get everything home and...

The sconces are beautiful, but the arm is too high, so it doesn't really look right; the canopy's collar opening is too small; and the threaded rod isn't the right diameter.

Of course, the old chain is so thick I can't get a link open to send the collar along.  So we load the chandelier in the car and SWMBO goes down there the next day.

John comes out to the car with his chain pliers and opens a link so he can take the collar into the store.  Within 30 seconds, he has the canopy hole opened up to the right size.  Then finds the right diameter threaded rod and cuts it to length.  And grabs the right mounting strap.  So its all ready for me to install; easy as pie.  All I have to do is close the links; no special tool required.

Then he takes back the sconce and says, "You'll never believe it.  The guy who wanted those other sconces was in and has changed his mind.  Do you want them?  We can re-wire them."

We need them in three days.

In all the commotion, the re-wiring guy has stopped working and says, "I can start on them now and have them done tomorrow."

And it happens.

He's a saint.

The Dining Room

I just finished installing the window treatments in the dining room.

It took a little longer than I expected.  This is a hand-built house and while things look symmetrical, they're not.

You can't assume that measurements for one window are the same on another.  Or that the sill is perfectly level.

But everything is done that's going to get done today and the deadline has arrived. It's time to suit up...

The 1980s

Maybe I should title this post "Still More Sconces"...

Thursday night I installed these in the back halls - upstairs and down.  And it being a really old house, sometimes(!)  you run into really old wiring...  (Like I said, it was a busy day.)

We'd found these sconces a long time ago, but there's nothing like a deadline to force things to get done.

Sorry for that long aside.  The point of the post was that the 1980's were a bad time for a lot of things.

Including this house.

If you look closely around the sconce, you can see the old wall color poking through.

Teal.

Yes.

Teal.

Not a subdued Victorian Teal.

A bright 1980s - TEAL!

A smack in the face like a handful of "Hai Karate"...

Now the image of Olivia Newton-John doing Jazzercize in leg warmers and a headband in this hallway is seared into my brain.

Aaaaaagh!

Sconces, Sconces, and More Sconces

We've been hunting high and low for the right sized sconces for the dining room.

Too Tall.  Too Wide.  Too ornate.  Too simple. Too many arms. Arm(s) too high.  Arm(s) too low.  Too much bling.  Not enough bling.

Finding the "Goldilocks Zone" was proving to be really hard.

While at John's getting parts for the chandelier (another story to come) early this week, we asked about sconces that might coordinate.  He replied, "Unfortunately, these are spoken for, but they'd be perfect."

He was right.  They were perfect.

And when we were back the next day for the chandelier parts he said, "The guy who wanted these was just in.  He's changed his mind."

They converted the sconces from candles to electric and we picked them up the next day.

I installed them that night.

Like I said, Thursday was a busy day.

Stair Runner

Thursday was a busy day.  In addition to the Dining Room fireplace getting done and me installing the living room window treatments, the carpet guys were here to install the runner on the staircase.

It went in amazingly fast.

We're still debating about whether we're going to use any decorative rods.  Thoughts?

Dining Room Fireplace

We got a new tile surround on the Dining Room fireplace today.

The old one looked...

horrible.

The tile guys were here yesterday to remove the old tile (and install the new).

As always, the best-laid plans...

Some concrete had been slapped on the brick to even things out under the old tile.  Problem is, some of it had failed and wouldn't support the new tile.  They were a bit stumped so Bill came to the rescue and got it all fixed this morning so the tile guys could install this afternoon.

The new surround is light years better!

The Living Room is Finally Done

We finished installing the last bits of the window treatments tonight.

When we moved in we didn't really like the tile around the fireplace.  After wiping off the old soot it looked a little better.  Once we change the wall color though, the tile looked completely different.  The new wall color pulls out some other colors from the tile and they look remarkably better.

The old color scheme in here was quite "cold".  The new color scheme is quite a bit "warmer".  It's an amazing change!

Here's a slideshow of the transformation:

On to the Dining Room

Of course, while the woodwork in the hall and living room was getting done, so was the woodwork in the dining room.

Except that the entire dining room is woodwork...

I'm really glad to get rid of the gray stripe on the chair rail! Man, was that a bad decision by someone...

Now I've finished enough touch-up and re-installed enough hardware that we can put the room back together.

We picked up the sideboard yesterday. We'd seen it a while ago at H&B, but kept looking around to see what else might be out there. It was also tough to find something that was the right width and height for this location. Most things were either too low or too wide. We didn't find anything we liked better, so it became ours.

It's a really cool piece, c. 1830. The bottom drawer on the left side is quite deep and is partitioned. The theory is that it was for storing decanters.

I had to fix a hinge on one door and it has the usual wear you'd expect from a piece that's almost 200 years old.

And now that the room is freshly painted, the fireplace tile looks awful. We've never been fond of it and have a change in mind. We're just waiting on the tile guy...

No more candles...

At some point in the house's history, someone had a little too much fun with candles. The matching quarter-inch deep burns were quite entertaining. Whenever this happened, they're lucky the house didn't burn down...

It looks a little better now.

I polished up the outlet cover plates to get all the old paint, stain, wax, and other unidentifiable crud off. This mantle is pretty high, so I'm going to let them age naturally.