Antique Brass Light Fixture

As a home owner on a budget, I am always looking for ways to create a unique and comfortable setting at my home without paying breaking my bank.  I like the mood that antique pieces bring to a home, but I also like the price tags of Ikea furnitures; therefore, I hunt for statement antique pieces to mix with "mass market" furniture pieces to create a "modern vintage" look.  While waiting to move into my current home, I found an antique brass light fixture with roses dangling on it at the Cloverdale Antique Mall.  I felt in love with the fixture instantly, and I decided to design my future breakfast area around this piece.  After endless trip to the antique mall and some more trips to other furniture places, I finally got all the pieces I needed to decorate the breakfast area at a reasonable price.  It got tricky, however, to purchase other light fixtures to go with the surrounding areas as brass fixtures with roses wasn't really the thing to do in the 21st century.  When I found another antique brass light fixture with the rose motif from the same antique dealer, I called my husband and said, "This is meant to be!  We are bringing it home!"

Crystals and roses from the fixture.

Like most antique pieces, the were some flaws with my light fixture.  The crystals were not shiny anymore, and the roses were not in perfect shape.  That said, I was delighted about imperfections on the roses as they reinforced my believe that they were hand made and therefore should not be perfect.  I was a little concerned with the not-so-shiny crystals thought as the fixture was fairly small and I wanted the crystals to reflect as much light off the bulb as possible.  Another dealer in the same antique mall happened to sell crystals for light fixtures, so I picked up some to replace the ones on my fixture.

Replacement crystals.

The new crystal has a lot more shine.

The "prettying up" the light fixture process took a lot less time than I anticipated.  The crystals and roses were removed from the fixture by the cashier to avoid damage during transportation.  I started by cleaning the fixture with a damp cloth and then wipe it dry with another piece of cloth.  I then removed the old wires on the roses and crystals and replaced them with new one.   Hanging the crystals and roses onto the fixture was not particularly difficult; thanks to the petite size tools that I collected from my beading days.

I left the electrical work to my husband.  30 minutes later, we had ourselves a "new" light fixture in the hallway!