Achingly beautiful and fashionable too, chandeliers are simply the loveliest lights. Jane Drew reports
1. Secular style
Chandeliers started out as simple wooden crosses hung with candles and they were used to illuminate churches. Now, of course, they are as much a decorative statement as a source of light.
2. Let there be light
If you really want a chandelier to sparkle, consider the bulb wattage. Chandelier bulbs come in up to 60 watts, so if you have a 10-arm chandelier, that’s 600 watts. Try using 40- or even 25-watt bulbs but this is one light you probably won’t want to dim.
3. Explore the possibilities
Most of the time, chandeliers are sold without the shades and are often used that way. But adding or changing shades gives a chandelier a totally different appearance and allows you to reinvent the piece.
4. Infinite variety
Modern chandeliers run the gamut from funky Perspex through wrought-metal to all-over glass. While some delight in the beauty and purity of clear crystal, others prefer brilliantly coloured glass, or even dramatic black crystal casings.
5. Double the impact
Hang a chandelier in front of a mirror and you double the impact. The delicately curving wrought-metal arms form striking silhouettes and the beautifully refracted light bounces off the glass.
6. Focal point
Traditionally, no dining room is complete without a chandelier hung 32 inches over the table. For a more modern look, suspend more than one… as low as you dare. Size-wise, a dining-room chandelier should be approximately half the width of the table. But you can go bigger: oversized chandeliers are hip when used to create the main focal point in a room.
7. End of the rainbow
Gaudy only if oversized, coloured crystal chandeliers are works of art in their own right. Radiating rainbow-like prisms of light, they provide focus in a room and should stand out against the pervading colour scheme.
8. Fashion statement
Chandeliers are as popular now as they were in the 1800s and they’re not just for the dining room anymore. People are using them in different ways and having fun with them. The hottest trend is to put them in unexpected places like the smallest powder room or the biggest bedroom, where they double as artwork.
9. Just add candles
Standing, wall- or ceiling-hung, chandeliers can be integrated into just about any scheme. Combine them with candles for a theatrical look or, if you love the look of chandeliers and the glow of candlelight, hang a “candelier”, which mixes the best of both.
10. Worth the work
Chandeliers look best suspended from a striking ceiling rosette; they draw the eye and won’t get lost in a high-ceilinged room. High on style, they are also high maintenance and need to be dusted about once a week.
