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How to Buy a Crystal Chandelier

Buying a crystal chandelier can be an exciting enterprise and a worthwhile investment. Following are some steps to make the process more coherent and a little easier!

1. Select a chandelier that can hang at the correct height when a table will be centered beneath it. Consider both the chandelier and the room you're lighting: if the chandelier has bare bulbs, for example, it will need to be hung high enough to avoid glare. At the same time, if you have an 8-foot ceiling, you'll want to avoid hanging a chandelier too high or it will look sawed off and stunted.

2. Remember that a chandelier is more of a room decoration than a functional light fixture. It doesn't need a zillion flame bulbs just because the room is big; let other lighting in the room appropriately supplement a more restrained chandelier.

3. Avoid glare problems by buying a chandelier equipped with tiny shades (mini-shades) or adding tiny shades to bare candle-type lighting.

4. Stick with the classic looks. Remember that a colored chandelier will become dated in another 5-10 years. Match the chandelier to the room and the mood you want rather than with the times.

5. Choose a chandelier that meshes with the mood and style of the other furnishings in the room: wall sconces, furniture, wallpaper, window treatments and other accessories. If an elaborate, large chandelier would stick out in the room consider something more muted so that the chandelier can be seen for its beauty rather than its girth.

6. Try to keep metals in the room in finishes that harmonize. For example, dull pewter shouldn't mix with shiny silver, and shiny brass shouldn't be mixed with antique brass or verdigris.

7. Pay attention to scale. In a large room bigger is usually better; too often a chandelier can look tiny.

8. Remember that a chandelier is a dust magnet. Examine potential purchases for ease of cleaning and keep in mind that simpler designs are usually easier to clean.

9. Determine whether a potential purchase uses specialty bulbs or standard bulbs. Specialty bulbs can be hard to find and/or expensive

10. Ask the lighting store clerk whether you can try out a purchase at home and exchange it if it doesn't look right

11. Ask to see catalogs at the lighting store. You will dramatically increase your selection options.

12. A chandelier is not anything to be bought on the spur of the moment. You want to take your time, perhaps take picture of your choices then take them home and gauge whether or not the chandelier matches the room you’d like to hang it in.