Beauty and the Beast

We had eyeballed this chandelier on Overstock long before purchasing our house. We both loved the rustic look and David deemed it his favorite chandelier "of all time." We kept the fixture book marked and when we were finally ready to purchase it, it was sold out. No good. So, we kept an eye out for its return while searching for a comparable one in case it never returned. Well, low and behold nearly 3 months later (and after searching all of Internet land for a replacement), it was back! Needless to say we jumped on and ordered it right then and there. About 5 days later it arrived in all of its oh-so-large chandelier glory and after about 2 more days we were ready to open the box and tackle the task of hanging a heavy chandelier from a vaulted ceiling. Not something to take lightly, my friends.

The original chandelier.

The new chandelier.

This chandelier may be a beauty, but it was a beast to put together. The rods that run from top to bottom are not secured, they merely loop into each other making it impossible to hold while wiring everything. Needless to say, my biceps got one heck of a workout while I held the monstrosity above my head as David did all of the electrical work. An hour later it was hung...but not straight. It kept spinning around and would not stay still. So after another 30 minutes of fidgeting with chains and screws, we finally had a perfectly hung, gorgeous and beefy chandelier. Hooray us.

Isn't she a beauty. Although the hanging process was harder than any other light fixture we have ever installed, the end result was so worth it. The rustic vibe goes nicely with our fabulous new dining table, featured here.

Have you hung any jaw-dropping or impact-making chandeliers lately?