Screen Porch: Lantern Chandelier

A few weeks ago, my parents were in town on their way home from their Florida refuge.  Virginia is the perfect stopping point for a second night on the road on their way back to upstate New York.  I'm lucky to have a handy dad (and a Handy Hubby!) so I like to have some little projects to keep him occupied.  He's in high demand so if he has idle hands, my neighbors swoop in and steal him for projects - no joke.  It happened last weekend!

Since redoing our screen porch, I had plans for a chandelier over the table.

Isn't this table calling for a chandelier?  I did not have wiring installed for this purpose but I did have high outlets installed in two locations to cover this eventuality.  Last year, I looked on and off for several months for the perfect chandelier but no dice.  Finally, I was on One Kings Lane one day at the tail end of last summer and came across this lantern in their "downstairs" clearance.

Sorry for the bad picture!

Joy!!  I ordered it and thought I would figure out the rest later.  It did not have a light kit and was made for a candle. I knew I wanted a regular light though.

In the fall I picked up a paper lantern light kit at Target on clearance for about $5. It included a light kit and a long white cord.  I also picked up some rustic looking manila rope at my local hardware store.  I knew my handy dad could make it work.

Fast forward to May and I show my dad my purchases.  He puzzles about it for a bit and asks about any leftover chain we might have.  We're borderline hoarders so of course we have some chain - several styles actually.  I chose the one I liked the most.

Next step (happened while I wasn't home) was that Handy Hubby and my dad rigged up the light.  My dad rewired everything so we have a separate switch for the outlets (it's the bottom right one now).

Here's how it looked the next day (it was a late night light hanging!).

I loved the overall effect but the details weren't there.  The light bulb looked horrible and the chain wasn't ideal but it was free so I could not be too picky.

Then a few days later, I remembered my original rope idea. I had intended for the light to be hanging from the rope, not a chain originally but we worried about stretching and longevity.  Then I had a brilliant idea to wrap the rope around the chain.

I started at the bottom and worked my way up just wrapping the rope tightly as I went.  It was a little unwieldy and slightly dangerous since I was on a ladder and the chain was long but I survived.

I also added an Edison bulb.  I found them at Home Depot and it was about $9 - so worth it. 

Here's the final result...

And a before and after...

  

It really finishes the room.  The porch is pretty much done for now.  I have added a few small pieces which I'll share soon.  In the mean time, I am struggling through the last weeks of the school year.  I have a ton of stuff to post but just haven't had a moment to do it!