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.
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| 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!
