From the Atelier

The Chandelier — A Century Beneath the Dust

European-Style Home · Formal Dining Room · Ocala, Florida

The chandelier certainly didn't look grand when I found it.

Its brass had blackened, the metal urn body had faded, several crystals were missing, the candle covers were cheap and partially melted, and nearly a century's worth of dust and grease obscured the detail underneath.

But underneath all of that neglect was an extraordinary old fixture.

Antique chandelier hanging before restoration — **Before** The original chandelier before it was dismantled and restored.

Antique chandelier resting in a box during restoration — **Middle** The fixture dismantled during cleaning, repair and rewiring.

Restored antique chandelier illuminated beneath its hand-painted floral ceiling medallion — **After** The complete fixture illuminated beneath the hand-painted medallion, with its full silhouette and lower finial visible.

I dismantled and restored it, cleaned the brass rather than making it look artificially new, refinished the urn body, replaced the damaged candle covers and sourced crystals to replace those that had disappeared over the years.

I wanted the chandelier to retain its age. Restoration shouldn't erase history.

Above it, I created and hand-painted the ceiling medallion. Its soft blue-grey, black, cream and touches of gold pull colors from the doors, architectural trim, mirror and other elements throughout the dining room. Rather than existing as decoration by itself, the medallion became part of the room's complete palette.

Close view of the floral ceiling medallion painted by hand to complement the restored chandelier — **A separate work of handcraft** The floral medallion was painted by hand after the chandelier restoration, carrying the room's palette onto the ceiling.

“Every home deserves an antique or vintage light fixture.”

The finished chandelier now hangs beneath the medallion as though the two had always belonged together.

What had been hidden beneath decades of neglect became one of the defining pieces of the room.