“Chandeliers are like the jewelry to a room,” as my friend likes to tell her clients.  And I couldn’t agree more!  It seems that with almost every client I help transform the interior of their home, chandeliers seem to be the part that takes the most time and thought.  Why?  There are so many fabulous choices and so many factors when deciding how to pick the best chandeliers for any room in your home. Get inspired to light your own spaces with these different selections I’m sharing.

My breakfast nook chandelier.  See details and sources HERE.

First, is the size of the chandelier appropriate for the room you’ve chosen?  If it’s going above your dining table, is it hanging too low or too high?  Ballard Design says it best:

“If you’re selecting lighting for a new home and you don’t have dining room furniture yet, there’s a very simple rule you can follow. Add the length and width measurements of the room together. Your answer equals the right size diameter a chandelier should be. For example, if your dining room is 10′ x 14′, a 24″ diameter chandelier would look great.

However, if you already have a table, it’s more important to size the chandelier to the table than the room. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your chandelier is one-half to three-quarters the width of your table.

For the right hanging height, position the bottom of the chandelier about 30-32 inches above the table, adjusting to work with the size of the table and the overall scale of your space.”

 See more of my Thanksgiving Table HERE.

When choosing the correct size of the chandelier for a space, measure the length and width of the room in feet, and add those two numbers together. For example, if your room is 8 feet wide by 12 feet long, the sum is 20 feet. Change that number to inches and you will get a number that works for the diameter of your chandelier. In this case, a chandelier with a diameter of 20 inches would work well in an 8-foot by 12-foot room. For a dining room, the chandelier should have a diameter around 12 inches less than the table is wide. It’s always better to have a chandelier that is slightly too big than too small.

See more on my master bedroom HERE.

Second, just as you would above the dining table, you must measure and determine the length. The taller the ceiling, the taller the chandelier can be. A foyer chandelier should hang about 7 feet off the floor, measuring from the bottom of the chandelier. For a chandelier suspended above a dining room table, there should be around 30 inches from the bottom of the chandelier to the tabletop for a dining room with an 8-foot ceiling.

See more on my living room HERE.

Third, decide where to hang your chandelier. The location will affect the style of home lighting you choose. While most people think of chandeliers in dining rooms or a foyer, there are many other places you can hang a chandelier. Hang one with a dimmer switch over your bed in a master bedroom and turn it down to candlelight level for a romantic feel. Install a mini chandelier over a claw-foot tub in your bathroom for a touch of glamour. Consider installing mini chandeliers over a large kitchen island instead of standard pendant lights for a chic look. I like to think it make doing dishes prettier, ha!

See more on Brooklyn’s bedroom makeover HERE.

Fourth, you should pick a style that matches the room. The chandelier should complement, not detract from, the theme of the room.  This is where you have to narrow down all your favorites and can be difficult.  And, might I add, part of this step should include to keep reminding your husband that you are NOT keeping the ceiling fan ha!  Get him a plug-in fan.

Here are some fabulous chandeliers that I love or have shared with clients recently, in different categories.

Crystal Chandeliers

Orb Chandeliers

Beaded Chandeliers

Wooden Chandeliers

I hope this has been helpful in learning how to pick chandeliers for your home and given you some inspiration as to what lighting you’d like to change or improve in your home.

I’m so glad you stopped by and stay tuned for lots of fun Spring decor ideas over the next few weeks that I’ll be sharing!

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xoxo,

*affiliate links used

The post How To Pick Chandeliers For Your Home appeared first on Summer Adams.

I know you have heard me say it over and over, but we are in a rental home until our final and permanent move this next year. This may not be my dream home but it’s a great rental and I try to leave rentals in even better condition than I found them and take care of them like my own. Renting can be fun, and whilst you may need renters insurance, it offers greater flexibility than buying with a mortgage can. Sure, I can’t knock walls down, but I can still give things a lick of paint. So, in decorating my home, I also want to be respectful of the structure. This house has a fabulous staircase from the front door and I knew it would be so fun to deck it out at Christmas with garlands of green, I also wanted to make sure I didn’t damage the banister at all and leave it with holes and dings. I found the perfect solution and had to share it! So, here’s the best way to hang garland on your banister this holiday season and I’m going to show you step-by-step.

I did a happy dance when Home Depot finally got in their lovely fresh Christmas garland the other day. You get 15′ of cypress and pine branches to make one long garland for only $10. Pretty amazing, right?! So I grabbed 2 of them and it was perfect and I used every bit of it for my banisters. Bare with me because this was a late-night project and took several photos at night with darker lighting.

You will need:
Fresh or faux green garland
Zip ties
Wire cutters
Floral wire
Scissors
Ribbon & Ornaments if desired

Measure the length of your banister and the garland so you know what you’re working with and how much you’ll need. Start with one end of the garland and ask someone else to hold the other end, while stretching it down part of your banister and seeing how far it will go. You just need an idea. Grab one end of the garland and a zip tie (whichever color works best for you…I used clear). Strap it around the banister and the garland and pull it nice and tight. Clip the excess part of the zip tie.

Arrange the greenery above and below the banister railing to cover the zip tie. If needed, use a little floral wire to keep a branch in a particular place to cover the zip tie.

Continue down the railing doing the same thing. I used zip ties every 2 feet to keep the garland tight and in place, exactly where I wanted it. Again, use any floral wire needed to keep zip ties hidden. I only had 2 spots I needed to do this to. The branches naturally fall and should {mostly} do this on their own.

Cut off any excess garland if needed but make sure to use floral wire, if necessary, to keep any loose branches together.

Let’s decorate this gorgeous garland, shall we?! Now, it is gorgeous on it’s own and ribbon isn’t necessary BUT if you know me…..more is more! I’m all about making a statement and adding something sparkly. So grab some ribbon and ornaments. I only wanted to add them to the ends and one space in the middle.

You can use pretty double-sided satin ribbon and let the ends hang super long like Jenny Steffens did.

via JennySteffens.blogspot.com

I also like how CentsationalGirl used wired ribbon and ornaments to adorn her garland.

via CentsationalGirl.com

I loved the garland by itself so much but, in keeping with my true nature, I had to add a little sparkle and a bow or two (or 3 or 4). So I used this expandable, sparkly metallic wired ribbon I found at Michael’s this year and made a handful of large bows and attached them with floral wire.

So here’s how it turned out…..Ta-Daaaaaa!

I love this vintage mirror I found recently and switched it out for the other one that was here. I added a fur rug and some fun holiday pillows and even embellished my lantern with those 6 inches I trimmed off of the garland hanging on the floor and one of my sparkly pinecone napkin rings from ZGallerie.

Well……

Wasn’t that easy?! I hope these step-by-step instructions helped you hang your garland on your banister with ease. It is not as daunting as it seems. The hardest part is the clean up. Good luck getting all the goo off your hands and the pine needs off your stairs and floor haha! It’s really not that bad, you’ll be fine!

Oh! While I have you looking upwards….Did you see the snowflakes I hung down the side of my staircase wall?

It’s so fun! I just bought a ton of sparkly white snowflakes and hung them at different lengths with clear fishing wire and tied a double knot around the 3M hooks. They are such a pretty “winter wonderland” addition to our entry and stair case and the hooks come right off after Christmas without damaging the trim.

Here are the shopping links for your convenience to help you recreate this look.

Wishing you the Merriest Christmas and Happiest Holiday Season!

The post How To Hang Garland On Your Banister appeared first on Summer Adams.