Monday, July 8, 2013

Chandelier Over the Tub

When it comes right down to it I am pretty much a rule follower.
I wanted a chandelier above the tub. 
I really did.

I looked for months at fabulous images of gorgeous crystal laden fixtures over tubs.
When I asked an electrician to hang one for me he thought I was a little crazy 
but
I still looked for a fixture for over the tub. 
The guy at the light store told me that the code for my city requires 7 feet of clearance from water. That is not what I have. I can touch the light fixture when I stand in the tub and I am by no means tall. 
So what is a blingy girl to do?
I could have Bill climb into the attic and wire one for me.
 But I won't. 
My designer suggested that I swag the fixture and only plug it in when there isn't water in the tub.
 I tried that once. I have a picture of the mess of chain. 
I knew at the time it was not one of my better ideas because 
I covered the chain in brown fabric.
 
 Kind of looks like poop doesn't it?
 Unbelievably, my sweet husband never said a word.
We only plugged it in a time or two and it got dusty in no time at all. 
  If I tried it again using a prettier chain, I would still have to swag the cord over toward the vanities. 
Bill wasn't thrilled about having the cord by his new plug but he got a swag kit for me anyway.  
I messed with it one day while waiting for tradesmen. 
 It seemed like a mess of chain everywhere.
 It was taking away from the crisp line between the window and the vanities.
I gave up and decided there would be no electrified chandelier over the tub for me. 
I decided to hang one for decorative purposes only. 
I had two in my stash but they were the wrong finish.
 I took them both out into the yard and spray painted them with 
Rust-O-Leum Brushed Nickel.
They still didn't look bright enough so I tried some primer and Silver Krylon. 
  I am a little horrified that I have sprayed a vintage brass fixture. 
Are you horrified too?
  I have several others that are the same age and style so I was okay with sacrificing this one.
I can always strip it later if I want to return it to the original finish.
Here is the other one. 
This one was a cheapie from Home Depot. 
It used to hang in the kitchen. I took it down right after we painted the cabinets.
 The vintage fixture was my favorite out of the two. 
I will probably outfit this with candles at some point.
One of my friends flipped out when she saw it. 
She knew the code from her days as a realtor.

No worries.
The salesman at the lighting store shared a story with me. 
He had a customer that put a chandelier above the tub. 
A neighbor came over and told the man to take down the fixture. He was on the city council and he knew the code.
I don't live next to any city council members but some of them could find my blog through a friend of a friend. 
In the end it really wasn't safe and raising it higher didn't make sense. 
 
 The weird thing is that I love chandeliers but I don't care for overhead lighting. 
We usually use lamps for lighting but really I am content to sit in the dark with my 
laptop or Kindle. 
Thanks for stopping in. 
Katie
Link to our reveal here.

4 comments :

  1. Well...at least it's pretty whether or not it lights. And if you're ok with it...then I say good!
    As to 'the code'..."they're more like guidelines really" oh wait, that's for Pirates...on a boat. You're talking about a claw foot tub...in a bathroom. Aw,well... a girl has to have some bling! ;P
    I think the gorgeous windows in your bathroom will look pretty with candles anyway... ~Pat

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks so perfect there...I'm glad you came up with a creative solution.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Katie,
    It looks lovely over your tub, just the right amount of bling! I think it would be fabulous with candles, candle light makes everything romantic and gorgeous! What's better then relaxing in a bubble bath, in a wonderful claw foot tub, under beautiful candle light!
    Thanks for stopping by and following, I'm your newest follower also and will be back!
    Rebecca
    PS. you can go shopping with me anytime, I think we'd have a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your site is great source of inspiration for all the people searching for design ideas. The designs are so adorable and easy to adopt.I too found this site great ideas on bathroom decorating ideas. It has a lot of data and post on it.

    ReplyDelete