Chandelier Basics

Chandeliers aand pendants are decorative fixtures that hang down from the ceiling and provide general or task lighting. They are available in Traditional, Modern, and Contemporary styles and in a range of quality and prices. You use these fixtures primarily over tables and counters in dining rooms and kitchens and overhead in foyers and hallways. The most popular trend currently is hanging crystal or modern Chandeliers in bathrooms to create sparkle and romance.

General lighting provides all-around illumination that enables you to find your way around, see and socialize with other people, and clean up.

Chandeliers that sparkle or glitter with crystal or polished metal impart a festive, formal atmosphere to a room, separating it from the everyday and mundane. Chandeliers create focal glow, the warm and inviting light that suggests pleasant intimacy.

All chandeliers should be dimmed to create a pleasing ambience and avoid glare. Most dining rooms will require additional lighting for the table setting and people. If the chandelier is bright enough to light the room, it will surely be too glary!

Crystal Chandeliers

Crystal chandeliers use clear glass with numerous faceted sides to refract light into a shimmering array.

Lead crystal cuts and polishes more easily than non-leaded glass, permitting the most precise and clearest facets, for the most pleasing effects.

The most lavish crystal chandeliers use hand-cut and polished elements with the highest (30%) lead content.

How to Clean a Crystal Chandelier

More crystal means more cleaning, but it doesn’t have to be too taxing if you follow these few simple guidelines to keep crystal looking its best.

Chandeliers add twinkle to a boudier. "People are treating their bedroom suites as more luxurious personal spaces with elaborate bathroom areas, so it is not unreasonable to consider chandeliers there, either," says Dan Blitzer, Director of Education for the ALA.

A real no-no in the area of cleaning chandeliers is using sprays that you can buy on non-stainless Steel fixtures with a polished finish. Some store bought sprays will ruin the frames of the chandelier.

If more aggressive cleaning is needed, the crystal parts will need to be removed from the frame. The crystals can then be hand-washed in soapy water, rinsed clean and dried with a cloth.

For dusting between cleanings, it is recommended to use a feather duster, lambswool duster or a make-up brush.

How Often to Clean Chandelier

In general, crystal should be cleaned every two to six months. The frequency of cleaning required depends on where it is used and how easy it is to get to the piece. Extremely large pieces like 20-foot chandeliers can get away with being cleaned only once a year.

Since crystal lighting is popping up in every room of the house these days, some pieces may need more frequent cleanings based on their locations. Chandeliers used in kitchens will need more detailed cleaning due to oil and grease buildup, as well as dust sticking to the components due to moisture from sinks and stoves.

Maintaining a regular cleaning schedule for crystal will always keep it sparkling. Yet if a piece is neglected, all it takes is a little extra effort with the methods listed above and it will be good as new.

Pendants

Pendant uplights generally feature a central bowl of metal, glass, alabaster, or plastic. Light from sources inside the bowl spreads upwards to illuminate the ceiling and reflect back down into the room. Glass and other translucent materials also diffuse light directly into the space.

Because the light reflects softly off of the ceiling, uplights provide comfortable and useful illumination in task areas, such as the kitchen.

The glow from the diffusing bowl provides a warm, comfortable, and informal atmosphere for dining.

Pendant downlights generally provide high levels of well shielded light for task lighting on kitchen tables and counters and other work areas. When no light is directed up or diffused through the shade, the pendant provides no ambient light. As a result, the room will look dark unless there is other lighting in it.

Tiffany pendants are named after Louis Comfort Tiffany, who created the originals over 100 years ago. They consist of many panels of colored glass, bound together into a luminous mosaic. Traditional styles depict fruit bowls and other natural scenes.