Classical Chandeliers Blog

By popular demand we just had to include this clip on the blog. So many people have said that when they think of chandeliers from a lighter perpective then this clip springs to mind. It certainly has stood the test of time and remains as one of the most memorable episodes from Only Fools and Horses so please take a look and enjoy.
But maybe here somewhere there is a lesson to be learnt!

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Only Fools and Horses Chandelier Sketch

Some Background This magnificent french chateau has been acquired by an English couple with a dream to restore it and open it to the public as a Hotel. You might look at the picture like I did and say that looks fine and need no restoration but be assured behind this postcard picture is a great deal of hard work to get the chateau ready for guests. Now our involvement has been that Anne the proud new owner acquired 2 of the original chandeliers from the chateau in a local French auction and was keen to have them restored to be placed back into their original positions within this building of beauty. However it was not quite as simple as that as you can see from this image of the chandelier . Firstly , the chandelier was bent and covered in a mass of dirt and most significantly had no electrics for illumination appart from a single flex holding a single globe light bulb! But not to shy away from a challenge we took on the task of re-engineering the chandeliers to restore them to their former glory.  Read more...

The Chandelier Restoration Task

We were invited to a historic building which was full of heritage and told fabulous stories regarding the history by the man in charge. But as interesting as this all was our task, as I am sure you can guess, was to examine the chandeliers and identify what could be done to return them to their former glory. Now there is no doubt that the chandeliers were magnificent and of high quality but they were so dirty that they were not distinguishable as grand traditional chandeliers. The first step for us is always to examine the chandeliers very carefully to assess the task to be done. A cleaning job if done properly will always involve removing all the crystals and a rewiring job does require that the entire chandelier is dismantled. It is therefore imperative to assess what steps are needed to dismantle and as to whether certain parts will need replacing as part of this process. Clearly with a traditional chandelier as these then it is an object of great value and beauty and must be treated accordingly.  Read more...