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How to Make a Chandelier Longer

I’ve been wanting to move the dining table away from the wall in the breakfast room but felt stuck because of where the chandelier was hanging and the chain and wires on it were too short to swag over to where I wanted to place the table. Finally, I decided to try my hand at rewiring it, determined that a light fixture would not hold me hostage in my furniture placement endeavors! Here is my DIY experience on how to make a chandelier longer…

HometoCottage.com How to Rewire a Chandelier

New Layout Demands Chandelier Moved

The whole thing that started this, was my desire to rearrange the furniture a little. (haha No surprise there!) I never was crazy about the table being shoved up against the wall, but when I realized that it would actually fit nicely in the middle of the room, I was stuck because of the chandelier placement.

HometoCottage.com chandelier is too short

(This post is about how to make a chandelier longer, but if you’d like to see how my breakfast table was placed up against the wall, you can see it here in our breakfast room renovation… it was a huge renovation job and so I split that up into two posts… Breakfast Room Reno Part 1 and Breakfast Room Reno Part 2)

Then I thought… “But this chandelier is connected to the now misplaced power source in the ceiling with a chain… I could just add a hook in the ceiling and swag the chandelier over the 2 feet to the new center of the table… Except if I do that, the chandelier chain will be so short by the time I ‘swag’ it over, it’ll be hanging tight against the ceiling!”

Ewww… that’s a bad look! Here’s your 1st tip coming up:

Standard Chandelier Height Tip

Rule of thumb is that a chandelier should hang approximately 36″ from the table top. (that gives ample light, doesn’t block your view across the table when you’re seated, and still visually connects to the table)

So I decided I could make a chandelier longer and just rewire the top wire that connects from the chandelier, weaves through the chain and connects the chandelier to the power source in the ceiling.

Adding Wires Isn’t Difficult

This isn’t a hard task, I’ve done it before, but every light is a little different, and this light fixture is a vintage one at that.

First thing I had to do was figure out where that top wire connected to the rest of the wires for each arm of the chandelier. After practically taking the whole darn thing apart, I finally found the ‘nest of wires’ in the center of the bottom area… (now looking at this picture, it seems so obvious that’s where it would be, but for some reason, I started by taking the top off, thinking it would be up in that larger top area…duh!)

HometoCottage.com remove bottom to get to wires

This vintage light fixture is held together with a couple of different rods in the center which all those tin pieces layer together and get held in place with a bottom finial. (‘finial’… that was a fun word to teach my 5-year-old grandson, who was ‘helping’ me… especially because his name is Finn… finial… Finn… get it?)

So I found the ‘nest of wires’, but I needed to figure out which two came from the top wire.

I’m Not a Wiring Expert

I don’t know a lot about wiring and electricity, just enough to do simple wiring like this… and I know that each arm, (with its own lightbulb on the end of said arm), as well as the wire going to the top power source, must have 2 parts to the wire… actually 2 wires… a white and a black… someone a long time ago explained one is a neutral and the other one is a hot one, but I have no idea which is which or even if I understand that fully, so I treat them like they are both hot and just match the colors.

However…

As you can see in this bunch of wires, there doesn’t appear to be an easy white and black. I think that may be part of it being a vintage light fixture, but again, I’m not sure… All I know is that the light worked totally fine how it was wired, so I wanted to maintain their wiring design.

Long story short,

I wiggled and pulled the top wire coming out of the top of the rod, figured out which wire in the bunch was moving and as I disconnected the bunch to remove the top wire, (remember, there was one wire from the top in each of the two bunches). I only undid one bunch at a time, and carefully re-bunched them back, re-screwing the wire nut, securing it to the ends of that particular bunch, before moving on to the other. That way the wires going to the arms wouldn’t get mixed up with each other and result in a light that didn’t work.

HometoCottage.com after wire removed, be sure to reclump together

Once it was free from the bunches, I removed the old, too short, top wire and fed in the new much longer wire.

HometoCottage.com new wire fed through, split

Separating the Wires

The wire easily pulls apart into the two separate wires, each still coated with the protective covering.

HometoCottage.com wire stripper

Using a Wire Stripper

This little tool is so fun and easy to use. It’s a wire stripper. (Here is a link for a wire stripper and cutter all in one tool!) affiliate

Hometocottage.com wire stripper in action

You just place the end of the wire into its jaws, about an inch, and squeeze the handle. It seems magical when it ‘clicks’ and removes the end of the protective covering, perfectly exposing the wire. (Finn loved doing this part with me!)

Connecting the Wires

Then it was just a matter of taking one of those new wires from the top and connecting it to the bunch of wires in the ‘nest’… and doing the same with the other wire from the top to the other bunch.

HometoCottage.com wire done, now chain

Once the wiring was completed, I reattached all the pieces of the lamp and screwed the finial back on.

Adding More Chain to the Length

Now it was time to remove and replace the chain. That’s one part that was kinda sad. The old, vintage chain was thick and heavy… I couldn’t find a nice thick, heavy chain that matched it, so I had to opt for the standard lamp chain in the hardware store. (so I will probably be making a cord cover to hide it… stay tuned)

Here’s Another Tip…

HometoCottage.com tip, bend open from side to side

When you need to take apart the link of the chain to the determined length and attach it to the ring of the light etc. be sure to pry it apart side to side… that makes it easier to lever it right back so the ends of the link meet up again. If you pull the ring apart spreading the gap wider, you’ll never get it to bend back together to make a nice clean link, it’ll always have a gap in the ends.

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Weave Wire Through Chain

Once the chain was reattached to the light and ring on the end that connects to the ceiling, I fed the wire through the links of the chain and reattached it to the power source.

HometoCottage.com longer chain and wire

Here’s the Third Tip…

Be absolutely sure that it’s not the wire holding the weight of the chandelier, but the chain is fully supporting the hanging chandelier! 

Now that I spent a few minutes or so to make a chandelier longer, it is now long enough to swag over to hang 36″ above the center of the dining table in its new position.

But see what I mean about the chain not being so attractive? I’ll think I’ll be needing to make a cord covering real soon…

Looking for a new, vintage or antique chandelier? I bought this cute black tole one on Ebay!

Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!

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Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and now Instagram!  I appreciate you reading along.

This post is linked up at the following other sites: HomeTalk, Thrifty Decor Chick, Skip to my Lou, Coastal Charm, Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, StoneGable, A Stroll Thru Life, Tip Junkie, Home Stories A to Z, Yesterday on Tuesday, Cozy Little House, The DIY Dreamer, Pocketful of Posies, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Posed Perfection, Oh My Heartsie Girl, My Thrift Store Addiction, From My Front Porch to Yours, Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body, Design, Dining & Diapers, Too Much Time on My Hands, French Country Cottage, The Girl Creative, Chic on a Shoestring, Funky Junk, DIY Showoff, I Should be Mopping the Floor

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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