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How to Make a Chandelier Longer

February 1, 2016

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.

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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becky J. says

    October 17, 2018 at 7:52 pm

    Great tutorial! For the longer chain, did you find a single longer chain at the hardware store, or did you have to put several smaller ones together? I have a fixture that has ample wire to swag as needed, but only came with 3’ of chain (waaah waaaah), so need more to position it appropriately!

    Reply
    • Liz says

      October 17, 2018 at 10:06 pm

      Yes, the hardware store should have longer chain for your light. Some stores sell it by the foot, then you can get exactly what you need.

      Reply
  2. Donna Cruz says

    March 4, 2018 at 6:35 am

    THANK YOU for these wonderful instructions! You are a great teacher! I am a 53 year old Mom and can’t wait to get my 16 year old son to help me with this! The wording is so easy to follow and combined with the clear, up-close photos I think we can absolutely do this! Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Liz says

      March 4, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      Thanks, Donna, I’m so glad you found it helpful! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Cecilia MyThriftStoreAddiction says

    February 6, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    What a great tip! Thanks for sharing @ Vintage Charm!

    Reply
  4. Rebecca says

    February 2, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    It’s so true that bad wiring can hold your room design hostage. We have a chandelier in my daughters’ room that is right in the middle. I hate ceiling lights in the middle of the room, but wasn’t sure I could change it. Thanks for the great tips on how to do it. I think I’m going to tackle that soon now.

    Reply
    • Liz says

      February 2, 2016 at 5:00 pm

      That’s fantastic Rebecca! I’m so glad my words inspired you a bit. 🙂 thanks for reading over here.

      Reply
  5. kristinsalazar597020196 says

    February 1, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    Such a great tutorial, thanks so much for sharing with us, have a great week!

    Reply
    • Liz says

      February 1, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Thanks Kristen!

      Reply

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