Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mini chandeliers have become a huge category. It all started a few years back when Schonbek introduced tiny crystal chandeliers.

I think I prefer the term tiny chandeliers to mini chandeliers, because “mini” conjures up images of little mice and small cars. But even though Schonbek invented the category, we may have to bow to the new vocabulary, or the world may forget Schonbek started this trend.

Schonbek’s tiny crystal chandeliers made a great sensation when they first appeared. Since then, Schonbek continues to design miniature versions of its most popular designs, and also to create entirely new mini chandeliers.

The Rose, for example, is a mini chandelier with a 13-inch diameter, as well as a foyer chandelier over 4 feet long., and it comes in various sizes in-between. It’s also a table lamp and a floor lamp. An exceptionally profuse design family! The mini chandelier is actually my favorite, it’s so richly trimmed with antique styles of crystal.

Another new mini chandelier is Bolero, with a 15-inch diameter. Like The Rose, Bolero comes in other sizes. The foyer chandelier version is over 4 feet long.

An example of a mini chandelier that has been miniaturized from a classic crystal chandelier design is La Scala. Although it’s just 14 inches in diameter, it feels much bigger because of the oversized handcut crystal pendants and the plump baroque arms.

Olde World is a jewel of a mini chandelier with an 11-inch diameter. Undulating scrolls hand formed of crystal give this design a distinctive look, lively and elegant both. The Strass® crystal trim is exceedingly brilliant.

Many people like to coordinate their interiors carefully, room to room. If this describes you, the fact that you can get a mini chandelier, a foyer chandelier and a dining room chandelier in a given Schonbek style will be very helpful to you. Visit a major lighting showroom that carries Schonbek and ask to see the new Schonbek catalog. It will have photos of every Schonbek design in every size. Also keep in mind that you can request a custom size. Schonbek is unusual in offering this option.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

What defines a foyer chandelier? Generally it’s long and narrow. The wow factor is important too. After all, this is where you state who you are to the impressionable visitor.

Of course, if you have an entryway as a big as a hotel lobby, then there are no restraints. You can simply get an enormous crystal chandelier. But most entryways have narrow dimensions and high ceilings, dictating the classic shape of the foyer chandelier.

Many Schonbek designs come in more than one size suitable for foyers.

Schonbek offers an exceptionally elegant Maria Theresa chandelier for the foyer. Elegant is not the word for most Maria Theresa chandeliers you see on the market. The traditional construction lends itself to cumbersome interpretations. You have a metal frame that’s clad on either side with crystal listals that echo the shape of the frame elements. And there are joints rather oddly concealed (or emphasized) by crystal rosettes. The whole idea is a bit mad, but that’s how it was done in the eighteenth century. Schonbek refined the form, creating a Maria Theresa that is genuinely lovely. The chandelier I linked to is 45.5 inches long, but in case you live in a mansion, there’s a version with a 62-inch length as well.

I could go on for hours about Schonbek’s original designs in the category of foyer chandeliers. But another one I really love is Renaissance with a medley of crystal types. The image I just linked to has clear crystal, rock crystal, and Pink and Black Diamond crystal. But instead of pink crystal you can choose other colors. Like Jet Black. Or Olivine and Smoke Topaz. What’s wonderful about this crystal chandelier is the way it mixes historic authenticity with a contemporary sense of freedom. The open-cage baroque frame is classic in structure. But the use of varied crystal types is eccentric and eclectic. This Renaissance is 40 inches long, or you can go huge with a 57-inch long rendition.

Some of us, of course, have small foyers not much bigger than the end of a hallway.  We shouldn’t have a complex about this. Rather we should invest in a mini chandelier. No matter how small it is, the foyer should never be treated like a second class citizen. You want to feel cheerful and fortunate the minute you open your front door. You want visitors to be filled with pleasant anticipation. A crystal chandelier in the foyer is the way to go.

Monday, July 9, 2007

A crystal chandelier is almost by definition a light show. But now it can be a light show in the party-time sense of the phrase.

If you’re into special effects, you have to check out the new Da Vinci™ LED.

I should be upfront and say you need a pretty high ceiling to accommodate this crystal chandelier. It’s three feet in diameter. Or you can order the size with a five-foot diameter. This is a light source that will truly impart greatness to a great room. It will give you the feeling that you’re starting your own solar system.

I’ve seen it in person at the Chandelirious exhibit now in progress at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. There it’s placed inside an old silo, and the effect is highly dramatic.

Of course, most of us don’t want to party every minute. Happily, you can switch your Da Vinci™ LED into halogen mode  and it becomes a dazzling sphere of clear crystal. As with any crystal chandelier, there will be prismatic bursts of color off the sharp facets of the clear crystal jewels. But the LED light show will take a nap.

So in effect, you have a crystal chandelier with a split personality. One evening you can invite your most conservative business associates to dinner and let your Da Vinci™ exhibit its elegant clear crystal phase.  The next night you can invite your friends over for the light show.

Da Vinci™ LED puts on a delightfully mellow light show, however. The colors are rich, and they fade one into another almost imperceptibly. This is a light show that’s perfectly compatible with classic jazz or a Bach concerto.

Not every lighting showroom carries this phenomenon, so you’ll want to check our list of dealers if you’re interested.