Thursday, August 14, 2008
Put a Schonbek crystal chandelier in every room, and you may lose interest in leaving home. Weekends around the house will start feeling like vacations, because what hotel room can offer you as much beauty and comfort as your own décor?

Considering the rising price of gasoline (and jet fuel), with no end in sight, a heavy investment in Schonbek crystal chandeliers might be well worth it.

But if you’re going to cut back on vacations and weekend getaways, you might want to consider an exercise room – a handy way for stay-at-home people to keep in shape. I converted an attic for this purpose. But a basement would be good too.

Picking a crystal chandelier for your home gym is a fun exercise in itself.

You probably want something edgy and unconventional, to go with the steely look of your equipment. Maybe a boxy Quantum crystal chandelier. Or a one-tier Plaza that looks sort of like a flying saucer.

Jasmine is rather dressy, but would work for an upscale gym. Maybe you wear chic workout clothes and have black leather armchairs for rests between reps, so that this chandelier would be appropriate. Jasmine is such a gorgeous crystal chandelier, any excuse to get one is good.

Then again, Da Vinci™ is a perfect choice, whatever your home gym décor. The shape will echo your exercise ball. And gazing at a perfectly round, wildly dazzling crystal chandelier takes the boredom out of repetitive motion. It’s like having the moon to contemplate while you pump iron.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The foyer is a traditional location for your most spectacular crystal chandelier.

Happily Schonbek rarely designs a chandelier collection without making at least on iteration of that design for the foyer.

Naturally I have my favorites among these foyer chandeliers.

I’m assuming your foyer is lofty. If it’s not especially grand, then a modest crystal chandelier of conventional proportions may do very well. But for the truly grand foyer, have a look at this Renaissance with rock crystal and clear crystal intermingled. You’ll need a pretty high ceiling for this chandelier, since it’s 57 inches long.

What’s great about this chandelier? Just about everything: the seventeenth-century open-cage styling, the ornate baroque scrollwork, the mysterious markings of the natural rock crystal gemstones, the shimmer of the clear crystal, the quiet magnificence of all these elements coming together.

Another really interesting foyer chandelier is a Vendome. I’m thinking of the one that’s a little over 33 inches long. This is a good choice if you want something imposing but not glitzy. Vendome is understated, with a rather spare display of rock crystal ornaments. But there is a wow factor here, and it’s the enormous rock crystal sphere at the heart of the chandelier. Still, rock crystal is never glitzy, so you’re maintaining an aura of restrained elegance with a Vendome crystal chandelier.

But if you can handle all-out opulence, I have another suggestion: Olde World. My favorite is a version a little over 55 inches long. However you have a choice of sizes. Olde World is dazzling beyond compare. The hand-formed crystal arms and scrolls gleam, the elaborate cut crystal column pieces sparkle – and the STRASS® Swarovski® crystal jewels are on fire with spectral brilliance.

I could go on about other beautiful examples of Schonbek foyer chandeliers. But really, you have so many choices, your best bet is to meet with a lighting consultant at a Schonbek dealer and discuss your vision. Or have your interior designer check it out. To find the Schonbek showroom nearest you call 800-836-1892.

Monday, August 11, 2008
A Plaza crystal chandelier looks something like a fantasy of a spaceship. The kind of spaceship that contains a whole city. I was surprised when Andrew Schonbek decided to call this design Plaza, since plazas are usually square. But Plaza is largely composed of square and rectangular crystal jewels, so there’s an underlying angularity at work here to justify the name.

And anyway, Plaza sounds classy, so in that sense it’s perfect for this dazzling crystal chandelier. There’s a self-confidence about Plaza, and a dressed-for-success look, that speaks directly to the glitterati.

The multi-tiered Plaza is slightly wider than it is long. This creates a sensation of expansion, a feeling like that of a bird flying with outstretched wings or, yes, a spaceship-city taking flight.

The one-tiered Plaza chandelier is indisputably a flying saucer – but the glamour model, not the utility vehicle.

We’re featuring Plaza on the home page at this moment, in a setting that’s both simple and grand. I’m linking to an image of the home page, since it changes from time to time, and may be different when you read this.

This home is a spacious retreat at a ski resort. A Plaza crystal chandelier in this context might remind the owner of the sparkle of sun on snow.