Thursday, November 30, 2006

I’m taking tomorrow off to spend a weekend in New York.

Although I used to be a compulsive traveler, lately I’ve fallen out of the habit. Perhaps this is why I’m experiencing separation anxiety. Separation from home and everything in it. The shelves full of good books, my favorite comfy armchair, the claw-footed tub so nice for long baths, and most especially the Schonbek crystal chandeliers.

This is absolutely the only drawback to having crystal chandeliers. I hate to leave them.

There are some tempting exhibits at the Frick and the Metropolitan Museum, which is why my husband and I are going to New York. Almost any visit to a museum, of course, involves coming upon antique crystal chandeliers. I think I remember seeing a few Versailles style crystal chandeliers at the Met, so I’ll make it a point to revisit them.

It’s always fun to explore rooms of period furnishings. I love to study the rather crudely cut rock crystal on antique crystal chandeliers. The crystal pendants tend to be quite chunky and somewhat irregular. The pendants in present day rock crystal chandeliers by Schonbek have a more refined look. Yet the techniques for cutting and polishing the rock crystal gemstones haven’t changed at all over the centuries. The work is still done by hand, requires rare skills, and takes a lot of time. Schonbek just has very high standards and only accepts the best work of the gem cutters who supply them with rock crystal ornaments.

Schonbek went to tremendous trouble to revive the rock crystal chandelier for homeowners and collectors with rarefied tastes.

New York is famous for its holiday lighting. Someone else from my office is taking his family to New York this weekend just to see the lights. Interesting how drawn people are by extravagant displays of light. My feeling is, why only indulge in this emotion on holidays? Why not revel in the fascinations of light every day of your life, by living in the midst of crystal chandeliers?

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

We just added four new games to the Decorating Game.

Living with Art shows a living room that Schonbek had photographed. This home won first prize in a Schonbek room design contest. Like so many lovers of crystal chandeliers, the homeowners make a practice of collecting art on their travels. The Schonbek crystal chandelier is viewed as a collectible, too.

Modern Dining is fun because it’s so simple and unpretentious.   A crystal chandelier might not be your first idea for a light source here. This game illustrates the happy trend to put crystal in all sorts of unlikely places. At the same time, Schonbek also makes some minimalist crystal chandeliers that will never raise eyebrows in a room like this. So you have your choice: to raise eyebrows or not.

Exotic Sofa puts forth the idea that you might like to use two tiny crystal chandeliers as exclamation points on either side of something gorgeous. Like this sofa, or a particularly magnificent bed. I’ve noticed that sofas are getting incredibly colorful and luxurious lately. You really shouldn’t indulge in such a sofa unless you’re prepared to keep up the level of romanticism with extravagant lighting.

Country Bedroom is so peachy and pretty, you’d want to go early to bed in this house. There’s a easy-going quality about this room that permits a wide choice of crystal chandelier styles. I’m particularly in love with the exclusive chandelier. The teak colored crystal is very unusual. If I could squeeze one more crystal chandelier into my house, this might be my choice.

Monday, November 27, 2006

My mother-in-law has delightful qualities. Not only does she love crystal chandeliers, she loves movies. We went to the movies a lot over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

I was reminded once again how much I enjoy the Coming Attractions. Often they’re better than the movie itself. Movies I wouldn’t dream of going to see can be quite entertaining in the form of a Coming Attraction.

A Schonbek crystal chandelier offers precisely the opposite experience. It looks beautiful in a catalog (the preview). It looks gorgeous in the showroom (the preview intensified). But when you get it home for the full experience, the pleasure escalates beyond all expectation.

I know because I’ve been through the crystal chandelier buying experience quite a few times.  

A Schonbek crystal chandelier has winning ways. Your furniture loves it because it brings out the sheen of wood and enriches the colors of fabric. The art on your walls loves it because suddenly your home acquires an artistic ambiance. Your walls and ceilings love it because it bathes them perpetually in prismatic light.

Even during the day when you’re at work, your house is having fun. Your crystal chandelier doesn’t have to be lighted to create a magical ambiance. Crystal pendants will pick up the natural light coming through the windows and scatter dashes of mysterious color all around the room. These multicolored, phantasmagorical light patterns on the ceiling can be amazing.

Coming home at night to a house that’s had a good day automatically lifts your spirits.