For those of us who love French Country style, but live in houses with 8 foot ceilings, chandeliers are mostly a dream instead of a reality. If you long for a French Country chandelier in your standard 8 foot ceiling height home, take heart. I found a chandelier for my very small guest bathroom which may also work in your home.
Not only did I find a mini chandelier, I also found a carved wood art medallion to use as a ceiling rose above the new chandelier.
FRENCH COUNTRY
CHANDELIER
for an 8 foot ceiling
After searching through thousands, yes, thousands, of chandeliers, mini chandeliers, pendants, and semi-flush mount ceiling light fixtures on multiple internet lighting sites over several months, I found the chandelier that met all of my criteria. The fixture was on the last page of a website just as I was resigned not to find what I wanted.
Criteria for a chandelier
- French Country style
- More Provinçal country style than Parisian glamorous crystal style
- 12" or less in height to allow head room in an 8 foot ceiling room
- Affordable
- In stock
- Wood or metal, not resin or plastic
- Look good with a ceiling rose
Before showing you all the details of the chandelier, look at the wall art medallion I converted into a ceiling rose.
A rustic 19.5" wood wall art medallion is beautiful on the wall and filled with French Country style. The carved design is elaborate, but not overly so. Intricate large ceiling plaster designs decorate French chateau, cathedrals, and Parisian apartments. But, this small wood carving is simple enough for less pretentious homes and for countryside homes with heavy wood structures.
The detailed moulding of the rim is thick enough to hold its own with heavy wood posts, wood bead board walls, crown moulding, and substantial wood baseboards. Yet, the wood medallion is not too thick to overpower painted sheetrock ceilings.
The first step was to paint lightly over the rustic worn places on the design and the rim with a coordinating white paint. The above photo shows the medallion after gold wax was applied to cover up the worn places and to add more uniformity to the overall pattern and the thick rim.
The new small chandelier is almost the same color of white as the medallion. The small chandelier is metal and came lightly distressed, just the amount needed to coordinate with the wood medallion. I did not have to do anything to the light before hanging it. I did consider adding gold wax wherever the light is distressed, but I like the fixture as it came.
A small hole cut from the center of the wood medallion allows the electrical wiring to connect to the electrical junction box in the ceiling. The new light fixture's canopy covers the hole.
A photo from this angle catches the gold wax color accents on the ceiling rose medallion.
Light fixture dimensions are 14 inches diameter and 11 inches height.
The proportions between the ceiling rose and the small chandelier work well together. The ceiling medallion does not overpower the light fixture. This view shows the chandelier comes down into the room at the about the same height as the top of the window.
And, both the wood medallion and the light fixture are hefty enough to balance with each other and with the large white posts and beams around the perimeter of the room.
Previous Light Fixture
A before photo always gives a good perspective to what a difference a change in a room makes. This photo shows the old ceiling light, the old ceiling wallpaper, and the old wallpaper on the walls. I liked how this looked, but the style was more Country Cottage than French Country.
New Light Fixture
This after photo, from almost the exact same angle as the before photo, shows the new ceiling light fixture, the newly painted ceiling, and the new leaf scroll wallpaper on the walls.
Wood medallion is the star
against a white ceiling.
The ceiling is painted the same white as the wood medallion, but at this angle appears to have a pale blue or green cast. Regular readers probably recognize the ceiling color is not one of the two colors I was considering. The ceiling was first painted a medium blue, but did not go well with the wallpaper from a distance and did not go well with the dark blue ceramic sink. I decided a white ceiling allows the wood medallion to be the star in the room without competing with another ceiling color.
Previous Light Fixture
Another before view of the small bathroom shows a reflection of the old ceiling light in the French Country mirror.
New Light Fixture
The small French Country chandelier is a perfect size for an 8 foot ceiling.
The small guest bathroom's style is now definitely
French Country!
I am already envisioning a small evergreen wreath to decorate the chandelier for the Christmas holidays.
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A complete tour of the guest bathroom is coming soon. The French Country Powder Room Reveal will include photographs to show how the bathroom has gone from American Country to French Country over the years.
SOURCES
{Disclosure: If you purchase items from Botanic Bleu, I receive compensation for your purchase. See my Disclosure and Privacy Policy for more information.}
Semi-Flush Ceiling Light - Quoizel Avalina 14-Inch White Light, Lowes
Wood Wall Art Medallion - Botanic Bleu
Send an email via my Contact Form for how to order.
Medallion Paint - Honeymilk by Valspar, Lowes
Ceiling Paint - Honeymilk by Valspar, Lowes
