DIY Foyer with Glass Chandelier. AKA Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Ever considered a glass bubble chandelier?

A glass bubble chandelier.

When we toured the home with our realtor before we bought, I remember walking into the foyer and knowing that was exactly the fixture I wanted to put in the space.

Contemporary Entry by Fairfax Photographers Jim Tetro

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These pictures of glass bubble chandeliers from Houzz were inspiration.

Contemporary Entry by Bridgeville Design-Build Firms Eddy Homes

It’s certainly not a secret have a huge soft spot in my heart, and a massive hole burnt into my wallet, thanks to my love for lighting…particularly chandeliers.

When we bought our home in the country, about an hour outside of DC, sure enough, the first thing we bought for the house was this glass bubble chandelier.

Here was the foyer BEFORE:

And here we are in the midst of the update. We rented scaffolding, painted the walls and moulding.

Dark wood, white trim, bubble chandelier foyer makeover at heatherednest.com

And removed the old entryway chandelier, to make way for the new glass bubble chandelier.

Truth be told, I don’t feel like this space is *quite* finished yet, but it’s coming along.

Because I blew our budget on the glass bubble chandelier, the rest of my grand scheme, like to-die-for elaborate mouldings is going to have to wait a while longer. But here’s the progress…

Dark wood, white trim, bubble glass chandelier foyer makeover at heatherednest.com

(we’ve linked to all exact items if available, and similar items for things like thrift-scores and DIY projects)

The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore “Nimbus”. We decided on a modern entry/sofa table with chrome legs, and a tri-color cowhide rug.

Entry table and bubble glass chandelier foyer makeover at heatherednest.com

The lamps were purchased at Homegoods, and the mirror from Etsy.

The settee was found on Craigslist, and I re-upholstered it in burlap.

Cowhide rug, glass bubble chandelier foyer makeover at heatherednest.com

It was one of my first attempts at re-upholstery. I love it in this space because it’s neutral, which makes it easy to change the look with pillows and what-not for the seasons.

burlap settee with nailhead trim, bubble chandelier foyer makeover at heatherednest.com

You should see what this piece looked like before.

It’s a pretty big change.

The floors and staircase were repainted and refinished.

We love the glass bubble chandelier, but here’s the trouble…how the heck do you clean this baby? Being the completely impractical, “form over function” person that I tend to be, I hadn’t really thought about that prior to buying it.

This light is made up of individual strands of glass bubbles. It’s pretty fragile.

SO, after months and months of trying to think of some scheme OTHER than climbing up a 12-14′ ladder and cleaning each bubble individually, that’s EXACTLY what I had to do…