for a girl like me, the word charm conjures up so many images: prince charming, charm school, charm bracelet… “charm” is lovely, “charm” is romantic, “charm” is nostalgic. i am charmed each and everyday by things around me: a luscious hydrangea bush, a magnificent magnolia tree, a fantastic pair of louis vuitton shoes (yum), and CRYSTAL. crystal is quite charming and i absolutely love it!

therefore, when we were designing our home and the time came to choose lighting, i knew there would have to be crystal chandeliers involved. but, sometimes crystal can feel very traditional and i wasn’t really going for a traditional vibe. i wanted classic, with a twist of fabulous. the foyer piece was crucial. it would welcome our visitors and set the tone for rest of the house. with an open floor plan, all the fixtures on the main floor would have to get along nicely with it. given the scale of the space, this foyer fixture would also have to be grand.

so it helped that i found her right away! meet the renaissance chandelier by schonbek with golden teak crystals. this chandelier “had me at hello.” she was elegant and sophisticated, with a traditional shape, but her amber crystals made her special and slightly modern. i was immediately charmed!

i stayed with golden teak crystals for the dining room:

the interesting thing about the golden teak is that it mostly reads brown, not yellow. this works because my color scheme for the house is mostly cream, chocolate brown, grey, and taupe (aka greige). these chandeliers fit in perfectly.

note: these pictures were taken at night, using my iPad (not the best quality, but totally convenient!).