Well, you could swag it over your coffee table. Only requires a hook, so if you change your layout, it's not that big a deal:

You could even pu tit quite low unless you need it to illuminate the whole room

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

In case you want to make one yourself, link below.

Also, I'd wonder (a) how much light it generates and (b) whether it throws shadows/pattern. The ones with the bulbs outside may be better in that respect (like the one in the photo).
Or this for 143.00-179.00

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY wood beaded chandeliers

Perhaps a semi flush 24" diameter fixture might be more appropriate for the room.

Or just add some recessed lighting?

Thanks so much for the feedback! @nosoccermom, you have the best photos and ideas! The DIY versions are amazing; I'm not sure if I have the time or patience, but I might need to consider that route.

@beverly27, I think you're absolutely right on the most appropriate size -t he problem is that I just can't find anything I even remotely like in those dimensions. Even the few semi-flush piece I like tend to be smaller (15x15ish) and I wonder if that would look a little dinky.

@Court1000, I'm not really into recessed lighting, and probably wouldn't bother doing anything except that I have the ceiling box to spur some shopping. Rhe room gets tons of daytime light and we have floor/table lamps that are mostly sufficient for reading in the evening.

So here's another perspective - I managed to do a sort-of mockup, just tying the uninstalled fixture to the current ceiling fan. Please ignore one of my kids' many lego bins on the coffee table and other detritus. Obviously the ceiling fan would be gone. I'm about 60-40 right now on keeping it, but would really value the honest opinions of GW expertise! Thanks for any feedback!

View from soon-to-be-reno'd galley kitchen:

View from dining room:

View looking back toward kitchen:

I know what you are going through as I hate flush mounts and dislike most semi-flush, but I really think trying to put a large chandy in a room with 8' ceilings will look odd and out of place. It will also dominate the room and not in a good way. If you have children, the last thing you want is to risk it becoming a "swinging vine" for them which could be dangerous.

I think your best bet is to go with a semi flush mount...maybe like the faux alabaster one that beverly posted...large but not very obtrusive.

I love your cozy, eclectic living room. And your rug is beautiful! I too have an older home, and though it has ten foot ceilings downstairs, upstairs is only seven, so I feel your pain in seeking attractive flush and semi flush lights.

I don't pretend to be an expert in design at all, but if the mock up is true to scale, I like that chandy in your room. I think the soft, flat finish of the wood beads blends well with your decor and wouldn't attract too much attention. If you don't need a lot of light and use lamps and such as mentioned, it seems functional enough for ambiance. And if the junction box is over the coffee table, or you swag the light over it, I think it looks good hanging down into the space. Plus, it might shed a little extra light on the coffee table for playing games or Legos!

Since you already bought the fixture, can you screw a little hook into the ceiling and hang the light just to see how it looks without wiring it up? You could take the blades of the ceiling fan off to get a better perspective, especially since you never use the fan and can still utilize the light that way. If you decide the keep the chandy, hanging it first from a hook is a great way to determine what length chain and wiring to leave, so it's not wasted effort whichever way you go.

This post was edited by equest17 on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 11:02

Nope. Not gonna fit. Your mockup shows how it actually makes the room feel smaller and the ceilings feel even lower. Recessed lighting is the way to go to provide some ambient light to the space. Then lamps adding the second layer at living height. Up lights are harder to find these days but a few of those in some corners would provide all of the lighting drama that the room needs without making it feel smaller. In fact, some strategic up lighting will actually visually expand the room in combination with the recessed light.

I like it. But there are some 'buts"
In your creative mockup (clever girl!!) there isn't any chain between the ceiling and the top of the fixture. I think that chandeliers have to be balanced with the right number of links between the ceiling and the fixture in order to really look like they were meant for the space. Your mock up doesnt seem to allow for that additional hanging length.
Also, from one of your early pictures I wondered if a hanging light would be obtrusive when watching TV.
And, you mention little ones, do they or can you see them at some point in the future, playing video games on an xbox or wii? These games are now often developed to incorporate motion; you jump, you bat, you swing, etc... I wouldn't want a hanging light that low in the airspace between the sofa and TV where my kids play. It would be in danger, and a danger.

I also have 8 foot ceilings and I said to heck with it, I love chandys, so I have several. I do not have a magnificent home, I have MY home-so I live with what I love, and when (if) we ever sell, I'll make it generic. Meanwhile, it's for me.

Sooo-that said, I love your new chandy. I think it will work and will add a perfect touch of whimsy and casual elegance to the room. The only caveat is that it does limit how you'll lay out furniture.

Mine does hang too low for anyone over 5'10 to walk under it comfortably, so i center it (more or less) out of the traffic lanes so it's over the coffee table or the sofa.

I have a medallion I'm going to have installed, and I am going to remove the beads when I do that (they're just draped on) so you might want to add some simple medallion-they have plain ones at the big box stores. It does add a nice finish.

I agree with pesky - go with what you love if it doesn't impede the way you live. I think that style of chandy will look great in your room. I, too, have 8' ceilings. There is a chandy that the previous owners left that was hanging in the breakfast nook. I LOVE it and knew it would be perfect for my baby girl's room (it is tole and I had been looking for something similar for her room for months). So, I had it moved upstairs to her room. Unfortunately my DH can't walk under it and until he got used to it, he bonked his head many times (I am 5'8" and barely make it under). But I love it, the way it looks and wouldn't change a thing!

I like it a lot and probably would hang it lower, right over the coffee table after trying to take into account:
1. Kids (are they potentially swinging on it?)
2. TV viewing and potential obstruction of view
3. Head bonking if you're bending over the table or getting up
4. Weird pattern of the light (I once had a lamp that threw shadows like a cage bars on the walls).

BTW, like your room a lot.

This post was edited by nosoccermom on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 18:06

Who are these children who are swinging from
blind cords and now chandeliers ??

This post was edited by forboystoo on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 19:05

I understand your dilemma. We have 8 foot ceilings in every room but our LR and entry, and I am not a fan of flush or semi flush lighting. But I avoided the chandeliers for the reasons a few have said. They just look out of proportion and out of place with a low ceiling. I would go with the idea of recessed lighting and well-placed lamps.

Apartment Therapy did a feature they called "20 Flush Mounted and Semi-Flush Mounted Lights (that don't suck)" Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Apartment Therapy

I like it, with the condition that you could add some recessed lighting....

Or a semi-mount drum pendant that is wide...

[Tropical Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/tropical-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2108) by Charleston Photographers William Quarles Design/Photography

Ahh ,I know he is being naughty but thats the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. Is there any chance that light fixture can be made shorter? I would think it would need to be at least a foot shorter than what is shown not to get in the way of people using the room. My mom reworks things like that all the time but not everyone is confortable doing so. Things can get pretty crazy when kids use things like the wii. I could see it causing a problem hanging at the height shown

I have a chandelier in my living room. It is glass tiers. I had it in the living room of my last house too. Both living rooms have 8 ft ceilings. Mine will clear anyone walking under it, up to 6ft 1 inch.
I love having a chandelier in my living room. Both houses had a big ceiling fan in that location when we bought the houses.

Thanks SOOO much for all the feedback, and I'm sorry that I hadn't come back to this post till now. You all raised really helpful issues for me to consider, but I have to say that I still haven't firmly decided what to do. I'm probably at 75 percent in terms of keeping the fixture - it just feels like it goes with the room.

I think I'm satisfied that most of the concerns are manageable. For example, I've tested and it doesn't block the TV, and we have had a coffee table directly below the junction box in every configuration of the room since we moved here a decade ago, so I think it's reasonable bet that this will stay under any future layout. In terms of the kids, I have 2 boys who are the types who are constantly bouncing off the walls, so it's not inconceivable that they might hang off the ceiling - but they are old enough to know better and tall enough that if they were going to do this, they probably already would have! They have a Wii and don't seem to jump a lot, and if that begins to happen I would probably move the Wii to our (tiny) playroom instead.

My real remaining uncertainty is just whether it looks goofy, like lipstick on a pig. I don't think so, but I'm obviously biased. And I don't really trust my own judgment after a couple of botched decisions on this sort lately (our kitchen reno should have been done except that I picked a totally nutty contractor, who thankfully walked away.) SO I'm going to stew about it a bit longer, see if I can find a semi-flush fixture that I like (at least one that isn't $500 and up, which seems to be the case for all the ones like), and give it a week or two of more consideration. Thanks so much for all your really helpful comments!!

This is probably late - I found this thread while Googling how to solve the same problem in our living room. It's 14' x 24' - long rectangle with seating area in the middle of the rectangle. There are 4 windows so it's light during the day but at night it's lit with 2 floor lamps and it's hard to function in there. So we don't hang out there much. I don't like lamps, really. I don't want more floor or table lamps in the room. So what to do?

What about wall sconces? Our family room -- it's about 16' x 24' -- is lit with 4 bright wall sconces. Remove the ceiling fan if you don't want it there and add wall sconces for lighting.

I'm considering adding wall sconces to the living room instead of a chandelier. Because I agree that any size chandelier for an 8' ceiling will look small and out-of-place in a 14' x 24' room. It would become too much of a focal point.

Sconces on walls would spread light around.