Hi Breezy,

We ordered the standard fixture, and it was installed by our electrician along with everything else in the house. We were not on site but I do not recall any special issues.

Let me see if I can find any info on ceiling height in the Maine house ... I may have it from wallpaper calculations ...

Well, I don't think I am going to be much help. For wallpaper calculations I had 8'8", and that was without molding so I have a feeling our ceilings are 9'.

I am running to eat dinner but Circa has the spec sheet; can you figure out if it'll work from that?

Here is a link that might be useful: Spec sheet

My *^#$%*!! low ceilings! This complication is another reason why it's taken me so long to find just the right fixture.

Your ceilings are probably 9'. I saw that spec sheet, which doesn't give any info on adjustability except that the minimum height is 21" and max is 52". Some of the online sites which sell the fixture mention custom height being available. This seems to mean an extra cost and time delay. If it was easy to adjust at home, I think the info might be worded differently.

Thanks for the swift reply!

But wait, I think it is easy to adjust ... I think you only need it custom if you need something longer, like if you had a really high ceiling? I am pretty sure that is the case.

Did you try explaining to the chat person exactly your situation, ceiling height, table height, etc? I doubt you need custom.

I think you just cut the fixture. Good luck with VC customer "service." You may have to explain what you need a few times to the artistes.

Also, if all your shades arrive in the same color, do a self-congratulatory shot of tequila.

Beautiful fixtures but the company is a PITA. I would NOT wait for a custom order. You'll be too old to care by that point.

I did explain that my ceilings were low and that their website indicated asking about the height, but this was a Internet chat. A sloooow Internet chat. VC has no phone number to call. When I tried Circa, it was past their east coast CS window.

Most modern chandeliers seem adjustable these days to accommodate differing ceiling heights. This one must be adjustable at home. I am only suspicious because the specs on lowest height online mentioned contacting CS for height. The word "adjustable" isn't mentioned anywhere as other fixtures seem to be designated. Maybe I'm just being paranoid....

::: off for my tequila now :::

This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Wed, Nov 19, 14 at 20:41

Marcolo--this morning I vaguely recalled your issues with VC so I googled your previous threads. Yep, it was as bad as I remembered. After a three year (plus the one year of searching during the reno) search, I'm disheartened to know that I landed on a VC fixture.

I feel I could do much better with said artistes if I could actually speak to one. And I'm not ordering their overpriced shades.

I think we can just cut it also, but since VC's return policy is pathetic I was trying to cross my proverbial i's and dot my t's.

In Maine, the DR lighting, and about 6 hallway lights, and 2 BR lights came from Circa.

A few Rejuvenation, a few bought in person, a few misc. rounded out our lighting IIRC.

Only problem we had with Circa was one choice was backordered twice so we chose something else.

All in all, they offer so many designs and at price points that are a lot better than places like Urban Electric, which we used a lot for our primary home where we didn't use vintage or imported.

Mtnrdredux--Thanks for your contact's info. I will try her in the morning. Unless......unless tonight's booze-packed, old school Long Island iced tea made with my homemade sweet and sour fuzzes out my anxiety enough that I roll the gambling dice and hit PLACE ORDER. Don't judge. :)

If it's too long, you should be able to cut it with a hack saw, no? It's probably hollow inside. Where it is cut will not show as it will be hidden by the cover plate. No need to spend $ for a custom length unless you need a longer rod than what you have now.

I am drawn to so many of their fixtures. The simple modern, yet not modern styling is very attractive. I've been scared reading so many posts all over GW about their quality control and customer service issues. I love this fixture, and your positive experience is a confidence booster for ordering. This is QUITE a bit of money for me to spend on a single light. I want this one project settled and off the books in time for the holidays.

Again, I am so appreciative of all your help Mtnrdredux!!

I think we used a hacksaw on something. Might've been a service rep.

Well, after the initial pain I've had no more trouble. And they are gorgeous.

ETA: I'd take the plunge and get the shades. We had trouble finding matches. Nothing was standard.

This post was edited by marcolo on Wed, Nov 19, 14 at 20:45

Joanie--I wondered about that, but won't the electrical cord be in there?

I spun the live chat wheel again with VC. This time I received the answer that the fixture is NOT adjustable. It comes 52" long. Period. For an extra $150 and 4 week lead time, it can be shortened down to 32" only by the manufacturer. I was told you cannot do this at home.

I get it, but I still wonder. I'm sure my DH could use a hacksaw or a pipe cutter to cut the rod itself but the cords are in there.

I'm going to whine now about wanting this installed for my holiday parties........((wahhhhh))

Aren't light fixtures pretty simple "technology"? And once there up, there's not really any wear and tear?

IDK about those shades. It's still stuck in my craw that i paid so much for them, but I did try to find them on my own on line and then two pretty reliable specialty retailers, one here in CT and one in ME ...

I gotta say they are very ordinary for $28. But OTOH I just did a quick search on Etsy, and not too promising. She does custom but they are not cheap and they are the wrong size.

Now, more importantly, about that "Long Island iced tea made with my homemade sweet and sour". Pray tell.

Here is a link that might be useful: etsy shades

oh carp

i bet mine is too high and i never noticed

Breezy, the cords are nothing. Any electrician can cut the pipe. It's not like you're sticking the whole thing in a guillotine. Though you might want to.

I'd wager that if there is any legitimate issue, it's the threads. But talk to an electrician.

I *think* you could prob cut the rod with a pipe cutter. You may need to thread the cut end to go back into the canopy, but tools are readily available to do this. We did order custom, but needed additional length, not shorter.

We got almost all our fixtures from VC. There was a pretty high minimum for my decorator to open a wholesale account, but it was worth it to me as she passed her discount on to me. The fixtures are GORGEOUS. One of my favorite things about the new house.

PS your 1st message said min height of 21"., which should work over your table,? Is that measurement not right?

Or find someone local who does repairs and conversions?
Do you know someone like this? We have been able to find people who rewire and convert and repair stuff in the town we live in now, our old town, and up in Maine, too. They all do pretty much anything.

Back from mommy-son date night.

At this point I refuse to pay $360 for the 12 shades it would take to cover the chandy and two sconces. I'm willing to try to find something cheaper and can always go back and order the originals later if my search is fruitless.

Mtnrdredux--there is a GW thread where Warmfridge reports her issues with previously installed VC fixtures that worked fine until just out of warranty. Then they crumbled with rust on the inside. VC refused any assistance.

Electrician.......ooouhhhhh. That. My off the books guy who did all the work during the reno has fallen out of sight now that he has a cushy government job. I was planning in having DH install this fixture with me as assistant. I believe there is one lighting store in town that did, or at least used to, do some rewiring work on fixtures. My town is small, but I'll ask the and around. This could solve my timing issue as I'm sure it wouldn't take a local person 4 weeks to do this as VC is quoting me.

Jackson--your personal experience with this is so valuable. 21" is too short, but even if I wanted that height, VC would charge an extra $150 and 4 additional weeks. Now that I know what I want, I was hoping to be able to replace that hideous naked, dangling bulb. I've still got many naked bulbs in the house, but one handled is...well...one handled. :)

Now I remember. Nothing fits except their own shades. I would've had to go custom.

If you go back to those old threads there's another email you can try. Some guy from VC showed up to post.

As to the booze, a Long Island iced tea is a low brow cocktail loaded with 5 different types of alcohol. During the one year I drank in college, I would order one of these at the bar/club because all I could afford was one drink and because this one packed a punch. Now that I have kids and my husband works so much, I've taken to drinking again.

In a shaker with ice pour:
1 part vodka
1 part gin
1 part rum
1 part tequila
1 part triple sec
5 parts sweet and sour

Shake until cold. Pour tall Collins glass or giant jug. Top with 2 parts cola. Make sure you have a chair nearby to fall into when the booze kicks in.
(Sweet and Sour: make simple syrup with 1 C sugar and 1 C water. When cool stir in 1 C freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 C freshly squeezed lime juice.)

Usually I make seasonal cocktails which take longer to craft. My roasted apple-habanero margaritas with homemade peppered cinnamon salt is a current favorite. A LIIT is quicker and to the point. :)

I saw that guy's posting. A little too late for Warmfridge.

I did it! And sans alcohol. I ordered from the VC website. With my coupon code I saved more than $260 with free ship and no tax. According to their website, they have 6 chandeliers in stock with the antique nickel finish and usually ship in 3-5 days. Looks like there's no way to track it.

I found an excellent lighting repair shop about 40 mins from my house so I'm set if my local lighting shop can't help with any issues we encounter cutting down the rod. DH thinks he can tackle it though. Wish me luck! And thanks again everyone!

I'd appreciate feedback from y'all on my fireplace dilemma thread if you get the chance. I'm hoping to tie a pretty bow on that project before the holidays also.

Congratulations!

Although, I'm trying to figure out who you ordered from, since VC doesn't have a retail website....

I'm glad you ordered it. I'm sure you will have no problem with install now that you have back up.

It'll look super with tinsel on it. Pro'lly void the warrantee.

Can't wait to see it, breezy! I'll be waiting to hear how the alterations go too.

Marcolo, my guess is this site. It's the 2nd hit on a google search, and set up to look like they're visual comfort. They do have nice discounts, that aren't usually available from circa. Circa is the retail arm, owned by visual comfort.

Here is a link that might be useful: Visual comfort retailer

Gracias!

Yes, Jackson. That's the site from which I ordered. They gave me a 20% discount coupon code which made it much cheaper than Circa.

DH thinks it won't be any trouble for us to modify, and I have backups in case of difficulty. I'll be sure to post when it's hung! Bye bye bare naked bulb!

Breezy, I was curious about the homemade sweet n sour, hmm, I've never made my own. YUM

I've had great success! Both with VC speedy shipping, the product quality itself, and with installation.

{{gwi:2140263}}

{{gwi:2140264}}

In case it will help anyone in the future considering this light fixture, I will explain the height. Two rods are shipped with the unit: a 24" and 28" (or somewhere close to that). You can use one or the other, or both screwed together. The actual electrical wires just hang out of the fixture itself and are secured in the shipping box. At install, you thread the wires through your desired rod(s) and connect to J-box. It was actually simple. We found that the 24" rod was just about the perfect height for our low ceilings. It looks easy enough, with the proper tools and skills, to cut a rod at home for a custom height.

Now, since I objected to the highway robbery price of the shades, I'll commence an all-out shade search after the holidays. In the meantime, I'm trying to decide which light bulbs to use naked.

{{gwi:2140265}}

On the left are clear, torpedo shaped bulbs. On the right are frosted, drippy tipped bulbs. I was originally thinking the frosted, torpedo shape, because I've hated the drippy ones in the past. There aren't any available locally in 40 watt so I'd have to order online, which got me re-assessing my hate for the drippy tip.

Thoughts?
frosted vs clear?
torpedo vs drippy?

Oh breezy. GORGEOUS!!!! So glad the height worked for you.

On bulbs, I was all set to say of course, frosted in an open fixture. Then I looked up at my island fixture, and realized I have clear torpedo bulbs, which I think look great. So I guess my vote is for whatever is easiest!!!

I would do clear flame bulbs. The torpedo bulbs look too big/thick on that fixture.

Clear - they tie in with the lights over your peninsula and are more that clean line look that you like.

The chandelier and sconces look gorgeous in your room. I'm so glad that you took the chance and ordered it and that it worked out for you.

P.S. I keep meaning to tell that I love the way you have hung all of your original art work. It looks so cool and I'm sure is ever-changing.

Clear bulbs.
Also can I see a close up of how you hung the art pieces.
Thanks

Hi again. Sorry for the delay. Holiday madness struck! I ended up using the clear torpedos for a couple of reasons. The drippy tipped ones won't work with shades when I get them. And they were just the easiest to go with when I had a thousand other things to do to prepare for the parties I was hosting that week.

DH installed a dimmer, and we were good to go! I can't explain how luxurious and grown-up I feel now with the light fixtures (almost) completed in this room! ( We'll ignore the rest of the bare bulbs hanging out around the house still. One room at a time!) Now all I need to do is get some sort of little backsplash on the bar area and find a couple more antique oak chairs and that room is DONE!

Jackson--I thought frosted also at first. The clear looks great for you! Beautiful fixture.

Errant--Yes, I think so also at this point, but shade research is on the docket for early next week when kids get back to school so the bulbs won't be bare for long.

Blfenton--Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!

The art wall was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. DH did a different wood and used his own methods to attach the wire. It is ever changing, although sometimes I have difficulty taking down my favorites. A couple need to be framed and hung elsewhere.

Here's a close up of how DH strung the wire. It's just an eye hook and wire. He twisted the hook just enough to get the wire taut.
{{gwi:2140425}}

Let me know if that doesn't answer your questions! Thanks again everyone!