Industrial Chandelier - new armature

I am back to thinking about industrial chandeliers.  I have posted a few times before about them:

Here:

http://maxomoxx.blogspot.com/2011/04/design-idea-industrial-chandelier.html

and here:

http://maxomoxx.blogspot.com/2011/04/design-ideas-industrial-chandelier.html

But I was never quite convinced I was on the right path.  The big pulley I already had was just too big, but I think I have found a perfect gear wheel to use as the armature for my chandelier.  (By the way, I really like the word "armature" - it belongs in poetry or, at the very least, metaphor.)  

And here is a sketch of what I have in mind:

Happily, I picked up a heap of old chandelier crystals at the Santa Cruz flea market last summer.  

Now I just need to figure out how to drill holes in the cast iron pulley so that I can attach the wire loops.

B&B Reads Our Brains, Steals Kitchen

Am I wrong, or is this what we are talking about? Everything on legs, square sink, I've even been digging wooden counters, pipe shelving, subway tile, vintage stove, EVERYTHING!

At some point I will post more kitchen inspiration images to show what I mean by "moody", but I just saw this on Remodelista and had to post. From a recently opened B&B in Hudson, NY whose aesthetic is right up our alley. 

I love this tile. They link to American Restoration tile, which sells this hex in patterns. Cool! I know we have our kitchen floor, but I love this. Good to know.

DESIGN IDEA: Surgical Light for a Dining Room

I broke down and bought an old surgical light at BIG NYC on Saturday when I was there picking up stone.  I don't know if I'll manage to use it or if it will end up back at BIG or on craigslist, but it showed too much promise to just leave it behind.  (let me say from the get go, if you don't like this idea then you don't need to respond to this post at all.)  

V's comment when she saw this thing was that it is a little too "on the nose", by which she means that it looks like exactly what it is.  Unlike a lot of repurposed stuff we like, there is no mistaking this for some obscure bit of obsolete industrial detritus just waiting to be re-purposed.  I agree with her, but I still think it looks pretty cool and merits some consideration.

Oh, and the other thing to remember is that our dining table is going to be a heavy slab of wood sitting on this old embalming table base which I blogged about back in May 2011 when I picked it up on ebay (talk about a lack of instant gratification):

So, yeah, this light over that table... a little on the nose maybe.  But I still like it a lot.

It mounts on a track on the ceiling so that, in addition to having a full range of rotation, it can slide back and forth to be centered over wherever the action is.

I love this old label.

This belongs on "indicia of authority".

Obviously I know I'm not the first person to think to re-purpose a big surgical light as a ceiling light, but I have never actually seen it done.  Here are some examples I found on the web:

Boo! Now I want one of these

Above from: http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/hard-to-find-completely-intact-vintage-american-industrial-cook-county-hospital-double-arm-articulating-surgical-ceiling-light.html
And, while we're at it, http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/ is a pretty bitchen site.

Here is a pair of repurposed surgical lights found in a real estate listing:  http://45thompsontrail.blogspot.com/

"The lighting over the center island is made from transformed surgical lamps from a World War II hospital ship."

Someone is asking $3600 a pop for these silly pendants made of parts from a surgical light hung from a chain.

Pretty.

Very pretty, but older and more steampunk looking than the one I got.

design ideas - bathroom sconce lights

We keep saying we like "industrial", but so far we haven't agreed on an industrial decor item for the house.  Maybe the bathroom sconces over/beside the master bath sink/mirror would be a place to start.
So, what do you think of these as ideas:

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Craigslist - Clawfoot Tub - Potential Victory Snatched from the Rotting Carcass of Disappointment

Well, with a little searching, I found another clawfoot tub- purportedly from Waterworks - on CraigsList.  I'm still stinging from the bait and deny that the guy pulled on me earlier today, but this one might be a better choice - it is certainly more luxurious looking.  This one is out on Long Island -- way way way out on Long Island - Hamptonsey far!  This design is called a "slipper" tub.  V says it reminds her of The Death of Marat.  (Sorry the pix are lousy - this is what the seller could send me from her cellphone - nice lady though and she promises not to change her mind about selling it to me).
 
I called the Waterworks showroom in mid-town and a very nice woman there said to forward her the photos.  She confirmed that it is NOT a waterworks tub but she thinks it is probably a bargain nevertheless - on the basis of the tub-filler, she said to definitely buy it if it is a good price.  She confirmed the quality of the tub-filler and that it is Waterworks product.  So - I guess I need to find someone to help me load it into the car on Friday night or Saturday morning.  Urgh!!

 

Well, one certainly hopes it doesn't go this way - but this is about how I felt after the guy snatched back his tub earlier today!

Flea Market Score - Chandelier Crystals

I set my alarm for 3:10am this past Sunday morning (which was actually 2:10am since we set the clocks forward that very morning) and I drove down to pick up a friend so that we could a attend the opening day of Elephant's Trunk flea market in New Milford, CT. The gates open at 5:45am to early buyers for $20 and they open to everyone else at 7am for $2 -- the theory being that by 7am everything good is already gone.
Anyway, we were exhausted (actually, he was still drunk because I basically picked him up from in front of the bar he'd been partying at) and it was cold,  but there were a lot of people and it was pretty exciting. Lots of vendors were there though most weren't set up until almost 7:30. Still,  we found some cool stuff.
The point of this post though is that I scored this trickortreat bucket of round crystals and a bag of tear drops as well fairly cheap. I figure anything under a dollar per crystal for large size crystals and I'm doing fine. 

V and I are discussing how to use the crystals to build an industrial looking chandelier. I just want something bright and sparkly and fun. V is better at imagining the overall way the piece comes together.
So these are the crystals.
Ideas?

CL Find - Clawfoot Tub

Looks like we might have scored a nice new clawfoot tub with hardware on CL today super-duper cheap.  I hope I hope I hope.  I was apparently the first one to call and I agreed to the price and we are picking it up on Saturday morning.  So, I am praying that the seller doesn't for some reason go ahead and sell it or give it to someone else or change his mind about the price or some other such bummer thing that can easily happen with CL finds of this sort.
Anyway, it is a Waterworks cast iron clawfoot tub with Waterworks nickel plated brass hardware.  Super exciting if it happens.
Here it is.  (NOTE: There is a tiny spec of chipped porcelain on the tub - hence the price - this is what the finger is pointing to in the picture way below - I think it must have just been a tiny bubble that popped - no biggie in any event).