Chandeliers were originally designed to hold lots of candles and give a central light in a room. An electric light bulb achieves this more simply. Chandeliers now are decorative objects in their own right.

The effect of a chandelier with lots of light bulbs in a room is stunning. A modern chandelier gives a real touch of class to your décor and it makes a wonderful centrepiece. There are various types and costs associated with them.

A crystal chandelier, assuming you love lead crystal, really is a thing of beauty. The pieces of crystal arranged around the light bulbs refract the light from the bulbs and appear in a rainbow of different colors. You must use clear glass bulbs though. The commonly used opaque bulbs diffuse the bright light source of the bulbs' hot filaments, so you won't get any sharp refractions to speak of, no bright colors.

Chandeliers are meant to be brightly lit and should not be combined with dimmer switches.

Antique chandeliers may be in brass and are extremely heavy, modern ones are heavy enough. Installing a chandelier is a job for the professional. Your installer will use winches and pulleys to raise the chandelier to ceiling height before attaching it to a strong fixing point. He will not just hang it over a screw on a crossbeam, but will ensure that it will stay up for ever.

There are other types of chandelier, some of which are more suited to wall mounting, like the ones made from deer antlers.

You can find chandeliers at antique dealers and auctions as well as lighting retailers and the ubiquitous EBay.