In the height of the Regency era, chandeliers were still the technological marvel of the world. Crystal chandeliers were the norm and there was no finer maker of the crystal chandelier than Adolf Schonbeck. The son of a glass maker, Schonbeck opened his own factory and quickly made a name for himself as a premier chandelier manufacturer. Schonbek crystal chandeliers are still in production today and depending on your budget, they might be the perfect accent to your home.

Schonbeck chandeliers, depending on many factors, of course, will cost anywhere from $500 to $5,000 — although I sort of doubt there is an upper limit. I am sure that you could buy a $50,000 chandelier. Schonbeck graces both the White House and Buckingham Palace, after all. To get affordable crystal chandelier lighting takes some research and sometimes a little leg work but it can pay off in big ways. A smart shopper can find discount crystal chandeliers, sometimes with deep discounts. The key is to know the market.

There really are two ways to play this — you can get a newly manufactured chandelier or you can buy an antique crystal chandelier. Don’t dismiss the idea of going with an antique. The hit to the wallet might surprise you by how light it is! Certainly I want to caution people to have a professional electrician install a chandelier that is older than 10 years. You might get more than you expected with an old, unsafe chandelier hanging over your dining room. Having a professional do the installation will uncover any worry spots as far as wiring and code compliance. It’s better to be on the safe side.

Not every home will really support crystal chandeliers, you know. It depends entirely on your decor. Crystal is very traditional and if you have a rustic cabin, Northwestern woodsy feel to your home, a crystal chandelier will look comical. As you’d expect me to say, go for an antler chandelier! It will truly compliment that existing decor. So take a good, honest look at your house. What is your decorating theme? If you can’t identify one, that’s OK, too. That means you get to create one and that’s a ton of fun.

You can get creative with crystal. That’s one of the joys of working with chandeliers — they are so iconic that you can give a slight twist and it slots into your home and amplifies your personality. You can weave greenery into your chandelier and give the dining room a lovely cottage feel. You can accent the traditional clear crystal with colored drops and add an exciting layer to the bedroom chandelier. The possibilities are practically limitless if you are willing to experiment and play with the decor. All great artists and decorators use play to help expand their horizons and you can too.