Chandelier Over the Tub

When it comes right down to it I am pretty much a rule follower.

I wanted a chandelier above the tub. 

I really did.

I looked for months at fabulous images of gorgeous crystal laden fixtures over tubs.

When I asked an electrician to hang one for me he thought I was a little crazy 
but
I still looked for a fixture for over the tub. 

The guy at the light store told me that the code for my city requires 7 feet of clearance from water. That is not what I have. I can touch the light fixture when I stand in the tub and I am by no means tall. 

So what is a blingy girl to do?

I could have Bill climb into the attic and wire one for me.
 But I won't. 

My designer suggested that I swag the fixture and only plug it in when there isn't water in the tub.

 I tried that once. I have a picture of the mess of chain. 
I knew at the time it was not one of my better ideas because 
I covered the chain in brown fabric.

 
 Kind of looks like poop doesn't it?
 Unbelievably, my sweet husband never said a word.
We only plugged it in a time or two and it got dusty in no time at all. 
  If I tried it again using a prettier chain, I would still have to swag the cord over toward the vanities. 
Bill wasn't thrilled about having the cord by his new plug but he got a swag kit for me anyway.  
I messed with it one day while waiting for tradesmen. 
 It seemed like a mess of chain everywhere.
 It was taking away from the crisp line between the window and the vanities.

I gave up and decided there would be no electrified chandelier over the tub for me. 
I decided to hang one for decorative purposes only. 

I had two in my stash but they were the wrong finish.

 I took them both out into the yard and spray painted them with 
Rust-O-Leum Brushed Nickel.
They still didn't look bright enough so I tried some primer and Silver Krylon. 

  I am a little horrified that I have sprayed a vintage brass fixture. 
Are you horrified too?

  I have several others that are the same age and style so I was okay with sacrificing this one.
I can always strip it later if I want to return it to the original finish.
Here is the other one. 

This one was a cheapie from Home Depot. 
It used to hang in the kitchen. I took it down right after we painted the cabinets.

 The vintage fixture was my favorite out of the two. 

I will probably outfit this with candles at some point.

One of my friends flipped out when she saw it. 
She knew the code from her days as a realtor.

No worries.

The salesman at the lighting store shared a story with me. 
He had a customer that put a chandelier above the tub. 
A neighbor came over and told the man to take down the fixture. He was on the city council and he knew the code.
I don't live next to any city council members but some of them could find my blog through a friend of a friend. 
In the end it really wasn't safe and raising it higher didn't make sense. 
 
 The weird thing is that I love chandeliers but I don't care for overhead lighting. 
We usually use lamps for lighting but really I am content to sit in the dark with my 
laptop or Kindle. 
Thanks for stopping in. 
Katie
Link to our reveal here.