We’ve all been there – you set up that gorgeous new chandelier, step back to admire your work… and realize the darn thing is not hanging straight.
What gives? You followed all the instructions to a tee.
There are a number of reasons why this happens. But more importantly, there are plenty of things we can try before resorting to cursing the chandelier maker’s ancestors.
In this post, I’ll go over why your chandelier won’t hang straight and how to fix it.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the potential reasons for your chandelier to hang crooked and what we do to get it level:
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More often than not, the chain is the real culprit. Whether it’s kinked, twisted, or just plain uneven, the chain can absolutely cause your chandelier to do its best drunken party girl impression.
Give that metal chain a thorough inspection. Notice anything unusual? Sometimes, just one misaligned link can throw everything off.
The fix could be as simple as…
For some chandeliers, the shade itself might be the issue if it wasn’t manufactured with perfectly distributed weight. Glass or crystal shades are especially prone to this.
Give the shade a spin and see if the chandelier’s lean follows the rotation.
If so, you may need to add some weight on the higher side with putty or something sticky. Also see if you can slightly adjust/shift the position of the shade.
If that doesn’t work, you need to contact the manufacturer for a replacement better-balanced shade.
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Those beautifully curved arms holding up all those lights? They might be part of the problem too.
Shipping could have knocked an arm out of alignment. Or maybe one arm is just slightly heavier than the others.
Either way, try gently bending any bent arms back into position. If that doesn’t help, you may need to add some weights to the higher side to rebalance things.
It’s not pretty, but that electrical wiring has to go somewhere. And if those wires are pulled too taut, it can definitely make your chandelier lean .
So check for overly taut wiring, and try loosening things up a bit. Feed a bit more wire through for some welcome slack.
Just be careful not to put too much strain on any connections.
For chandeliers with lots of decorative crystals, jewels, or hanging doodads, a single missing piece can throw the entire weight distribution out of balance.
Closely inspect your chandelier and see if anything seems to be MIA.
If so, try to find that. Or barring that, use a bit of removable adhesive to stick on a replacement weight that matches the missing piece.
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While the problem often lies further down the chandelier line, a crooked or uneven base can also make your chandelier not hang straight.
Double check that the base is properly level and flush against the ceiling. If it’s bent or crooked, you may need to detach and reattach it using properly aligned screws.
Make sure that base is solid before re-hanging the fixture.
To get a chandelier that hangs at an odd angle level, check the chain for any kinks or twists, check the shade for imbalances, ensure arms holding lights are aligned, loosen any taut wiring, inspect for missing parts, and make sure the base is level.
FAQs
A swaying chandelier can result from uneven weight distribution in the chain, arms, or shade, or a crooked base. To fix this, balance the chain’s weight, adjust the shade for equal weight distribution, ensure arms are aligned, and level the base.
To straighten a hanging light cord, apply heat from a hair dryer to reshape fabric cords, or use a ratchet or screwdriver to pull and straighten plastic-encased cords.
Loosen taut or twisted cords and ensure the base is level to prevent swaying or uneven hanging.
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