Sorry... I should have mentioned this is a dining room chandelier.

The condo is two stories, and the first floor is basically a "great room," with the dining area (as designated by the chandelier and the proximity to the kitchen) being across the way from the front door.

If you have a Habitat for Humanity, go there FIRST! I sold my condo a little over a year ago, and bought new, in box fixtures, for $10~one was an 8-light wrought iron chandelier. Keep in mind it's not just the cost of the fixture, but the cost of hiring an electrician.

Have you thought of spray painting those 'old, shiny fixtures'? ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: service magic

I don't think there is a problem with an antique brass chandelier and the polished brass elsewhere, so I think your idea is a good one.

I live in a 1969 house with polished brass doorknobs, and the previous homeowners put up light fixtures of brushed nickel and pewter and frosted glass. I am removing them and putting up antique brass and other warm-toned metals. I think they won't look "up to the minute" for a particular year, but they will look natural to the home and not stand out.

How about using a black chandelier and that way it won't compete with the brass, it will be separate entity. Black goes with everything.

I have many metal finishes in my home and they look fine together. My dining room chandelier certainly does not match the door knobs.

You're trying to get as much money as you can I assume? So if this is the case, don't try to make it look like a kit home with builder basics (all the same finish on everything). Instead go with a totally different finish (ie the black iron which is gorgeous).

I'm sure it's not the shiny brass that's an issue anyhoo...it's the cheap fixture. You yourself said it's crap...so change it out to anything that isn't and you'll be miles ahead.

In a formal room like a dining room/area, you want to put your best foot forward as that sort of sets a tone. Cheap lighting and the whole room is dismissed...see the issue? You don't need to spend a fortune, but don't go with something you can compare to a 35 buck big box store fixture...and then say your's is worse :oP

How about dressing the fixture up with some candlestick shades?

What Igloo said --

If the fixture is very visible when you walk in the front door, go with something eye-catching and gorgeous, and don't worry about 'matching' your brass. Even if you specifically exclude the new fixture from the sale (take it with you), a great fixture will enhance your home's appeal. Think of it as an investment -- a fixture with a purpose.

We bought a house once with a drop-dead gorgeous fixture in the dining room. The light was specifically excluded from the sale, but it made the dining room look so fabulous that it was a selling point anyway. (We immediately bought a less expensive look-alike.)