I love the look of the simple braided/twisted wiring with a glass shade for a kitchen pendant. Does anyone know where I can find something close to this? Alternative 1: I could probably have it assembled from pieces at the electrical supply, except I haven't seen this kind of twisted wiring in the US. Do they make the wiring here? Alternative 2: (This is the part where I display my ignorance and might start scaring people.) The current is stronger in England, so it needs adapting, I know. What inside parts could I have replaced and make this work? I have done this a few times with lamps, replacing the wiring and the socket, but here the WIRING is what I want to keep. Don't worry. I have no intention of doing anything stupid, and this wouldn't be DIY. I'll crosspost this in electrical wiring too. Thanks! (You might need to back up a page to get a good look at the thing.) http://www.jim-lawrence.co.uk/detail.cfm?m_parent=246&product=50cm%20Braided%20Cable%20with%20Ceiling%20Rose

Great lead! I would now call Covington in NY. I did this years ago with some outdoor fabric I found at a furniture store. First I called the manufacturer in CA to get the name of the fabric mill. I called the fabric HQ in NY where a woman loved my story (I wanted the fabric for a boat we were planning to live aboard) and she looked through their records to see who they'd shipped it to. She suggested I call a certain discounter called Boca Bargoons. I called the warehouse for the discounter, talked to a sweet guy who actually went through the warehouse and found the fabric for me. It was quite distinctive and he found it in both colorways! Anyway, yours is pretty distinctive, too. Here is a link that might be useful: can't hurt to try

Image by: Ruth2 Ruth2's wire art Wire Art Danglers & Suncatchers ~ Where to find wire Where to obtain the wire - Most of the members are purchasing their wire in rolls at a do-it-yourself "super store". You can also try the electrical and plumbing supply stores, or your local corner hardware store. The wire may come on a roll - a "normal" size roll being 25 feet which is enough for several wire art projects. The wire sold in most DIY super stores may be encased in plastic that needs to be stripped off. You are more likely to find 'plain' (not covered in plastic) wire at the specialty electric supply stores. Notes from our members: Yukon Gold suggests: Use Romex 12/2 electrical wire which has 3 copper wires inside. Use a box cutter to strip plastic covering off. sonicsink says: I found mine at the hardware store, it was a bunch of wire twisted to make like a cable rope. It was i think about 60 cents a foot so I bought 3 feet and after uncoiling it all I ended up with 8 strands of 3 foot long wire. I'm thinking the hardware store is way cheaper than craft stores! Dig_Deeper adds: The copper wire is electrical wire that you can purchase in rolls. You can buy 25-foot rolls that will come as 2-wire, 3 wire, or 4 wire combinations. The wire is encased in plastic that will have to be stripped off. The bundle of wires (2, 3, 4) is also encased in plastic that can be easily stripped off. The ground wire in the 3-wire bundle is wrapped in paper that can easily be stripped off, the black and white coated wire, take a little more effort. With a 25-foot roll, you should have more effort. With a 25-foot roll, you should have enough wire for many, many projects. Morganwolf tells us: One of the electrical guys at our DIY super store told me that this wire is available w/out the plastic coating at electrical supply stores. I'm tempted to try it, because I'm not having much luck stripping the plastic From Ruth2: 14 gauge copper wire (had to strip it) found at thrift store. We have been searching for wire but I did not want to use too light a gauge. We found some at an electrical store - you can ask for it by "magnet wire", used for motor windings (?). It's not bare wire, has a clear or colored coating, but I'm going to try it. Also, you don't have to use just one piece of wire, you can form several and put them together. ~~~ TIP: To polish copper: stir a teaspoon or two of regular table salt into a cup of white vinegar. (Use a clean plastic container with a lid that seals tight and you can reuse the solution for some time.) Dip in your copper piece, swish, remove and rinse well. Finish off by buffing with a clean soft cloth. Allow more corroded wire to soak for a bit. Badly discolored wire can be polished with fine (#000 or #0000) steel wool. TIP: Remove ink markings from copper pipe with rubbing alcohol on #000 steel wool.

You have a gorgeous ceiling and fireplace! They should be the stars of the room. I'm a bit of an audiophile myself, so I understand that sound bars and other all-in-one type speakers are completely unacceptable. And the speakers can't point in a different direction or be shoved smack dab up against the EC. They're too close as it is. Having said that, the problem is that the sheer size of the EC and the darkness of the color force the eye right to it instead of the beautiful features of the room, the ceiling and fireplace. This is one of the many reasons I hate TV and have only recently allowed one into my home. I can't stand it when people spend creativity, time, and money decorating a lovely living room like you have obviously done, and then the whole focal point of the room is the TV! I really like what Beverly did above. Rather than try to hide it, which is impossible and just makes it look even more imposing, she played up its good features, added the green, which is a very nice touch, and made it look like it's supposed to be there. The other iterations make it look out of place, although everything was an improvement over the first pics with that big thing on the top. Beverly took the good things from your inspiration photo and made them work in your room! Now you can play up the fireplace and people can see it, and the ceiling, without being overwhelmed by the EC. Your EC now looks like it was invited and welcomed into the room instead of looking like your DH sneaked it in there in the middle of the night and it is most unwelcome. :-) Hope this is helpful! Sincerely, Debbie