Chandeliers Light Up a Space

Everyone knows chandeliers light up a space, but the team at Nandina Home & Design understand they can also serve as the jewelry in a room. Case in point is our Fen Large Chandelier shown above in a lovely dining room designed by the South Carolina-based firm—you can see the entire setting by scrolling down. All of the room vignettes in this post were beautifully photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt. We asked Nandina’s co-founder Susan Victor, who launched the company with Sue Shannon, to elaborate on how they decide on which fixtures to hang overhead, and she didn’t disappoint!

Chandeliers Light Up a Space

Susan Victor, cofounder of Nandina Home & Design, photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

“When we begin to bring together the overall feel of a room, we always focus on pulling together different elements that will make that room unique,” she explains. “One of the ways we do this is to create focal points so that when a person walks into the room, it captivates them. This accent can be anything from a wall covered in a vibrant wallpaper or painted in a bold color, or complex chandeliers that become pieces of art in the space.” A prime example is the Marshallia Chandelier in the sophisticated living room below.

Our Marshallia Chandelier beautifully dangles above this serene living room designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

Susan appreciates the effort our design team puts into creating lighting that she says sets Currey & Company apart. “You are known for designing fixtures that are pieces of art and that is what keeps us coming back,” she notes. “Whether it is a chandelier that is more complex in nature, like the Fen, or something on the simpler side, like the Ogden, they are each equally dramatic.” The Ogden Black Chandelier below is the essence of simplicity, though it holds its own as a focal point hanging above the space with its neutral color palette.

Our Ogden Black Chandelier draws out the deeper tones in this lovely living room designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

Nandina was founded seventeen years ago and the team has seen quite a lot of evolution in design since then, and not just because they have watched their work change; they also produce the N Home Magazine. We highly recommend it for the inspiration it holds. One of the hallmarks of this firm is education, represented by the magazine, of course, but also by how these designers continually enlighten their clients as to why they should not skimp on lighting. “We know it is a large chunk of money,” Susan admits, “so it is our job to help our clients understand the return on investment.” One example of ROI is the Glace 15-Light Multi-Drop chosen for the dining room below.

Our Glace multi-drop pendants are luminous in this space designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

Susan so succinctly described one of the biggest challenges she and her team face: “We never seem to be able to raise our budgets high enough for the lighting we’d most like to put in a project. It often becomes the step-sister when it should be the Cinderella in a room!” Another way they find they are always teaching their clients best practices when they are creating their interiors relates to trusting the process. “The fatigue on the design side is having clients come to us and say I saw this and I really want this,” she explains. “It’s our job to gently push back and say, ‘Let’s design a room for you that fits your home and we’ll choose in a fixture that will be a dynamic focal point you’ll love.” Our Bolthole Chandelier is a clear example in the elegant living room below.

Our Bolthole Chandelier has a commanding presence in this living room designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

We asked Susan how she and her team have seen lighting change over the years and she highlights an issue that we see so often. “I think that one of the biggest changes I’ve seen stems from the influence of social media because people are much more aware of how unique lighting can be but what they are not aware of is the actual craftsmanship that you cannot necessarily see in a photo,” she says. “It’s easy for a company to be a copycat, but if the same quality is not there, it’s diluting the standards in the marketplace.” The heft of the Earthshine pendants shown below are examples of the standards we set, the large brass version one of three designs we offer that are examples of the quality our artisans create.

A pair of our Earthshine pendants in this elemental kitchen designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

Susan also shares how important it is to personalize. “It’s crucial to make the lighting in each of our designs fit the personality of the home and the homeowners, but also to continually try to elevate the interiors,” she explains. “Our relationship with Currey & Company has helped us to achieve that because the designs being produced are far-reaching in so many ways and we find that, time and again, you prove yourselves to be a leader in the industry.” Illustrating how they strive to place lighting in a space that feels right at home is the Ogden Black Orb Chandelier in the statuesque living room below.

A light-filled living room designed by Nandina Home & Design and photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt that holds our Ogden Black Orb Chandelier.

Nandina Picks from Our Lineup

We’d like to thank Susan and the entire team at Nandina Home & Design for being such loyal customers and for making us look so good by surrounding our lighting with gracefulness. Below are the product details for the chandeliers and pendants they chose for their projects above.

The Currey & Company Fen Chandelier in a transitional dining room by Nandina Home & Design photographed by Shelly Marshall Schmidt.

The Fen Large Chandelier is made of wrought iron limbs that stretch outward like gnarled branches. Each one supports a delicate chain adorned with a single crystal. The brutalist design of this bronze chandelier is heightened by the Cupertino finish.

We offer two versions of the Marshallia Chandelier, which are made of wrought iron and have slender arms dripping with faux rock crystal pendants. A design note is how the candle-sleeves elevating the bulbs are slender, which enhances the delicacy of this traditionally beautiful chandelier shape. Both bestsellers, we have a large gold version, shown above, and a small brass version.

The Ogden Chandelier has a time-honored shape we've contemporized. The sweeping lines specific to traditional chandeliers have a minimalistic design with this fixture. The intermingling of chinois antique gold leaf and black finishes adds an elegant touch to the clean-lined black chandelier.

Along with the white Glace multi-drop shown above, we offer a reflective version of the fixture with the same faceted shades in a Raj mirror joined with seams of metal in a brass finish. The organic shape of the shades and the fact they hang at differing heights brings this mirrored pendant added personality that will make it a piece of jewelry in a space. The canopy of this piece is luminous in a painted silver finish. This fixture is among Currey & Company's multi-drop pendant collection, which includes multiple configurations.

The Bolthole Chandelier is named after “a place where a person can go to escape.” The large-scale simplicity of this chandelier is so clean-lined, it does its part by keeping any retreat, whether it’s a home or a hospitality destination, free of unnecessary clutter. The four-light chandelier perfectly balances its glass shades. The Pyrite bronze finish and squared details create both contrast and cohesion.

The Earthshine Brass Large Pendant has a hammered dome shape for a cool industrial look. Made of iron in a vintage brass finish, this sturdy gold pendant has a luminous glow on the interior. We also offer the Earthshine in a large steel version and in a small steel version.

The Ogden Black Orb Chandelier has a time-honored shape we've contemporized. The open globe specific to traditional chandeliers has a minimalistic design with this fixture. The intermingling of chinois antique gold leaf and black finishes adds an elegant touch to the clean-lined black chandelier.