While I love Cir-Kit’s Ceiling Canopy, which makes installation of chandeliers easier, using a ceiling rose can also hide those electrical wires. AND it looks so much fancier! In a few steps, I show you how to install a chandelier with a ceiling rose.
1. Find and Test Your Electrical Connection
Using your test probe, find and test your electrical connection. While the test probe is inserted into the tapewire and lights up, mark lightly on the ceiling with a pencil next to each metal point on the test probe.
2. Prepare the Ceiling Rose to Hide the Wires
Most miniature ceiling roses are made of wood, resin, or plaster. The ceiling rose pictured is made of resin. Using your Dremel or other rotary tool, drill a hole through the center of the ceiling rose. The hole should be large enough for the electrical wires and two pieces of craft wire to easily pass through but not so big that it won’t look good – 3/16″ or less if you can.
Next, on the side of the ceiling rose that will be attached to the ceiling, use your Dremel to remove material from around the hole – creating an indentation about 1/8″ deep and about 1″ in diameter. This will hold the electrical wire and the craft wire.
3. Attach the Chandelier to the Ceiling Rose
Thread the electrical wires from the chandelier through the center hole of the ceiling rose. Next, take a piece of craft wire about 3″ long (22 or 24 gauge works well) and bend it in half.
Loop the chain or the jump ring at the top of the chandelier over one side of the wire until the chandelier is hanging from the piece of wire at the bend. Now insert the two ends of the craft wire into the center hole of the ceiling rose and push the wire through until the top of the chandelier chain is flush with the bottom edge of the center hole.
On the top side of the ceiling rose, bend apart the two ends of the craft wire until they are secured in the indentation you made in Step 2. See the picture for the example.
If the pieces of craft wire are too long, you can trim them a little bit. Hold the ceiling rose up and check that the chandelier is hanging securely.
4. Prop the Chandelier in Place
Here’s my big secret that will blow your mind: When hanging or gluing things to the ceiling or walls, I use props to hold the items in place! I know, seems obvious and you probably already knew to do that but I had to have someone tell me! Using small boxes or pieces of wood, prop the chandelier up close to the ceiling in the room. This frees up both hands to install the chandelier easily.
5. Attach the Chandelier Wiring
Find the chandelier electrical wires coming out of the center hole of the ceiling rose and trim them to about 3 1/2″ inches from the top of the ceiling rose. (Whatever amount of wire that will allow you to comfortably attach them to the ceiling while the chandelier is propped on the boxes.)
Make sure the chandelier chain is fully extended when you measure the wires so that you have enough wire going up the chain, through the ceiling rose and out of the top of the ceiling rose!
Next strip the ends of each wire about 3/8″ of an inch. Using brads or eyelets, install the bare end of each wire into the tapewire at the points you marked in Step 1. Turn on the electricity to see if the chandelier lights up. Once you have determined the chandelier works, put clear nail polish over the brads or eyelets to keep them from working loose.
6. Attach the Ceiling Rose to the Ceiling
Using Quick Grip or an epoxy glue, glue the ceiling rose to the ceiling. The electrical wires should wind around and fit in the indentation you made in the ceiling rose. Once the glue is secure, you can remove the boxes propping up the chandelier!
How lovely that looks!
Kim's Miniature Scene 