Chantelle’s Man and His Car

We are handy girls, but wait until to you hear about Chantelle’s man and his car!

Handy hubby

I know this will sound kinda “braggy” but, I’m married to a fabulous man!  He’s loving, kind, gentle, faithful, smart, funny, handsome, and HANDY!  I remember him telling me once when we were dating that he could build anything.  I was skeptical then but 25 years later I can honestly say that YES, the man CAN build anything he sets his mind to.  

This is one reason I knew he would love going to the Round Top, Texas flea market last spring.  Round Top promised to have acres of treasures that he could pick from to upcycle and transform into something amazing.

Wondering what he could make out this.

The Rustier the better

Many things caught his eye but the various rusty old pedal cars that were scattered throughout the show seemed to touch a soft spot.  He’s always been a car guy so it didn’t surprise me when I would see him stop and admire these cute little toys from a time gone by.  You could almost see the wheels in his mind turning as he gazed at each one thinking of what he could do with it.

Our old light fixture. Ok, but not really my favorite.

Custom Chandelier

Then it hit him.  I had been bugging him about a new light fixture for above our dining room table.  I was thinking of something along the lines of a large open style chandelier but he had another idea.  What if we transformed a pedal car into a chandelier?  I didn’t see it at first but decided to keep an open mind and let him go with the idea.  So, when we found a nice little red fire truck with its bell and light intact, we snatched it up for around $80.00 and brought it home.  Next thing I knew, it was hanging in my dining room.

YES! This is more my speed.

 

And I would have to say that I absolutely LOVE it!  Once again he has totally amazed me with his creativity and craftsmanship.

A few different views of my new dining room chandelier.

 

To complete his project, he used some old rusty swing set chain from a box at an auction, added an old hook he salvaged from a chain binder out of a barn he took down,

Oldsmobile dog dish hubcap.

 

and mounted it to our ceiling using this Oldsmobile dog dish style hubcap.  He’s a General Motors retiree so this was an extra special touch.  Such a clever guy.

1936 Ford headlight lens.

Dining in Style

For the light fixture under the car he found this headlight lens from a 1936 Ford in a neighbors garage sale and mounted it under the pedal car using an LED light and a dimmer switch to illuminate our dining area.  Now this is dining in style.

Much better!

 

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but this little car hanging above our dining table is truly one of my favorite items in our home.  It brings a smile to my face every time I look at it and will for years to come.

A late 40’s BMC fire truck.

 

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Thanks for stopping by,

Chantelle

 

 

 

 

 

43 Comments

  1. Bungalow 47 says:

    Totally will!

  2. I have been wanting to turn my childhood peddle car into a hanging light fixture for years. Your husband must have read my mind. My friends and family thought I was nuts. Now I can show them. Thank your husband for me.

  3. Tea cozie cottage says:

    Love it what a great idea. We have an auction business and always love seeing new ideas. Your hubby is great.

  4. Bungalow 47 says:

    The wall was down with barn wood and painted with CeCe Caldwell’s Paints. I’ll be sure to do a post on it soon. Chantelle

  5. That is adorable!!! You are so lucky to have such a creative husband! Beautiful room and great light fixture!
    Happy New Year!
    Susan

  6. petal pusher says:

    tell me about your wall redo, the one with the pistachio cabinet on it 

  7. LOVE IT!

  8. Fabulous idea….I’ve got an old tricycle I’d like to try using in my own kitchen…..way cool stuff you’ve got going on there in your home….keep it up….I’ve shared this idea with my creative grandson, who’s a new dad to twin boys!! That makes me a great grandmother….Wow….Thank you for sharing…

  9. this is way way way cool….and I bet a huge hit from people pinning…

  10. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thanks so much… I just love tool boxes. 🙂 This one usually holds candy – it makes for a fun centerpiece. Chantelle

  11. I saw this on Funky Junk interiors. I absolutely love this! I need to go back through your blog and see more wonderfulness. I knew I liked your style when I saw the red tool box with glass jars on the table too. I recently bought an old red tool tray and put the glass & wire lidded ball jars in.

    BTW I just pinned this too so I have a feeling this will be going viral!

  12. What a wonderfully whimsical light fixture!!! Kudos to your creative hubby!

  13. Love your blog name!  hehe!  That light fixture is freakin’ awesome!  Love all the special car touches and you eliminated a “boob” light!  Good on ya.
    My husband is pretty awesome, too, but he’s not handy.  Love him, anyway!

  14. First you are blessed with a hubby that can do anything. Second, this is THE most coolest chandelier ever! People sometimes don’t realize that even if it is not their taste, it is not in their home, it is in yours and it adds so much personality to this room. Who what have thought? Came over from Donna’s at Funky Junk

  15. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thank you Laura.

  16. This is one of the best ideas i have ever seen! I”m always looking for creative things to do in my home. We own a mustang restoration business, so i am getting my hubby to do this with a mustang pedal car! Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!

  17. This is the coolest re purpose idea I’ve seen lately! And what a beautiful dinning room. Congratulations! I hope you don’t mind if I share your pics on my fb page “recycle art and craft”, I’ll link back 🙂

  18. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thanks Carol! I just love Round Top. It’s a bit of a haul from Michigan but it’s always worth the trip. Chantelle

  19. How lucky you are to have a husband with such an eye for creativity.  I’m so loving your sweet chandelier.  It’s full of whimsy.  And it’s fun to have your hubby along for the fun in Round Top and Warrenton, too.  We do a girls trip and then my husband comes for a second trip kater in the week.  Fun stuff!  Thanks do much for sharing it with me today.

    Smiles,
    Carol

  20. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thanks so much Tammy! A Batmobile would be super SWEET!! Chantelle

  21. Bungalow 47 says:

    That would actually mean a lot to him. 🙂 Thanks for your kind words I’ll let him know. He’s already onto the next project. Chantelle

  22. Chantelle, I saw this posted by Funky Junk Interiors on Facebook and had to pop over to take a peek. This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a while; I just love it! I think I see a Batmobile chandelier in my future if I can find someone handy enough to create it. Thanks for sharing your wonderful chandelier!

  23. Annemarie says:

    pretty cool! and yes Alaskan Tundra one of my favs,I am distressing The ivory and Alaskan on several pieces at the moment.

  24. Wowza!!   Not only can he fix and build anything, he has imagination too!  Cha-ching, you hit the jackpot!
    All kidding aside, that is the coolest light fixture ever…I love it and I may steal this idea, we are ‘car people’ too. Thanks for sharing!

  25. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thanks so much!

  26. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thanks Leslie. Did you see my Alaskan Tundra in the background. 🙂

  27. Oh m y goodness – I LOVE this. I love the whole dining room. This is amazing. You have inspired me to do some redos in my own house. I obviously love the vintage and unusual look in decor. I changed out my vintage decor to more modern because my hubby liked the new look better but it is not me. I am going back….lol.

  28. The car chandelier is the first thing I noticed when I walked into your home, Chantelle.  It definitely sets the tone and charm of your beautiful home.  You and Brian make a good team when it comes to realizing visions from someone else’s castaways.

  29. That is seriously cool!  How creative! ~Diane

  30. Bungalow 47 says:

    I love you Joanne!!

  31. Bungalow 47 says:

    Of course I don’t mind. 🙂 Thanks for pinning!

  32. PS. Hope you don’t mind, I pinned it!

  33. I predict this one is gonna go viral! I LOVE IT! I’d love to see an evening shot with it lit!
    Also, the wall in the background is so cool, the room is very cozy.
    So talented!

    Jo

  34. Joanne McCoy says:

    Chantelle and Brian, I love the chandelier. I told you when I saw it and this post just adds to the charm. Thanks for documenting the discovery and transformation. You are both such talented people …. and really nice too!

  35. I’m glad I got to see the pic! It’s fabulous. I love it! It doesn’t match a thing in my house, but I do love it! Fabulous!

  36. How completely awesome it that!  Absolutely love it! 

  37. Bungalow 47 says:

    Thank you Sara – YES, we are blessed!! I’ll pass this along to him. Chantelle

  38. Chantelle – First, there is nothing braggy about knowing you have a good man! … I have one too!! And I am not afraid to tell anyone. Although many of my friends already know this…they are always asking me “where can I find me a “Tim” ?”  haha   We are truely blessed to have  good men, they are hard to come by these days. Secondly, I am amazed by your car!!! This is fabulous! Can’t believe you picked it up for only 80$ Not sure I have ever seen something so clever and creative. 🙂 It is just one of those things that would make you smile every time you walked in the room!

    Blessings – Sara

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