Bird Cages

I love birdcages. Not for caging birds, but as beautiful objects, even architecture. I borrowed one from my grandparents to hold the cards at my wedding. I recently pulled this image out of Interior Design magazine--I love the effect of all those antique birdcages in a cluster in this San Francisco spa.

It also made me think of Han Fen's loft, which is altogether too minimalist for me, but lovely and serene, and I love the way the birdcage seems fanciful in an austere environment.

[From the book New York Living, by Lisa Lovatt Smith]

And then, wandering through the St Louis Park store the Mix in search of a chinoiserie console on a reader tip (and before my epiphany that the dining room needed art, not furniture), I spotted this.

Wouldn't it make an incredible chandelier? If I didn't already have a huge, dramatic fixture in my dining room, I would want to wire this baby. It's like three feet tall. Unlike the Ikea pendant we have, this bird cage wouldn't be showing up in every home and magazine, now would it?

In a way, it makes me think of my favorite chandelier of all time, this crystal boat in Murial Brandolini's living room. Z Gallerie used to offer a knockoff, but for the money I'd give the bircage a try first. (plus, I missed the boat on the knockoff--just went to their site and they no longer do the crystal boat thing.)

[New York Living]

Lovers of the Brandolini may notice that she has since redecorated, but i prefer the old space. Oh, okay, here's what it looks like now.

[Elle Decor]

The boat is one of the only things she kept!
How about you: have you remade objects into light fixtures, hanging, standing, or table? There are so many great ones out there....