Before I share our dining room lighting with you, I wanted to let you in on the brainstorming process.  While my finished lighting is very different from these two pieces, my inspiration started with them. Actually, I first dreamed of a crystal chandelier, but it wasn't long before I realized the space needed brass/gold lighting (so it wouldn't look too farmhousey)….. and that it needed to be DIY(for budget reasons).  These two modern ones caught my eye.  While both of them are DIY and (as far as lighting is concerned) not expensive, we made the decision to put lighting on the back burner as we spent money on more practical things…..like chairs. 

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Then on a shopping trip with a friend I saw something similar to this pretty mobile in Jcrew's window displays.  That's when the wheels really started to turn.