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I need to mount a fairly lightweight non-working chandelier at the corner of a room in sheetrock. I would like to thread a chain through the top loop of the chandelier and fasten the chain to anchors on the opposing walls. I understand dry wall anchors would be subject to shear. Would toggle bolts work? (note: the d-rings in the illustration can be ignored.) Note #2: I cannot bolt this to the ceiling. NYC prewar. Not feasible. I'm not considering suggestions for that.

chandlier

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You have studs, so the simple solution would be a 16" or larger shelf bracket attached to a stud, so the 15" radius of the 30" diameter chandelier doesn't hit the wall. Only have to find one stud, no fuss with drooping a chain, and any 16" or larger shelf bracket should hold 15 lbs without any issues. Also, it then does not have to be in the corner, and it can hang higher out of your way.

A hanging plant hook with the same size constraint would be another option with similar results. It might also look better than a shelf bracket, in your opinion (which is the one that matters in your house, and not something to get into here, where opinions and decorating are off topic. But in choosing between functionally equivalent solutions, you should choose the one you'd rather have in your apartment.)

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  • You could do this with just one screw, assuming it's long enough and in a stud. Use mounting strips or something at the bottom of the bracket to keep it from getting bumped to the side. Also, if you happen to have a shorter shelf bracket you can extend it with a slat screwed well through the bracket.
    – isherwood
    Commented Apr 29 at 15:07
  • Ecnerwal: you're on to something with the shelf bracket. The hanging plant hook would be preferable as this is going in my livingroom, I found one at 16" which should accommodate the width. Unfortunately this does push it out from the corner as the stud is further away than I wanted it to hang. Would putting two plant hooks on either wall at the corner with a short chain connecting them create the same shear problem Isherwood mentioned above?
    – Naomi N
    Commented Apr 29 at 19:12
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    If the stud is 16" from the corner and the chandelier is 30", it will be one inch away from the adjacent wall. You surely don't want to do all that business with the chains to fix one inch. Right? So I don't understand what you want because the proposed shelf/plant bracket seems perfect for this.
    – jay613
    Commented Apr 29 at 19:54
  • Are studs usually 16 inches apart? I don't believe I suggested there was a stud at that distance - I haven't sounded for them yet. Oh - what I was saying is I found a hanging plant hook that is 16".
    – Naomi N
    Commented Apr 29 at 20:39
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This is a weird (maybe dumb) idea but I get it. First you cannot have something hang from two anchors in the corner or it will just sit against the corner. You could raise the tension but I am afraid that will detract from the chandelier and make the "metal" holding the tension just as much as a focal point.

I would suggest buying some sort of decorative 4x4 beams. If you cut the ends at 45 degrees you can sandwich them in the corner. Pythagoras tells me that if you want these sticking out 5' on each corner you need about a 7' beam. Then you put something like this rustic hanging bracket.

This way you have an architectural statement and the chandelier doesn't look like its out of place.

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    I'm not sure I follow your first point. The diagram provided shows how this would work. The anchors aren't in the corner. They're out an adequate distance.
    – isherwood
    Commented Apr 29 at 18:27
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    Isherwood is correct, I have accounted for space for the chandelier to be at the corner but clear of the walls.
    – Naomi N
    Commented Apr 29 at 19:12
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It seems simpler to mount this the way it was designed to be mounted, and just hang it from the ceiling. Screw hooks are commonly available, and if driven up into a floor joist should be more than strong enough. Decorative versions are available if desired.

You could also wire this up as a swage lamp, once hung. I have one fixture set up that way since there wasn't a room light and I didn't want to bother running cable through ceiling and wall.

light fixture hung from ceiling hook as swage lamp

(The wire running off to the side and down to an outlet will eventually run through the wooden chain "for pretty", but I need to cut another 15 feet or so of that. I've got it plugged into home automation for convenient control.)

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    I originally posted that the ceiling is not an option.
    – Naomi N
    Commented May 1 at 14:20
  • In that case, I like the shelf bracket idea if you can find one with an arm longer than the fixture's radius... If you really insist on the diagonal chain I would make sure the ends are anchored into studs, not plaster; effectively you have a lever arm converting the downward pull into inward pull, and I'm not convinced plaster would carry it well even with a wider anchor.
    – keshlam
    Commented May 1 at 14:43
  • Both good suggestions, and both of which I am considering. Only problem with finding studs is that one side has a window about two feet from the corner and the other has a stud that I'm pretty sure is a different distance, so the midpoint of the chain would not be centered at the corner. Would a toggle bolt work in sheetrock for this?
    – Naomi N
    Commented May 1 at 15:01
  • I would not use toggle bolts for this application where the attached chain would be essentially putting an almost straight pull out force on the toggle bolt.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented May 1 at 15:36
  • Also be aware that where there is a window just a couple of feet from the corner that each side of the window opening normally has a double stud embedded in the wall framing. Unless there is three inch or wider trimwork around the window opening you may be able to attach the suggested plant bracket right next to the window opening.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented May 1 at 15:39

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