We bought one of these and it was the first of our dozen or so fixtures that I tried to install on my own.  Don't do it!  Get some help!  It has to be installed with the shades in place - and unfortunately, I didn't realize that if the outer shade gets dented, it can't be repaired.  It wouldn't get dented in normal use - but I was struggling to hang on to it (or hang it on my ladder) so one side wasn't so lovely.  We're using the dented one - until we can't stand it anymore and then I'll get a couple of friends to help me - one to hold the shade and one to hand me screws and pliers - put up the one I put into our storage unit.  I really love it and though it's not maybe appropriate for a formal dining room, it's great for our condo where there's only one dining area and we have to use it every day.  I think if you had a formal dining room than was quite modern, two of these fixtures would look great - one at each end of the table.