Recycled Lightbulb Chandelier
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Posted by Kelly Malone
I made this from recycled bulbs I collected in our DIY studio over a few months. It is made with completely found materials from a baby crib cot, rope, twine, wire, glue, chains and of course, well the bulbs. There is one lonley functioning bulb in the mix and its the centerpiece here at workshop. It cost us less than $100- to make.
Skill Level
Moderate
Active Time
Half a day
Cost
$
- Salvaged baby crib cot
- Recycled burnt out bulbs
- Twine
- String Chain and s hooks to hang from ceiling
- Glue
- a lot of movies to watch while you tie all these on.
Materials
- Scissors
Tools
Locate some recycled burnt out light bulbs. Place a box for recycling at your work and in your hall. Also try local recycling centers and salvage yards.
Locate a piece of fencing, a cot or something wire and square or rectangular. I found a crib base/cot worked best for this large one. You can go smaller but look for a cross grid so you have surface area to tie bulbs to.
Tie bulbs tightly with twine or rope that is sturdy. You will want to tie them around a circular part of the base of the bulb so it will be sturdy. I then add a small ring of crazy glue around the rope and metal base for extra security.
I place the corners of my cot on chairs so that it is held up for me to work on, but leaves the center area open to build up and tie all your bulbs on. You can also use saw horse legs too.
Tie bulbs at different lenghts with double knots to your base.
I trimmed all my extra strings, made sure all knots are strong, then added chains around each corner.
I added sturdy hooks to the ceiling, then hanging the chains and chandelier from the ceiling.
If you want some functioning light, you can add a basic simple white Ikea light kit, similar to those youd use for a rice lamp. Hang the light from the chandelier and run the cord to power so you can turn your light on and off. This will run you about $5-, very affordable. As well you can add more than one and work the functioning bulbs into the non functioning bulb for drama. This one is quite big in scope. I have made several from bike wheels, which work very well and take about 2 hrs to complete.
