09 February 2011

...uxua + diy chandelier....

...while cruising through design trippers  I came across the non hotel, hotel, UXUA by Diesel's creative director, Wilbert Das in Trancoso, Brazil.  Such a rad community of houses built or restored by local artisans using mainly recycled & repurposed materials.  These abodes have some truly unique decor including sinks, baths, & showers carved from fallen tree trunks, local roof tiles restored from old local farm houses, & one of my favorites (shown above), colorful chandeliers made from dried local acai berries...after scouring the internet for where I could buy one of these beauties I realized it would be way cooler to make one myself!  Since we are currently in transition- this project will have to wait until we are settled in our new home in France, but I'd thought I'd share anyways & hopefully you can add a glamorous chandelier with an earthy touch to your own space....{xx mvg}

...project borrowed from gus + lula....
...the materials....
+ lots of long strands of beads-all the same length (although they suggest mardi-gras beads, I think that dyed dried nuts or berries or wood beads would be more classy but also not too expensive- you could find these at any bead store- may have to restring if your strands aren't long enough though)
+ metal hanging garden basket
+ spool of thin-gauge wire
+ wire cutters
+ wire clothes hanger
+ pendant light kit (cord & socket)
+ metal chain to hang fixture
+ light fixture mounting bracket, bolt & loop
+ light fixture ceiling cap
...to start....
+ paint the hanging garden basket to match your beads
+ easiest to suspend your chandelier from something such as a ladder while you work on it
...add ring to top...
+ remove the metal hook from the basket- you'll need to wire a light fixture ceiling bracket to a ring (can make out of bent clothes hanger).  The loop on top screws onto a hollow bolt that screws into the bracket, which you can later attach the chain to.
...add structure...
+ add a ring (can be made out of bent clothes hanger) 1/2 way between the top of the chandelier & the lower ring for a little more shape.  This will allow the beaded strands to swag a bit without the metal chains showing....

....add the color....
+ add the beads by attaching them around the top ring- you can do this by looping wire around the top bead of each strand & securing them to the metal ring.
+ continue to attach to the middle ring (top of basket)
+ cut any extras off if your strands are too long & once you are happy with the coverage you can attach all of the strands to the bottom

...add chain & ceiling cap...

...hang & lust over...


                                     

5 comments:

  1. this looks great! need to try it out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can you post a list of how much material it took to complete and possibly cost?

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete