Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wire Basket Pendant Light

In this post I am going to share a project that I love, love, love! I've seem handmade lighting made out of industrial parts, baskets and all sorts of reclaimed objects so I was really excited to try one of my own.

I used a vintage wire basket and turned it into a pendant light for our shabby chic bedroom. To make one of these you will need the object you want to make the shade/light and a few things from the hardware store. As this was my first attempt, the staff in the electrical department at Home Depot were very helpful finding what I needed (so just ask if you can't find this stuff!). The first photo is of a push through on/off socket. You will also need a swag light kit which comes with cord, and a few other items to hang your light.




The socket goes on the inside of your basket and you push the top up through the base of the basket. We followed the instructions on the packages to see how to strip the end of the cord and attach the two ends of the wire and attach this to the top of the socket. To make sure we did it right I stuck in a light bulb and plugged it in. As you can see -- there was light!

I was really excited to get it hooked up. Unfortunately we had overlooked something...

I forgot to weave the chain through the cord before attaching it to the socket and basket! You need to weave the cord through the chain because once you attach the cord to the socket piece, the other end of the cord (the part that fits into the wall outlet) is too large. Thus we took it apart and fixed our mistake.

*side note* I am saying "we" in this post meaning my wonderful side kick and boyfriend, Tim. We have been tackling all sorts of projects together in Birmingham for "our home".

Once completed, we hung the chain from a hook in the ceiling (came in the swag light kit). As renters, we could not wire for this light but simply ran the cord down the wall to an outlet and covered it up with white duct tape so it is barely noticeable.

I love the light and character it gives the room!



I am so happy with how our first refurbished pendant light came out that I want to make another one. Here are some other inspirational lights I found on Pinterest:

Clockwise from top left : 1|2|3|4


Do you have any ideas for objects that could be used for this project? Would you like to have one of these in your place?

*Bonnybee



I am linking up here:



Photobucket

3 comments:

  1. I love what yu did with the wire basket made it in to a hanging lamp-- pretty sweet---- the cheese grater lights, and tea cups.. can you belive i sold you the wire basket.. What neat ideas..
    Check out pinterest for some neat ideas. I am there too.
    Hey-- good luck.. I will come back soon and see what other things you have here.

    thanks for sharing the pictures

    sss

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE this look!!!!! so so perfect! Thank you so much for sharing how you did it!!! :o) {and for linking up!}
    Jaime from crafty scrappy happy

    ReplyDelete