Need an idea for a diy brass chandelier makeover? I just pulled one off and honestly, I love it! We found this old thing at Out of the Closet (our local thrift store here in LA) and although it wasn’t perfect, it was the best option within our price-point that we had seen up to that moment. You can start out with any chandelier that you like the shape of. Basically, all you need to do is make sure it works, spray paint it, and add any decorations you might like! We chose to add some mardis gras beads (they were already black so we didn’t need to spray paint them – but you can if you’d like!) and acrylic jewels. In hindsight, I wish I would have bought the decorations online because they would have been a million times easier to find and probably much cheaper. Either way, I’m happy with how it turned out. I’m still planning on adding some more acrylic jewels for that extra bling and eventually I’d like to change out the sockets to actual candelabra sockets.. right now they are standard so the bulbs I’m using are a bit bigger than I’d like.
Here’s the brass chandelier before the makeover:
See the horrible contractor brass chandelier with the bad glass shades? I just don’t like it!! *shivers*
Here is a view of it from below. Yuck yuck yuck.
Now now. Who’s this pretty little thing?
All we did was flip the arms upside down, spray paint it, and add some beads!
How’s that for one of the coolest diy brass chandelier makeover’s you’ve ever seen?! If you have any questions or if you’ve done a chandelier, too.. I want to see it!! Please feel free to share your shizz in the comments and share this post with your friends.
XO Hannah Monroe
Mandi
November 19, 2013Hi Hannah
Love your chandelier makeover! How did you put the beads on? How many strings of beads did you use? Where they different lengths?
Hannah
January 11, 2014Hi Mandi – sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this!! We used clear string (it might have even been fishing line or something similar) to tie the beads to the screws on each bulb area. I’m not sure how to word it, but there is a screw on each fixture below the bulb that used to hold the glass shades in. I think we used 15 strings of beads, all the same length. There are 5 arms, so we strung one set of beads from arm to arm (5 total), another set of 5 from each arm to the bottom/middle of the chandelier, and a final set of 5 from each arm to a chain on the top hanging part of the chandelier. They were actually mardi gras beads/necklaces from Party City so they were all the same, but I think we ended up cutting some to make hanging them easier. I wish I could be more specific!
If the fixture on each arm didn’t have the screws, I’m not sure what we would have done. One idea would be to wrap the desired connection area with a malleable metal wire that you could then attach the beads to.
Also, I have considered taking some of the beads off (specifically the set that goes from arm to arm) as it is pretty busy, and I’d probably find a way to hang more clear droplet beads. You can really add whatever you like but depending on your chandelier, if you use necklaces, you’ll just need multiples of however many arms yours has. 🙂
Good luck! Let me know if that helps!
Michelle
February 21, 2014I am so glad I found this blog. My hubby had to go to work before he could pull the electrical wiring through the other end of the chandelier. I wanted it turned upside down. Then I read your blog and saw that you turned the arms! What! I did that and it made the whole chandelier longer and I was thrilled. I just started painting it black, but it started raining. Thank you for the great pictures and advice. BTW where did you get the big bulbs?
Hannah
March 8, 2014Yay, I’m so glad you like it, thank you for reading! I can’t remember where we found the bulbs but it was somewhere usual like Rite-Aid. 🙂 The chandelier actually has normal sized sockets (rather than candelabra sockets) so that was pretty much our only option! I’d prefer the smaller bulbs but it has grown on me.
Rebecca Warner
March 17, 2014This just MADE MY DAY!! I have this exact pendant and I am so glad I saw this blog! Not only have I already turned the arms around to point up, but I am seriously considering going to pick out bulbs, beads, and crystals with my 2 1/2 year old son. Oh wait, never mind, that would be a disaster! However, ideas are already taking over my brain!!! Thanks for the info and inspiration!!!!
Hannah
June 16, 2014This is way late for me to get back to you but YAY! 🙂 And hey, that’s what online ordering is for! 😉 Did you end up trying it since your last comment?
Abbey
April 10, 2014I love it! How did you turn the arms?
Hannah
June 16, 2014Just went for it, really! Some were a little loose and went without problem, others took a little more effort. If you have one you’re doing it for, I’d say just be careful and don’t turn them if they seem like they might snap.
Cheryl
May 8, 2014Love this but a bit baffled on how to turn the arms. Just found the exact fixture at my local thrifty & wanna have a go at her but arms are firm & not sure if I just give them a crank or what.
Thanks!
Hannah
June 16, 2014Hey Cheryl, we just cranked them though they were a little “looser” than a new chandelier project we just got, so I would recommend playing with each arm and each direction a little to see which direction would be best for you to crank it. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Lemmy
January 17, 2015Hi Hannah! Greetings from Singapore! My good friend chance upon your blog & is absolutely amazed by your beautiful diy chandelier! May I know how much is the total raw time you’ve taken from choosing your lamp to sourcing for your beads to fixing all the parts & finally completion of your masterpiece? I’m also very interested if you are willing to share all your challenges or constraints involved in the process of your diy project & how you’ve managed to overcome them. Thanks
Iennifer
July 19, 2015Good evening, I was looking for ideas for two chandeliers I purchased today and stumbled across your site. I planned on replacing the hideous chandelier in our breakfast nook but after seeing this tonight I’ve already removed the glass shades and turned the arms around. It will still need paint, beads and new bulbs but is already looking a ton better 2 minutes later. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Nina
September 23, 2015I just pick up this exact fixture from a salvage store to go in my closet. I wanted the lights to go up instead of down. I’m so happy to hear all I had to do was flip the arms . Thank you for sharing.
Rawnda Stringer
October 12, 2015I have that same light fixture but in chrome. I have added silver beads for Christmas, and added poinsettia leaves, but I take them off after Christmas is over. I have turned the arms up years ago, but that just wasn’t enough. I always wanted it to look more like a chandelier. Now that I’ve seen how you’ve done this, I may go to Hobby Lobby and get several strands of crystal beads from the wedding isle and string it with crystal beads. Then hang the little crystal droplets down like you did. Love this idea. Thank you.
Ame Hughes
October 19, 2015Add me to the list of relieved people who are glad to have found this blog! I, too, wanted the hubs to rewire our (exact same) light to hang upside down, and am SO relieved to have just turned the arms around. Haven’t painted it yet (mine’s a matte cream finish), but jeez, it looks so much better just with the arms flipped. THANK YOU!!
Mikamookamook
April 9, 2018I am super late….but this was a life saver. Flipping the arms (and removing the metal rings) literally changed the whole look of my chandelier. Thank you so much for the tip!!!
Hannah
July 1, 2018I’m so happy it worked for you!