How to Make a Wood Bead Chandelier

Hello Remodelaholics!  I am Tasha and I blog over at Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body about thrifty DIY projects and home renovations.  You may remember my first contributor post about how to transform an outdated, cultured marble vanity with concrete and my post about how we built a beautiful wood screen to hide ugly utility boxes on the exterior of our house.  Well, I am back again this month to teach you how to make a wood bead chandelier.  It is a bit time consuming, but VERY easy and the result is stunning!

I don’t know about you, but I find that beautiful light fixtures can be outrageously expensive.  Fortunately, there are a lot of affordable DIY options for making light fixtures, like these 14 DIY pendant lights.  There are also clever and cost effective ways to update existing light fixtures, like these two easy ways to update flush mount fixtures.

I have fallen in love with wood bead chandeliers that are popular right now, but I have NOT fallen in love with the price tags.  So, I decided how to make my own DIY version and today I am going to show you how I did it!

How to Make Your Own Wood Bead Chandelier

Full written tutorial below; be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more videos!

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Materials Needed:

• (1) 10 inch quilting hoop (from your local craft store or Amazon)
• (2) 3 inch quilting hoops  (from your local craft store or Amazon)
• Thin gauge wire
• Wood glue
• Super glue
• Electrical tape
• Scissors
• Quilting thread
• Quilting needle
• Wood beads (the amount of beads you need depends a lot upon what size your chandelier will be).  I ordered mine online and spent around $40 for the beads.  I used the following:
  • Small beads- 8mm (like these).  I used approximately 600.
  • Medium beads- 14mm (like these).  I use approximately 400.
  • Large beads- 19 mm (these are just slightly larger).  I used approximately 75.
• Mini pendant light kit (I used Portfolio Mini Pendant Fitter in oil-rubbed bronze finish, from Lowe’s Home Improvement; you can also find an inexpensive one on Amazon)

Steps for the top of the chandelier:

1) You will be working with a 3 inch and 10 inch hoop first.  Remove the outer hoops–for now, you will work only with the inner hoops.

2) Thread your quilting needle with quilting thread, being sure to double up and knot it at the end.

3) Loop the thread over the 3 inch quilting hoop.

4) String your beads onto the thread.  The pattern is: 10 small beads followed by 1 medium bead/1 small bead x 12.  Finish each row with a medium bead, so that you have a total of 13 medium beads.

5) Tie the end of your strand to the 10 inch quilting hoop with a double or triple knot.  BE SURE NOT TO ALLOW YOUR STRANDS TO CROSS OVER EACH OTHER.

6) Repeat until the top of your chandelier is as full as you like.  Then cut away excess thread.  This is what your chandelier will look like at this stage.

Steps for the bottom of the chandelier:

1) Grab your second 3 inch hoop and remove the outer hoop.

2) Thread your quilting needle with quilting thread, being sure to double up and knot it at the end.

3) Loop the thread over the 3 inch quilting hoop, just as you did above.

4) String the beads onto your thread using the following pattern: 1 small, 1 large.  Repeat the pattern for a total of 5 times.

5) Tie the end of your strand to the same 10 inch quilting hoop with a double or triple knot.  The 10 inch hoop will sit above the 3 inch hoop you are working with, which will serve as the bottom of the chandelier.  AGAIN, BE SURE NOT TO ALLOW YOUR STRANDS TO CROSS OVER EACH OTHER.  Below is a photo of how things will look at this stage–bear in mind, you will be working with it upside down at this point.

6) Add as many strands as you like.

Final light assembly steps:

1) Add a drop of super glue to each knot.  This will help ensure that your knots do not come loose.

2) Grab your OUTER hoops and paint some wood glue along the inside of each one.  Then, secure them in place over the inner loops, tightening them into place.

3) After your wood glue has dried, remove the screw from each of the outer hoops.  Then use cutting snips to remove the part of the hardware that sticks out.

Steps to attach the pendant light:

1) Use a small drill bit to drill two very small vertical holes along each side of the TOP hoop.

2) Run wire through one hole and circle the wire around the cord of the pendant light.  Then thread the wire through the opposite hole.

3) Wrap electrical tape below the circle of wire around your cord–this will ensure that the light does not slip down.  I covered my black electrical tape with some gold washi tape to make it less noticeable.  Be sure also to wrap secure the ends of your wire by wrapping them. This is what the top of your light will look like when you look down into it.

That’s it!  You are ready to hang your light up and admire your handy work!  Check out the finished chandelier.  We hung ours in our guest room to replace an outdated flush mount fixture.  We are in love with it!

I would love for you to head over to my blog, Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body, to check out our other inspiring DIY projects.  You would love our DIY bentwood pendant light tutorial!  And if your kitchen is outdated, be sure to check out how we painted our kitchen cabinets without priming or sanding {and they are holding up perfectly}!  Or if you prefer crafty projects, you won’t want to miss my DIY photo canvas tutorial–learn the secret to creating authentic canvas texture!  I hope to see you over in my corner of blog land soon!

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More DIY lighting ideas:

Easy Faux Copper Light Fixture

Terrarium into light fixture DIY tutorial

DIY geometric hurricane pendant light

Crystal update for a “boob” light

How to turn your vanity light strip into a hanging pendant chandelier

 

 

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25 Ways to Repurpose Old Blinds

Window treatments are an easily changed feature in a home. Whether you’ve had blinds hanging in your home or move into a home and take down old blinds, don’t throw them out! There are so many great ways to repurpose old blinds. From home decor to light fixtures to headboards, these ideas will amaze you. Some don’t even look like blinds were used. Check out these 25 ways to repurpose old blinds for all over the home.

Creative Ways to Upcycle and Repurpose Old Blinds

Rustic Industrial Letters by My Love 2 Create for Remodelaholic

Old Blinds to Roman Shades by Posh Pieces for Remodelaholic

Vertical Blinds to Drapes by Sassy Sanctuary for Remodelaholic

Ombre Peacock Art by A Girl and a Glue Gun

Marbling Art by Mom in Music City

Wooden Blind Frame by Clover House

Wooden Blind Frame by Domestic Imperfection

Love Banner by Life at the Cottages

See even MORE ways to reuse old blinds on the next page –>

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Gorgeous 1920’s Cottage Master Bathroom Addition

When it comes to creating a home you love, some home just need some superficial help — paint, window coverings — while some need some more character from wainscoting or built-ins (my favorite!) — and then there are those that really just need a wall or two taken down. Our lovely guest today lives in a charming 1920’s cottage style home which has, unfortunately, been through a rather tragic 1950’s remodel. But Heidi and her husband are restoring its charm, room by room — and the first room they tackled was their master bathroom addition. They started out with NO bathroom, and they and their team created this beautiful luxurious master bathroom:

from this cramped room, which started out as a closet and was renovated into a half bath.

Isn’t it amazing? Read below for the full story from Heidi, and browse these other beautiful master baths for some inspiration:

click on each photo to go to the post

Give Heidi a warm Remodelaholic welcome!

Before and After: 1920’s Cottage Master Bathroom Addition
by Heidi from My Sweet Cottage

Hello, Remodelaholic readers. My name is Heidi and my blog is My Sweet Cottage. My 1927 English cottage-style house is the inspiration and backdrop for my remodeling, decorating, and gardening posts. And my cottage is very sweet – it’s just far from perfect. Our living here is the result of what I can only attribute to temporary insanity. My husband Chris and I were not even thinking about moving when we impulsively decided to buy this house. And we are not impulsive people. In fact, we were in the process of planning a remodel for the house we lived in at the time. But all that flew out the window when this house came on the market. Emotion took over and though we could see that the house was far from perfect, we fell in love with it anyway.

But how did a sweet 1920s charmer get so imperfect? Three words: Unfortunate 1950s remodel. And sure, mid-century anything can be pretty wonderful – unless it involves stripping out a home’s original charm and forcing a character upon the home that is not authentic. Now while I can’t blame all of the house’s flaws on this poorly conceived 1950s remodel, I can blame most of them on it. The kitchen was the main victim. It was reduced to half its original size, with a strange wide hallway taking up the other half. So one of my favorite projects was our kitchen remodel where we restored the room to its original size. At the same time, we brought back the 1920s arched doorways that had been squared off in the 1950s remodel. These were fun and interesting projects and we learned so much about our house in the process.

Our Master Bath Remodel

Today Remodelaholic has asked me to talk about our master bath remodel. This project was also about reworking part of that 1950s remodel.

But to fully explain it, we will have to go back farther in time, back to when the house was built. The upstairs bedroom, the largest bedroom in the house, had a walk-in closet. The long and narrow closet was tucked under the sloping roofline, as closets often were in older homes.

Along comes the 1950s remodel. By simply adding some fixtures and plumbing, the closet is converted into a half bath. Not a horrible idea, really, just not easy to use because it is so narrow and the roofline cuts into the wall. And it’s nothing much to look at.

1950s half bath, south wall

 

 

1950s half bath, north wall, during demolition

Then Chris and I come along. I am keen to remodel the kitchen as our first big project, but Chris cannot stand the master half bath. Actually he can’t stand in it because he is tall and the roof slopes. And I am already a little burned out on having to go downstairs to our main bathroom to shower.

So we decided to create a master bathroom by adding a dormer to the half bath to gain some space.

South Wall after remodel

Planning the Project

Since this project meant cutting a huge hole in the roof, we really wanted to get it right.

So we took our time with the most important part: The planning process.

Of course a dormer would change the exterior appearance of the house. And since this dormer would be on the front side of the house, it had to look original. We started by researching the different types of dormers and taking photographs of 1920s houses that had dormers we liked. The type of dormer would also impact the amount of space we would have to work with.

We decided on a gabled dormer to match the dormer above our front porch and also to allow for a cathedral ceiling in the new bathroom.

After Chris crawled into the attic space to take measurements, he drew up a graph paper template of the entire upstairs area – the finished rooms and the unfinished, sloping attic space.

We made a bunch of copies and we used the copies to sketch potential master bath configurations, tweaking and redrawing whenever one of us had a new idea. Just deciding on the scale of the project took time.

But when we could stand in the doorway of the little half bath and actually visualize the finished remodel, we knew it was time to hire an architect to draw up our plans.

My number one rule on big remodel projects is that I must be able to “see” the finished project in my mind before any work starts. If I can’t see it yet, it’s still too early.

This project would require many different skill sets. We knew we would be in over our heads if we attempted this as a DIY project so we interviewed several contractors and found one we liked.

Getting the Look We Wanted

It was easy for us to agree on the look we wanted for the new bathroom: It shouldn’t look new. It should blend with the original features of our old house. So no fads – nothing that would not stand the test of time.

We decided on:

• Window and door moldings milled to match the moldings already in the house;
• Beadboard wainscoting to balance the height of the cathedral ceiling;

• Carrara marble flooring and countertops;

• Nickel plated, vintage inspired fixtures (most came from Restoration Hardware);

• Subway tile in the shower stall to echo the subway tile in the downstairs main bathroom;

• Vintage-look lighting, including a crystal chandelier;

• Custom built-in cabinets for two awkward little spaces under the roofline: 1) A makeup desk and 2) A small linen closet (drawers are inset to match the house’s original built-in cabinetry);

• Glass knobs on cabinets and doors to match those already in the home;
• Leaded glass for the windows in the new dormer to match the small original leaded glass pocket window and the other windows in the house;

• A clawfoot tub;

• Heated floors; and
• Real stucco for the dormer exterior to match the original stucco siding.

Cost Saving Measures

If all of this sounds expensive, that is because it was. Our contractor’s labor and materials came to around $50,000. But his crew did a wonderful job.

It could have been even more expensive, but we came up with a few little ways of saving money without compromising quality.

• Chris did the demo work himself, saving us almost $1,000.
• We hired our own electrician, one we had used before and who charged very reasonable rates.
• We did the interior painting ourselves. (The blue is “Pale Sky” interior satin from Valspar’s American Tradition.)
• We hunted down a vintage clawfoot tub at a salvage shop for a very reasonable price. The new clawfoot tubs we found, besides not really looking right, were much more expensive than vintage tubs.
• We did not change the toilet location, eliminating some potential plumbing and drain work.
• We had a local glass artist add the leading to the new windows after we received them Milgard. Ordering real leaded windows from Milgard or anywhere else would have cost a fortune. So strictly speaking our new windows are not leaded glass windows. They are windows with the leading placed over the glass. But they still convey the look we want.
• We found a vanity at Pottery Barn that already had a sink and a Carrara marble countertop. It was on closeout for under $800.

• We decorated using items we already had: An antique washstand (from Chris’s mother) and wash basin (from his grandmother), and blue leaded glass windows that I’d had in storage for years.

The Results

I would stay in this bathroom all day if I could. We didn’t have a usable east facing window upstairs before this remodel, so the window is actually my favorite feature. I love the natural light and the sunrises.

Thank you, Remodelaholic, for having me share this project!

Product Sources

• Hardware and fixtures: most came from Restoration Hardware.
• Curtains: World Market. Sorry that I don’t recall the pattern name.
• Chandelier: Spanish made, special ordered from Lowe’s.
• Woven stool: actually a basket turned upside-down. I got it from Ross for about $12!
• Vanity with marble top: Pottery Barn clearance
• Paint color: “Pale Sky” interior satin from Valspar’s American Tradition

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Heidi, your bathroom and your home are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing with us!

Remodelaholics, be sure to pop over to visit Heidi at My Sweet Cottage to see more of her home, like her lovely kitchen, and her smart DIYs, like this faux rustic barn light.

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