I'm a little bit "before and after" obsessed lately. Maybe it has something to do with winter's melting away and Springtime's arrival, but I'm eyeing everything in my home with the urge to transform old to new. So when I ran across this lighting makeover, I gasped. Before and after is an understatement.
Susan Petersen of Freshly Picked turned an old flush mount light fixture into a stunning faux capiz shell chandelier with a whole lot of wax paper circles and an awesome tutorial from Brenna Berger via Design Sponge. Yesterday's post on overhead lighting pointed out how a stunning fixture can make a whole room, and this gorgeous chandelier is further proof. And because it doesn't require changing the wiring itself, we love how perfect this project is for renters.
Be sure to check out Freshly Picked for more details and photos.
(Images: Susan Petersen, Freshly Picked)
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Holy cow. Wow. I am speechless!
That's awesome! Normally I'm not a fan of capiz fixtures, but her DIY version is amazing!
what's so bizarre is that literally yesterday I was googling "diy capiz chandelier" to find something like this. wow. thank you!
Ditto HernandoHouse--that looks awesome!
wow! great job!
do these flutter around with the air conditioning or fan on? i wonder if they do since they are lighter than the capiz shell...
this really looks great!
Amazing! I actually like it better than the Capiz! Good job!
why does the picture cut off the top? i want to see how it attaches to the light and how it looks at the ceiling.
Great job! Love the look!
www.mixandchic.com
It's not bad, but I don't like how the ribbon shows through the wax paper. I would use something thinner - dental floss maybe?
I find it ironic that this was posted just after an item about cleaning mattresses. Which don't get dusty if you keep them covered.
This, how would you clean it? (I know, I'm very practical, but I always ask that about anything. Maybe it is because I'm a city dweller.) I'd ask that question even if they were capiz shells, and decide against it.
I really like this DIY. I posted it to Alice in Designland last week. To me the great part is that not only does it look great but it only costed Susan 9 bucks!
To be clear, it was Apartment Therapy that reposted this next to the item on mattress cleaning.
But really, am I the only one who is afraid the paper will catch fire?
It would have been much easier, if one didn't like the *fireproof* glass shade to pick up a different one, in a different style, even at a thrift shop.
@textiles
This actually looks relatively easy to clean with a feather duster (maybe a microfiber duster would be better at trapping the dust rather than redistributing it)... assuming it will only get dusty and not, I don't know, grimy, for whatever reason.
I have that exact same fixture in my bedroom now, hm... though maybe landlord would be ok if I just changed it with something?
(I take it back, I think your before is better than mine, though the shape is very similar....)
thanks everyone!
@textiles, we've used a soft microfiber brush to get the little dust that does collect on it.
thanks for your comments.
re: amandaRH
here's the how-to
http://freshlypicked.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-chandelier.html
Impressive! Can't wait to try a shot at my own!
Fire! Wax! Heat! Paper! Electricity!
Flammable! Woser yet, inflammable!
Fire! Fire! FIRE!!!
It's probably (possibly) (hopefully) not nearly that bad; but me, personally - I doubt I'd ever be able to relax in a room with this light fixture.
Er, some things go from bad to "woser" - that should have read "worse yet."
Love it. There is a flush ceiling fixture in the house I own and I hate it with a passion. My solution is to hire an electrician to replace it with a chandelier, but I think you've taken a clever and creative approach to the problem.
I think that parchment paper would be a better choice than wax since it can handle higher temperatures in the oven.
gorfram: Look at her site, she uses CFL's.
Great job! I did a similar DIY parchment paper chandelier for our future master bedroom :) Haven't hung it yet because our house is currently being built.
http://cookiecutterhome.blogspot.com/2011/03/diy-faux-capiz-light.html
@Zaya - Probably it is okay with CFL's (as long as they never break or short out or anything...). I was just giving my own personal reaction to what I saw in this thread.
It's probabaly just me, really - I wouldn't be able to relax in a room with that fixture, even with it using a CFL. LED's, maybe.
... Come to think of it, with LED's, that could be just really ultra cool (metaphorically as well as thermally).