apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Make sure you buy a 1K dimmer.

perhaps all inspired by (ahem, knocking off) the "85 lamps" by rody graumans? available, but very pricey (~$2300) http://www.moma.org/collection/depts/arch_design/blowups/arch_design_029.html

remember also that any light like this draws a large amount of electricity. A typical circuit is 15amps by 120 volts, or capable of carrying 1800 Watts (although 10% should be saved for surges). Some circuits are 20 amps--check on the switch in your circuit breaker box. Either way, if you try plugging a socket chandelier (or a 85 Lamps chandelier) into a circuit with much else (fridge, microwave, etc...), you may overload the circuit and continually trip the breaker. Of course, lower wattage light bulbs will decrease the demand on the cicuit. Have fun!

Do you have six inch long socket extenders?

LED bulbs would make something with 40-50 bulbs be less power hungry than a 100watt incadescent bulb, but would also boost the cost about 20 times.

Too bad I cant find LED bulbs that look like normal full size incadescents

I made the same fixture based on a design I saw in urban outfitters, however they used all long bulbs. I had to remove it during the summer because it creates alot of heat.

The David Allen Gallery on Smith St. is no longer there. A children's store of some sort has taken over that space.

Robert, do you have a pic of your fixgture? I remember seeing something similar at UO and always wanted to replicate it.

This is what we did for our wall sconce/lamp
25W and a dimmer. Never full blast but the orangy color one.

enjoy (click the sig for pic)

2 years ago i made a ceiling fixture like this in the entry of my apartment. i didn't have to hang it i used the ceing socket that is there and used clear round bulbs.

This piece has been done by so many different people that i don't think anyone can claim ownership of it anymore...check out this post from july in reluct...

www.reluct.com/home/2006/07/dna-light-by-buro-fur-form-updated.html

here's another:
http://www.iamanangelchaser.com/processes/fractal_chandelier/fractal_chandelier.html

wow, that's an awful lot of energy for a light. on the scale of a large appliance running full-on. an electrician told me that dimming incandescents does not draw less power. can anyone confirm that?

How horrible! Two reasons;

1. Stealing someone's design
2. Excessive waste of electricity

The David Allen Gallery on Smith St. closed a few years ago.

Horrible! Reason three:

3. That's a serious fire hazard!

Blueprint magazine had a photo spread of Lotta Jansdotter's studio in one of the last few issues (maybe September? - sorry, I can't find anything on their site - awful search) which showed this style of lamp - the article said she made it. She used 7 watt CFL's that I think you could get at Ikea. I think they looked great, they were small round and frosted. It also helps with the energy consumption issue.

is this your idea of wasting less to get a sustainable enviroment!

Please, lets use design in a nice way to nature... not a torture!!

I did something similar to this last year in my front hall - I used low low wattage bulbs that came up to 100w - haven't had any issues, some times we even leave it on all night - i do plan to expand it but again i don't think will be a problem.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anaguy/910769528/in/set-72157594388550446/

I guess I'm the only person who objects simply because it looks gross.

Sorry folks, but the "artist" here is not getting ripped off as I first saw this design over a decade ago in a DIY post.

One can do away with the ugly flesh-toned socket color by painting the sockets with a heat-resistant engine paint. Use a light bulb to block paint from getting inside the socket and never leave this puppy unattended unless you want to collect some home-owners insurance.

To answer Dug...

The new dimmers actually do save energy.

The old dimmers, that are not in use anymore, were "rheostats" and used the same amount of electricity regardless of how much you dimmed the bulb.

shani-o, I got your back. That is not a good-looking light fixture.

For all the folks that have their undies in a bundle over who came up with this design, I can remember it being featured in an issue of Apartment Life Magazine back in the 70s (I coveted my Mom's AL magazines when I was a child).

Dimmers use less energy, even rheostat ones (although the rheostat ones don't save much). Newer dimmers are great for cutting down on the amount of energy used. They reduce the amount of voltage going into the lamp resulting in less energy used.

not green!
so it's not getting my greenbacks (neither the original nor a fake).

I object with Shani-o! It's not pretty.

I remember the rody graumans one that filled almost the entire ceiling of a MoMA gallery. It made you feel like a fishlet swimming under a deep coral reef. A whole other thing.

Why not setting a pile of oil barrels on fire then?

I think it looks pretty cool. It really isn't that unsafe, in terms of a fire hazard, so long as you the right gauge cord, and the proper dimmer.

The energy thing is an issue... At 1,000 watts, I might as well just light my house with ETC Source Fours. Hell, why not just get a 14K HMI!?

Could this be done with compact fluorescent bulbs? I know you can't dim them, but there are 3-way CFLs that could possibly work.