Design ideas within your own home are sometimes realized due to your own imagination, skill and original ideas of execution. The special character of the room is ensured by the use of stylistic details in the design, small and medium-sized decorative elements, textiles in several applications and, of course, lighting fixtures play an important role in the overall mood of the room: wall, ceiling, floor and free-standing. The best way to provide your own home with an individual character and a touch of exclusivity is to use in decorating the space lighting fixtures and chandeliers made exclusively on your own, through your own efforts and with your own hands. Making such decorative elements is sometimes not as difficult as it seems at first glance.
By and large, even if you haven’t been able to do something with your own hands before, then by enlisting advice, an action plan that contains step-by-step instructions, you can successfully implement your own idea and, as a result, get something from the category that has been fashionable for a long time now. several years hand-made.
Many handmade products, made by ordinary people and ordinary people, and far from professional designers, can easily be considered real masterpieces of design art. Such items for decorating rooms, spaces of various categories and functions fit perfectly into the interior of a country house, and into the design of city apartments of various layouts and sizes. That is why the thread lamp, so beloved by a wide audience, never ceases to be relevant for several years, regardless of the season. Such a beautiful and stylish interior accent will add coziness and comfort to any home.
Lampshade for chandelier made of threads
What kind of interior would this lamp be suitable for?
A chandelier made of threads can harmoniously fit into any interior of the room. It all depends on the design and material:
- for the corridor, kitchen, the ideal option is made of dense threads or strong rope;
- for a nursery and a high-tech room - made of thin threads in the shape of a ball;
- for the bedroom, kitchen, living room - from knitted napkins.
The chandelier is good for Provence and country style. In this case, it is worth choosing threads of white, brown, yellow, orange, and beige colors. You can decorate the lampshade with butterflies, birds, fruits, leaves - made of thick paper, plastic bottles, foil. Then this lamp will perfectly decorate a country house.
Made of wood
Homemade chandeliers made from natural materials - solid wood, plywood, boards and branches - are perfect for a rustic-style interior. The unusual, slightly rough shapes of these chandeliers are suitable for country houses and make you feel closer to nature.
Forms can be different, the most fantastic. Simple and popular: a wheel chandelier and a rectangular one made from a piece of board or timber with embedded lamps.
To make a chandelier in the form of a wheel, you will need 12 mm plywood, a jigsaw, a standard set of carpentry tools, a flexible wire in a non-flammable braid, ceramic lamp sockets, several repair bolts and chains for suspension.
Make a three-layer structure, tighten the sheets with self-tapping screws, mark and cut out the rim and core with a jigsaw. Buy wheel spokes at the store or make your own. Assemble the structure and treat it with a protective compound.
How to properly do the wiring yourself, see the article Do-it-yourself electrical wiring in an apartment step by step.
A rectangular lamp above the table can be made from rough-hewn timber, the lamp sockets can be mounted from below into the through holes, and the wiring can be run on top.
Having clearly seen that anyone can make lampshades and shades with their own hands, choose any of the proposed methods and feel free to make an exclusive chandelier for your interior.
Tools and materials
Before starting creative work on a future chandelier, you need to prepare everything you need. You will need metal wire, threads of the required thickness, fabric, as well as auxiliary tools:
- scissors;
- gloves – medical, rubber, rubber;
- a good quality balloon or other base;
- vegetable oil, Vaseline or fatty cream;
- felt-tip pen;
- a couple of electrical sockets in case you can’t make the correct connection the first time;
- PVC or wallpaper glue;
- light bulb – better LED;
- container for glue.
The selection of materials depends on the specific model of the lamp.
Where to get the base
The threads themselves cannot hold their shape until they become strong with glue. Therefore, the shape of the lamp must be created using a solid base. The basis can be:
- frame from old lamps;
- balloon;
- plastic bottle;
- glass jar, bottle;
- silicone beach ball;
- frame made of metal wire.
The shape of the lampshade will depend on the chosen base. The foundation can be temporary or permanent. If you use metal wire, then in this case it can either remain or be removed after drying the thread dipped in glue.
Attention! For beginners, it is better to use an old frame from a former lamp. Such a product will look more aesthetically pleasing, even if the craftsman has little experience.
Which lamps to choose
For chandeliers made of threads, ordinary incandescent lamps are not very suitable. They can heat the frame, and this is a fire hazard. It is better to choose energy-saving ones. LEDs are preferable. They are more expensive than usual, but do not heat up and do not burn out quickly. Their service life is up to 3 years.
If the choice falls on a regular light bulb, the diameter of the lampshade must be large enough. The distance from the lamp to the wall of the lamp should be at least 7 cm. If even at this distance the lampshade starts to heat up, you will have to replace the light bulb with a less powerful one. In any case, even an ordinary incandescent lamp cannot be more powerful than 100 W if we are talking about a lampshade made of thread or fabric.
From plastic spoons
A simple chandelier made from spoons will not require much time. To make it you will need:
- plastic disposable spoons (200 pcs.);
- 5 liter water bottle;
- wire cutters and stationery knife;
- glue;
- socket and light bulb.
Cut off the bottom of the bottle, and separate the holder of the spoons using wire cutters. Use spoons of one or more colors. Cover the bottle in a circle with spoon blanks, making each subsequent row offset so that the center of the next one is placed between the two spoons of the previous row.
The neck of the bottle must be closed with a ring of spoons placed horizontally inside each other.
After the glue has dried in the lampshade, install the cartridge and connect it to the power supply. Choose an LED or energy-saving light bulb so that the plastic does not melt from heating.
How to make a chandelier from threads: making a lampshade with your own hands
You can make a chandelier from threads with your own hands, either using a permanent frame or a temporary one. A permanent frame can be a metal wire, which has been given the appropriate shape, a frame from an old floor lamp. A temporary one is a balloon, a ball, a plastic pot, a jar, a plastic bottle, on which a thread is wound and given rigidity by means of glue.
Ball of thread or yarn
A great idea is to make a lampshade in the shape of a ball. You can make a completely closed ball or a half-open one. You can decorate such a lamp by weaving threads in the macrame style, as well as gluing pre-woven flowers and circles. You can use multiple colors to create a intricate web of patterns. To work you need:
- inflate the balloon to the desired size;
- tie tightly with strong thread;
- Apply vegetable oil or cream over the entire surface of the ball;
- soak the yarn in wallpaper glue (dilute it thicker than according to instructions) or PVC glue (proportion of water to glue 1:3);
- Using a felt-tip pen, draw a circle about 70 mm in diameter on the base of the ball - the entrance for the lamp socket;
- draw a circle for the hole opposite to the cartridge, if this is in the plans;
- secure the end of the thread with glue and begin to wrap the ball without touching the areas marked with a felt-tip pen;
- After winding, secure the end in an inconspicuous place and seal with glue.
You need to wrap it beautifully, evenly and not tightly to get a pattern. When the winding is completed, you can carefully untie the ball and blow air into it. This will allow the threads to stretch better. Once again coat the threads on the ball with glue. And then you need to hang the ball until the yarn dries completely. About a day or two, it all depends on the quality of the threads and the room temperature. Then pierce the ball and remove it through the hole for the lamp. To make the product shine, you can coat it with varnish and let it dry.
Attention! Be sure to lubricate the ball with oil or cream before winding. This will allow you to easily separate the lampshade frame from the ball. If the threads stick to the ball, all your efforts will be in vain.
Knitted lampshade
For such a lampshade you will need several crocheted or knitted napkins of round, oval, square shape and different sizes. Finished napkins should be ironed. Having prepared them for work, you can begin to create a mini-masterpiece. Algorithm of actions:
- inflate the balloon to the required size;
- coat it with rich cream or vegetable oil;
- we place the largest napkin on top, where the entrance of the socket with the light bulb will be;
- We glue the remaining napkins in a circle with a slight overlap.
For this lamp, you can knit napkins of different colors or the same color, from thin threads or from large woolen yarn. There is a lot of room for imagination. It is important to think about their location in advance. Such a lamp can be open or closed in the form of a ball. We must remember that when open, more light will enter the room. The closed one perfectly diffuses light and creates a special play of light.
From cardboard
The most bizarre design for a lamp can be made from cardboard, following simple instructions:
- Prepare a stencil and cut out the necessary elements from a sheet of cardboard.
- Connect all elements using slits, glue the joints.
- To give additional rigidity, you can stitch them with wire.
- The finished structure is painted in the chosen color and hung on the ceiling using a chain.
- The socket and power cord can be painted in the color of the chandelier.
Instead of cardboard, there may be some other suitable material from which you can make a lamp according to the same principle, using this idea.
Assembling the lamp: step-by-step instructions
Once the lampshade is ready, assembling and hanging the lamp is not difficult. We do the following step by step:
- Pull the lamp socket through the hole.
- Pass the fishing line along the edges of the hole for the lamp with the socket and tighten it to the diameter of the socket.
- Check that the lampshade is securely attached to the socket.
- Hang it from the ceiling, connecting the phase, grounding, and neutral wire.
- Connect the wires to the floor lamp if we are talking about a floor or table chandelier.
Now let's check how it works. We flip the switch and see if everything was done correctly. You can buy the necessary set in the store - a wire, a socket and a plug for a socket, which are already connected together.
If stranded wires are connected, the conductor insulation should be cleared by about 4 cm. Each conductor is untwisted by 2 cm. If you have a soldering iron, the wires can be connected by soldering. The wires must be tinned before connecting.
New life for old cans
It's time to experiment with glass jars. Let us immediately warn you that we need jars with screw caps.
Prepare the following materials:
- 5 cans
- suspension cords – 5 pcs. (can be bought at IKEA)
- soft glow bulbs – 5 pcs.
- drill
New life for glass
Let's start work.
- Remove the lids from the cans and on the back side draw a circle in the middle equal to the diameter of the cartridge. To avoid mistakes, simply remove the screw cap from the cartridge and attach it to the lid. Outline its internal hole and get the perfect circle size.
- Using a drill, drill holes in the drawn circle, placing them as close to each other as possible.
- Gently press out the drilled center.
- Insert the cartridge into the resulting hole and secure with a plug.
- Having done this operation with all the cans, collect the hanging cords into a vertical garland.
Cascading chandelier made of jars
Paper lampshades
Using cardboard
