Upcycled Vintage-Inspired Chandelier

Katie Nathey
by Katie Nathey
Have you ever noticed how lighting can transform a space? From floor lamps to table lamps, overhead lighting to chandeliers, picking out the perfect lighting can sometimes become a daunting task.
Add budget into the mix and you may find yourself in a bit of a pickle. That’s where DIY and upcycling can help bridge the gap of finding that perfect lighting without paying an arm and a leg for it.
Last year I came across this outdated, brass chandelier at Goodwill, and with a price tag of $7, I knew I couldn’t pass it up!
You can visit my blog for the full post and tutorial.
Upcycled Vintage-Inspired Chandelier
Before Photo of Thrifted Chandelier
This chandelier was originally transformed into a mason jar chandelier so I gathered up some jars with their lids
I gave the chandelier a light sanding and then cleaned it up before using E600 to attach the mason jar lid rings to the lip of each light.
I then hung the chandelier on a shepard hook before spray painting it in Rustoleum's Meadow Green. *If you plan to add crystals to the area around each light you will want to drill your holes before painting. Again, see my blog for the full tutorial.
This is what each arm looked like with the holes drilled though where I would string some of my acrylic crystals.
Here are the acrylic crystals I purchased - I link to what I used in my blog post.
After making several different crystal strands I attached the ones to the light using fishing line because I had it on hand, but you can also use thin wire.
I also hooked the crystals to other areas of the chandelier
I love how it looks next to my wood slice art
I then screwed the jars in place. The number and size of the jars you use will depend on the size of the lights on the chandelier.
This is what it looked like during the fall.
I recently decided to remove the jars and now I love it even more, especially with the mason jar lid rings still attached! I created a mason jar chandelier before but because this one had more arms/lights and required larger jars I think the jars were just a bit over powering vs my other chandelier which only had 5 arms. Either way, I love how it turned out and the bold color makes me happy every time I look at it.


For those that are wondering though, I had this chandelier with the mason jars on it for over 7 months with no issues. Yes, the chandelier was heavy but it held up fine and the jars were never hot, even after leaving the light on for an extended amount of time.
Katie Nathey
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Lei21023662 Lei21023662 on Feb 20, 2017
    Did you spray paint the cord too?
  • Jennifer Tidwell Jennifer Tidwell on Feb 22, 2017
    Love this! But can you tell me more about your wood slice art in the background?
  • Jeannine Dunlop Jeannine Dunlop on May 22, 2019

    You mentioned that the jars never got hot, with nowhere for the heat to go, did you pop/burn out the lights quicker?

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