Pendant Lights Made From Trash Cans

3 Materials
$30
1 Hour
Medium

When you go over budget in a renovation project, how do you reel in the costs and yet complete everything you set out to do? You get creative, you look for alternative products and you adjust your plans. We were nearing completion of my long awaited for crafting space and I needed light fixtures, how could I get them on the cheap?

Silver Mesh Trash Can


What do you see above? A wastebasket? Yes, but if you flip it over it's a perfect light shade that's only costs a couple of bucks at the dollar store! Next, we sought out the necessary wiring and hanging chain to turn it into a pendant light.

Electrical and Hanging Hardware


My husband helped with this as I have no electrical experience, so basically all parts were bought separately as seen above. Next he drilled a hole in the bottom of the basket to feed the wire through and attach the socket portion inside the basket. The chain was not needed to up hold this it was added for aesthetic purposes only. r.

Once it was hung from my t-bar ceiling I noticed a problem, the black lightbulb socket had to be painted to blend in better.

Silver Craft Paint


I just used a makeup sponge and silver paint to make the job quick and easy. The photo above shows the black color of the light socket as it looked when it was bought.

Problem Solved


Here is how it looked after being painted with the silver paint, I did a couple of coats to achieve full coverage.

Hanging Pretty in my Crafting Space


These silver, pendant lights hang on both sides above my desk in my room.

Cheap, Unique and Effective


We scored on three areas, we got the look for less, they are one of a kind and they light up my desk area just fine! When the pressure was on we pushed through and came up with a winning combination!

Fancy Bulbs


I opted to buy pretty, full spectrum, chandelier bulbs that would imitate daylight, I love them and the best part they only cost about $5 each! I hope you enjoyed our trashy pendant lights! 😂

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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Barb Barb on Apr 02, 2019

    What type of silver paint did you use? Was it a special paint like user for metal or will craft paints such as acrylics work and adhere well to the socket piece that you painted?


    Sometimes paints will bead up or roll off when painted on plastics.

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