My DIY (did it myself) 5-arm ceiling light.

Before the big living room reveal I thought I would share a few process shots and posts of how I got to the end result. Of course, it’s also because I like a big dramatic build up to these things, but it kinda makes sense to show some elements first, like the fireplace makeover here. So, today I’m sharing the ‘before’ of my minimal 5-arm ceiling light.

Before I start, I must say that this isn’t so much a ‘how-to’ as it is a ‘before and after’. This really relies on you having a very similar light in the first place. So, just take it as a ‘this is what you can do with some boot sale crap’ post.

Inspiration

I knew that I wanted something quite contemporary and simple in this space. I love how clean the lines of the mouldings in the room are and didn’t want the light to detract from this. There was no ceiling rose but you could see the marks from where the original had been. I knew that I wanted to replace this with something in keeping with the cornice.

This is the only photograph I took of the original light fitting. Quite the beast. Unfortunately it seems that I didn’t used to care about focusing my camera before taking a photo. You’ll find this is a recurring theme in my ‘before’ photos. Soz.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love me a bit of ‘pinspiration’ and had already saved a number of examples of beautiful rooms with beautiful ceiling lights on pinterest.

Image by 2to5 design via desiretoinspire via Pinterest

Image by  Claude-Cartier via Pinterest

Image by live auctioneers via Pinterest

Unfortunately, the price tags for these beautiful specimens, weren’t so beautiful. I knew that to get something that I really liked, I would have to either;

A; Sell the house to buy the light… a bit counter-productive.

B; Buy a cheaper alternative… there weren’t really any that lit up for me (heheh!)

C; Make the damn thing.

I went for C.

Well, kinda. Not so much a total DIY as a bit of an upcycle/DIY.

How I Made It

Having visited our local Sunday market/car boot sale, I stumbled across this big fellow… for £1!!!!

At the time, he came complete with floral frosted glass shades. I think, if I remember correctly, they were peach. Nice.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… “why is it a ‘he’ with floral glass shades?” Well, apart from the fact that you are very un-pc for 2017 and boys can wear florals if they like, I felt that the bones of the light were very angular and masculine in shape; a total contrast to the round, frilly, floral shades. This brass framework could be exactly what I need for my plan.

On closer inspection, it appeared that the individual components were screwed together, making it super easy to take apart and hopefully reconfigure into the light of my dreams. MUAH HA HA HAaaaa!!!

And it worked!

 

Nothing went wrong! Seriously, no glitches at all. I took it apart, removed the fancy twiddly bits, then screwed it all back together in it’s simplified form.  That was it! The wiring in it was fine, it just needed reconnected* when it was put back together.

An undercoat of acid etch primer spray (Available from Halfords. I find this gives the best adhesion on metal) provided a nice even base for a coat of Valspar Matt black spray paint.

The Finished Ceiling Light

I chose a plaster ceiling rose that ties in with the clean lines of the rooms cornice, close to the scale of the marks on the ceiling. This anchors the light in the room without detracting from it’s simplicity.

The initial horrific expense of £1, was totally blown out the water by spending £16 on spray paint and £20 on light bulbs. I got over it though. I am so happy with the end result, but even happier that I achieved the perfect 5-arm ceiling light for only total £37!!!

*always get any electrical wiring checked out by a qualified electrician.