DIY Cage Light {Contributors Column}

The following was written by Victoria Major, repurposing contributor for Brooklyn Limestone.



If you’ve noticed all of the amazing globe/pendant lights being featured in design magazines you’re not the only one. Since moving to our new home I have been dreaming day and night of replacing all of the builder’s grade lighting—the only problem is I definitely don’t have $100+ lighting budget for each room. So figured I would try my hand at making my own version for a whole lot cheaper.

Here’s the materials breakdown for making one of these cuties for yourself…

{ Materials }
-Thrifted Light …… $5.00
- 2x Hanging Baskets …… $2.95 each
- Black Chain ……. $4.95
- Rust-oleum Paint …… $4.95
_________________________
Total Cost $20.80!




After rummaging through the lighting section at my local Habitat ReStore I noticed they had an abundance of these 90’s glass dome chandeliers. When you are looking for a light to upcycle, make sure it’s not soldered or welded together. I chose this type of light because it was a screwed together assembly (and it was only $5 bucks!)



It only took me around 10 minutes to get the whole thing disassembled into all of its various pieces.



For the globe/cage that goes around I picked up two common garden hanging baskets. I didn’t want anything too big so I went with the medium sized baskets and they fit pretty perfect. I decided to go with a Hammered Black finish by Rust-oleum. Make sure you put little pieces of painters tape over the sockets prior to painting.



To fit the cage permanently around the light fixture once it was dry I used black zip ties and then wrapped wire over them to cover them up. Black chain was used to hang the piece from the ceiling and before I knew it, there was a glowing pendant hanging in my dining room.



{ If your wondering what to do with that over-sized glass piece I had you save-- you can see what I did with mine later this week. }