Recycling Lighting using Embroidery Hoops

Oh I love when a great idea comes to life and this dining room light fixture project gives me all the feels! I wanted to keep our existing chandelier but felt it looked too small in our dining room – plus it was time for a little make over and an update – a little lighting recycling if you will. I came up with this fun idea to upcycle our light fixture using embroidery hoops. The result is a farmhouse style orb chandelier.

Ordering the Quilting Hoops:

Once I had the idea, I needed to figure out how big I could get embroidery hoops. A little google search brought me over to Consumer Crafts where I found 23″ Quilting Hoops for just $7.47 each. I ordered 4 and crossed my fingers that they would be big enough to fit around our existing light fixture! They came quickly and I was relieved to see they were going to work perfectly!

My DIY Partner:

After the hoops arrived AND I knew they were going to work, I pulled my husband in on my plan (I do this a lot, lol). I’m the creative brain, I have an idea and I know how I want it to look but I don’t always know how to get there. This is where my husband shines. The conversation always starts with, “I have an idea – and I already bought the stuff… but I need your help” 🙂 I share my vision while I consult with him. We throw some ideas around and head to Lowes to find right hardware. At Lowes we disagree and argue a little, then disagree more and argue a little more and eventually make it to the register with hardware in hand and a somewhat agreeable plan in place. Ahhhhh marriage 🙂

Making the Orb:

Once home, we first marked the smooth circular inner hoop (the ones without the adjustable tightening device) and then drilled holes in the tops and the bottoms being mindful of the screw size that we were planning to use.

Painting the existing chandelier:

For this lighting recycling project I decided to painting our existing chandelier. I used Fusion Mineral paint in Raw Silk that I was already using on another project. I bought this paint at Gracefully Restored in Holliston, MA. It is really great to work with!

Next I stained the inside and outsides of the hoops. For these I used 1 coat of Minwax Stain in Provincial. I felt these turned out a little dark so I took a piece of paper towel and rubbed them with Miss Mustard Seed White Wax. This gave the hoops a weathered look and lightened them up nicely.

I decided the socket covers (under the light bulbs) needed to be replaced. The color of the old ones were off and the tops were cracked. I bought these paper socket covers and love the way they look!

We assembled the orb by using a screw/washer/acorn nut (see links below) on the bottom and a Female Lighting loop on the top. I then painted this hardware with this black paint.

Next came the assembly. My husband disconnected the light fixture from the ceiling so we could run the wires through the Portfolio Polished Brass Female Lighting Loops. We also had to disconnect 2 of the chandelier links and relocate them to incorporate the orb. This took a little finagling because of our specific chandelier and yours may be different. I will include close ups below to show how the hardware was installed.

Once assembled we re-hung (is that a word??) the chandelier back in the same space using the same wires and wire nuts.

The cost:

Since I had the paint, paint supplies and the tools needed for this project – our cost was just under $40 and we love how it turned out!

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Here are the supplies needed for this project:

• 4 – 23″ Quilting Hoops (the inside hoop only)
• White paint of your choice (mine is linked above)
• Stain of your choice (mine is linked above)
• Flat black paint of your choice (for hardware) (mine is linked above)
• 1 pk – Polished Brass Female Lighting Loops.
• 1 pk (2 pcs) – Hillman 2 Count 0.250-in x 1.25-in Rubber Standard (SAE) Flat Washer
• 1 nut – Hillman 3-Count 1/4-in Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Cap Nuts
• 1 screw – Hillman #14-20 x 1-in Phillips-Drive Machine Screws (6-Count)
• 1 washer – Hillman 10-Count #14 Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Finishing Washers

Tools:

• Dropcloth
• 1″ Paint brush (Painting the Chandelier)
• Small paint brush ( Painting Hardware)
• Foam paint brush (Stain on hoops)
• Drill
• Screwdriver
• Needle-nose pliers
• Electrical pliers
• Channel locks

Thanks for visiting the blog today! So fun tackling this lighting recycling project using embroidery hoops! For more DIY projects please visit here.