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The House of Wood

The DIY Life of a Military Wife

How to Make a DIY Beaded Light Fixture with GE reveal® Lighting

*This post is brought to you by GE Lighting.

Hanging a statement light fixture in my little girl’s room is such a luxury, I know. But what’s more fun and adorable than having your very own princess pendant light?

Answer: nothing.in.the.world.

So I did some window-shopping online and stumbled across some amazing beaded chandeliers and pendant lights, but pretty much swallowed my tongue over the cost.

Here are a few that inspired this project: one / two / three / four

Of course, in true DIY form, I balked at the price and thought, “I could totally make that!” So the wheels started turning. And so did the ‘Pinteresting’ (anyone else use Pinterest as their own personal Google?). Well, whadya know. Turns out DIY beaded light fixtures are like, a thing. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to discover I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. These are a few excellent tutorials that I found super helpful: House and Home, Gus & Lula, The Chronicles of Home, and The Lemonista.

Here’s how mine turned out:

beaded-light-IG

Adorable, right? Alrighty then, let’s get started! I quickly drew up a plan and got to work. Here’s how it all shook out for me.

Materials:

  • 288 ct. 3/4″ (20mm) round beads, 5/32″ hole
  • 312 ct. 1/2″ (12mm) round beads, 5/32″ hole
  • GE reveal® light bulbs
  • Mini pendant light kit
  • 28-gauge steel galvanized wire
  • 72 ct. – #212 screw eyes
  • 4 ct. – #208 screw eyes
  • 3 ft. light fixture chain
  • 1 – 3/16″x1-1/2″ steel ring
  • 2 – 1x2x6′
  • 1-1/4″ brad nails
  • Wood glue

Tools:

Cut List:

  • 4 – 1×2 @ 14″ (mitered corners, measurement is from long end to long end, not parallel)
  • 8 – 1×2 @ 7″ (mitered corners, measurement is from long end to long end, not parallel)

First, I built the large, center frame. It measures 14″ square.

beaded-light-step01I glued and clamped the pieces together and used 1-1/4″ brad nails to attach them.

DIY beaded chandelier tutorialBecause I’m a visual person (and also not so good at The Maths, as I call it), I eyeballed the distance between the beads and laid them in place to figure out how far apart I wanted them. Then I pre-drilled the pilot holes for the screw eyes.

DIY beaded chandelier tutorialNext I cut 8-1×2 boards at 7″ long, mitering the ends, then drilled pilot holes for the screw eyes and screwed them in. I constructed the 2 small frames, attaching with wood glue and 1-1/4″ brad nails. Be sure to pre-drill the screw eye holes and insert them before constructing the frame, otherwise the drill won’t fit in the 4″ opening.

beaded-light-step02There ya go! The framework for this hanging light fixture is done. Now onto the tedious part: The Stringing of the Beads. Not to be confused with The Running of the Bulls. Although I do consider this task to be quite a marathon event, so suit up, Prefontaine.

DIY beaded chandelier tutorialUsing 28-gauge wire, I strung the beads onto the frames. Each strand has 6 large beads for each tier, with a small bead in between them. I started each strand by stringing 3 small beads, then alternated large and small, ending with 5 small beads at the very end.

DIY Beaded Chandelier TutorialCongratulations. I’m a hundred years old at the completion of this project.

DIY Beaded Chandelier TutorialTo hang the light, I drilled four pilot holes into the top frame, screwed in the larger screw eyes, and attached a fixture chain to it. I joined the four chains together with a steel ring like this:

DIY beaded chandelier tutorialThen I used the remaining chain and hung the whole thing from the ceiling, dropping the mini light pendant kit into the center of the beaded fixture. The pendant light isn’t attached to the beaded frames – it’s simply hanging in the center of it, with the wire weaved around the chain to keep it in place. Okay, so let’s talk actual light. With all my tedious work, finding the right light bulbs to light the room was of the utmost importance. I mean, after a hundred years of hard work, I wasn’t about to drop the ball now. Amiright or amiright? I changed out all the bulbs in my daughter’s room with GE reveal® light bulbs, as well as popped one into her new DIY beaded light fixture.

Here’s how her room looks now:

DIY beaded chandelier tutorialOh my goodness. You guys. What a breath of fresh air! I absolutely LOVE the clean, white light that comes from these GE reveal® bulbs. It’s a cool-toned light that makes the whole space look clean and bright. I totally heard the “Hallelujah Chorus” when I flipped the switch. I am not even kidding. It brings the whole room to life. I just love it. And this is what the room looks like with just the pendant light on.

How fun are those shadows that the light casts on the walls?
Answer: Exactly one ton of fun.

DIY Beaded Chandelier Tutorial DIY Beaded Chandelier Tutorial beaded-light-closeup02 DIY Beaded Chandelier Tutorial beaded-light-closeup01 DIY Beaded Chandelier Tutorial DIY beaded chandelier tutorialFor those of you who want details, here is a source list:

Wood Name Sign: my Etsy shop
Toddler Bed: DIY – tutorial here
Beaded Pendant Light: DIY
Bedding: Land of Nod
Silver Ruffle Pillow: The Home Centric
Ikat Pillow: Festive Home Decor
Teal Pillow: DIY
Gold Polka Dot Wall Decals: DIY
Rug: Overstock
Glider & Ottoman: Babies R Us

What do you think of my – I mean, my daughter’s new DIY beaded light fixture? I am in love with it and so is she! And the GE reveal® light bulbs illuminate the whole room with clean, beautiful light; it’s like a whole room makeover! As always, thanks for dropping by – I would love for you to pin and share this project!

I am in LOVE with this DIY beaded light fixture! Tutorial at www.jenwoodhouse.com/blog

In the comments below, tell me what you want to reveal in your home with GE reveal® lighting for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card to complete your own #100reveal! 

Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: 1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post 2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion using #100reveal; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post 3. Blog about this promotion using #100reveal, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post 4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.  This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 1/19/2015 – 3/1/2015. Be sure to visit the GE reveal® Lighting brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

*Big thanks to GE reveal® for sponsoring this post. I received complimentary GE reveal® Light Bulbs and compensation for featuring this project. All efforts followed by happy dances and professions of undying love are my own.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  21. I would like to reveal my living room. It has one lamp in there and makes it very dreary.
    cshell090869 at aol dot com

    Reply

  26. I would love to reveal my reading nook to give me the perfect lighting to relax at the end of day 🙂

    Reply

  36. I would like to reveal the family room with better lighting, we spend so much time reading and watching films there.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

    Reply

  48. I’d like to improve the lighting in the bathroom so we could see ourselves very clearly when we’re getting ready in the morning. #100reveal

    Reply

  68. I’m adding this to my DIY board. I’m looking to update our kitchen/dining room and want to add a breakfast nook. This fixture would be perfect!!!

    Reply

  69. I would love to #100reveal the new healthy cooking I am doing for me and my family and the new paint job we did!

    Reply

  73. I love the light fixture she made for her daughter,I’m going to make too for my granddaughters and five for my grandsons and change the beads so they can be more boyish and my pIant or stain I thank the kids will love it

    Reply

  74. In my grandkids bedrooms they have been wanting a light and I thought of making this hanging fixture will make their room a brighter place to do homework no to play

    Reply

  75. If I reveal my dining room will it make my dinners taste better? That would be fun – I do see the difference between the yellow lighting and agree it’s time to change! truckredford(at)Gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  82. I would love to reveal the beauty of an uncluttered room. A place for everything, and everything in its place, I say.

    Reply

  87. I’d like to reveal the area near the fireplace in the living room since it’s pretty dark and not well lighted and it’s hard to see the pictures/artwork around there when the sun isn’t lighting up the room.

    Reply

  93. Love the light fixture. It came out really nice.
    I’d like to reveal our family room, especially where my desk is located. At night, I find that the light is very bad in the corner the desk is in and I can’t see well doing work at the desk.

    Reply

  104. I would love to reveal better lighting for my knitting nook. It is too dark and I’m straining my eyes while I knit.

    Reply

  118. I would like more light in my girls room. I think they could use it for when they are doing their homework. Thank you

    Reply

  130. I would like to reveal my family room, this is where we play our family night board games and we could really use better lighting.

    Reply

  137. I would love to reveal the kitchen and dining room! I spend tons of time cooking and sometimes it gets dark, especially at night. We could use some better lighting!

    Reply

  138. I would LOVE to reveal my daughters room! She is creative with her decoration and artwork and it would be great to highlight it so you can really see it all 🙂

    Reply

  141. I would love to reveal my bedroom ! There is only one light source, so I don’t see anything at night. I would love to have a nice and natural light.

    Reply

  163. I want to reveal some better lighting in our living room as it’s not as bright as it should be for reading at night.

    Reply

  167. We need better lighting in our living room. I love your project and can’t wait to start on mine! Thank you!

    Reply

  182. I would like to reveal my home office, there’s only one window and does not have very good overhead lighting!

    Reply

  195. What an interesting chandelier, I love the shadows it catches. I would love to reveal our living room. We do a lot of puzzles on the table and you really need good lighting for that. We don’t often do them at night because it’s a little harder to see. I’ll be looking into these bulbs. And I love their shapes.

    Reply

  201. A light in the style of the one shown would be very attractive in my granddaughter’s room, and would certainly reveal it much more clearly. Right now it is rather dark.

    Reply

  209. In my home, I’d love GE to reveal the artwork over my fireplace. My niece made it from woodcuttings and bright, primary colors. I’m so proud of her, and her creation.

    Thanks for a great giveaway!

    Reply

  212. I want to reveal my counter tops in my kitchen. Under the cabinet lighting is so needed for us! They are dark. My husband bought the portable stick up ones, but they keep falling off.

    Reply

  220. Our house has a sun room in the back which literally blocks all the sunlight from the family room in that direction. I want to find a way to brighten up the most used room in the house. I

    Reply

  222. Neat light that you made.
    My kitchen can be a bit dark and these lights will help make it better.
    Thanks for the contest.

    Reply

  237. Wow! This was an amazing project! I just got new wallpaper to put up in my office – but I’m afraid there won’t be enough lighting to show it off – GE might have to come to the rescue on this!

    Reply

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