11 Eye-Popping Chandeliers Made from the Everyday

Upcycled Chandeliers

Forget about paying a fortune for a designer chandelier to grace your front hall, dining room, or outdoor patio. Instead, take a look around your garage, kitchen, attic, basement or storage shed for items that can be repurposed into a chandelier. Need inspiration? Check out these distinctive lights—each made from something destined for the landfill.

Outdoor Hanging Candle Chandelier

Baby food jars, pebbles, tealights, dollar-store chains, and a kitchen strainer combine to create this delightful outdoor hanging light fixture. Suspend it from a tree or a hook on your patio to light your autumn night get-togethers. For a how-to, click here.

Bike Parts Chandelier

These Art Deco-style lamps are not bedazzled with beads, but rather with bicycle chains. Their flexibility makes them ideal for creating draped lamp shades on wall sconces and chandeliers. Try one as an accent in an entry hall or over a dining room table. Know that your guests will remember them long after they’ve left!

Bicycle Rim Chandelier

If you prefer a more stripped-down look, forget the bicycle chains and focus instead on the bike rims. Hang your assembly from a simple planter chain (or bike lock chain, if you have one) to enhance the basic look for your bachelor pad or loft.

Plastic Spoon Chandelier

Who knew plastic cutlery could be so glamorous? This crystal-like chandelier is created from plastic spoons donated from an ice cream shop. Clear and translucent spoons in a variety of shades deliver this glistening multi-colored look.

Soda Bottle Chandelier

Wash and dry your old glass “pop” bottles to create this unusual hanging light. Translucent paint and LED light bulbs give this a disco-style, 1970s retro vibe.

Drink Pouch Hanging Light

Terracycle, a global green startup, created this awesome hanging light entirely from recycled drink pouches covering a wire-framed paper lantern hanging globe. What a great rainy day craft project for older kids.

Colander Chandelier

Remember those old metal colanders that sat on Grandma’s counter with fresh produce from the garden? Paint them a variety of vintage colors, turn them upside down, and fix them to a plain old metal chandelier from a flea market. The result is a kitchen light sure to spark memories.

Related: How to Paint—EVERYTHING

Bean Can Chandelier

Yup. These are Heinz bean cans, repurposed as a memorable light fixture that fits right into this American-style diner in Helsinki, Finland. For your own bean can project, buy larger-sized cans to accommodate the bulb inside.

Cutlery and Ladle Chandelier

A “plain Jane” black metal chandelier frame is perfect for hanging vintage ladles, forks, and spoons to make a sizzling kitchen fixture. Note the curled fork tines that add visual interest and help keep unsuspecting diners from impaling themselves!

Bamboo Skewer Chandelier

Looking for a different way to add light to a tiny corner of your kitchen? Consider making a toothpick or bamboo skewer light. This droplight features a cluster of wood around a simple bulb to provide a single-focused light suitable for hanging over a two-person bistro table or intimate corner.

For More…

If you’re looking for more on green decorating, consider:

10 Great Ways to Grow Your Walls Green

Trash to Treasure: 10 Upcycled Products We Covet

11 Ways to Use Salvaged Wood in Your Home