I was tired of the chandelier-under-a-drum-shade fixture above my kitchen table. But it was still a nice fixture, so I couldn’t really justify replacing it. Then I had this idea that I might be able to transform it into some kind of cool globe pendant. It worked! Here’s how I did it:
1. Take off the drum shade. There is a little nut (heh heh heh – I’m so immature) holding on the shade. Take it off and remove the shade.
2. The drum shade was approximately 18” in diameter, so I purchased 2 quilting hoops of that size. They are a bit bigger and sturdier than embroidery hoops, but I think embroidery hoops would work just as well. Carefully pry the hardware off of the hoops. I pretty much destroyed mine in the process. Blurg. Don’t worry, it’s fixable.
3. Glue the ends together to close up the circle on three of the hoops. Leave the fourth one open. You need to use glue that will hold really well because there will be pressure on these joints. I found that epoxy worked the best. Use wood filler to fix the damage from step 2.
4. Assemble three of the hoops as shown. Clamp. Drill a small hole through all three hoops on one side of the globe. (This is where I needed an assistant… my Dad.) I would recommend separating the hoops again. Measure and mark each hoop where you want the hole to be drilled on the opposite side. The holes need to be equidistant from each other on each hoop. You will need to measure. If you don’t get them lined up, it looks wonky when you put it all together, and you will have to re-drill new holes. Take my word for it. Eye-balling it won’t work.
*** Side Note: Check out my Mom & Dad’s fabulous kitchen!!! You’ll get the full tour one of these days! Stay tuned. ***
5. Paint. I mixed some glossy exterior black latex with some metallic gunmetal grey to get as close as possible to the existing finish on my light. Alternatively, you could just spray paint everything (including the fixture) to make it match.
6. Use a small bolt on each side to hold it all together. Don’t tighten the bolts completely… it is easier to get the globe around the light fixture if you can move the hoops around, and then re-position them again once it is in place.
7. I attached the globe to the existing fixture with a piece of picture-hanging wire looped around each bolt and through the center of the fixture. Hold it in place with the drum shade nut (hahaha). It looks kind of tickety-tack this close up, but it pretty much disappears once the hoops are all positioned. If you measured before you drilled, the globe will balance quite nicely.
8. Add the final circle vertically. (This is the one that I did not glue together.) I threaded it through the inside of the horizontal circle and left it on the outsides of the other two. Once this piece is on, it all holds itself together fairly solidly.
Voila! That’s it! I think I could even adapt it to a different light if I wanted to switch things up.