I am really into wrapping things in jute, rope, yarn, whatever. It is such an easy way to update old decor items (frames, lamps, garbage cans) and give them that West Elm/Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware look for chump change. I don’t know about you, but I do not have $899 dollars to spend on a chandelier for my dining room. If I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t be writing this stupid blog, amirite?
My mom is in the midst of redoing Haley’s old bedroom. When we were in high school, Haley and I had amazing taste. We painted the bottom half of her bedroom walls cobalt blue, the top half lime green, with a thick black racing stripe through the middle. It was awesome. I’m not quite sure why Mom wanted to get rid of it, but she did, and now the walls are a nice calm grey.
The light fixture in the room was from 1984 which she got for $5 at the time. It was definitely meant for a little girl’s room, so Hale and I decided to make her a knock-off West Elm chandelier to replace it for Mother’s Day.
Our mom is pretty much the greatest. Among other things, I get a lot all of my creative tendencies from her. Growing up, she was always on point with the DIY, before DIY was even a ‘thing’. She was so patient with us, which is quite the feat because let’s be honest, who wants to craft with their annoying kids? WHO??? She taught us to cross stitch, toll paint, wield a hot glue gun, and a lot more. When I was in grade seven, she sent me to sewing lessons. Yeah, I was a big-time loser, but now I know my way around a sewing machine, which is truly a lost art for my generation. I can sew the SHIT out of some throw pillows, curtains, whatever. Need a flannel nightie? I’m your girl. Thanks Mom.
On to the project: I knew I’d seen some chandeliers at Re that would be perfect for this, so we stopped in and grabbed this beauty for $40.
I wiped it down to get rid of any dust, and then gave the entire piece a coat of flat black spray paint to make it look brand new.
After the paint was dry, I brought it inside and began wrapping it with the jute. We’d gotten a 190 foot roll at Walmart for about five bucks, and I had more than enough to do the chandelier.
I started with the base/middle piece, wrapping the jute pretty tightly and putting a dob of hot glue every three to four rows. After I worked my way down the middle, I did all five of the arms. It didn’t take that long once I got into a rhythm; I would recommend cutting off a long piece (seven feet at a time should do it) rather than trying to work with the entire ball of jute.
Dad and Matt wired the fixture and hung the chandelier with minimal struggle and swearing. Or the opposite of that. You can use your imagination.
Mom opted for the Edison style bulbs to give it an industrial look, and it looks pretty great hanging in the room!
This was a 2 hour project, max. If you want to try it yourself, stop by Re (or your local thrift shop) and grab an old chandelier! When we picked this one up, they had a few more to choose from in the store as well. I think it would look cool using a different color paint, or even wrapping the entire thing in jute or sisal rope. THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES! #hotglueftw
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