Brass Chandelier Makeover | DIY

Candace

7 years ago

how-to-update-a-chandelier-best-way-to-paint-brass-chandelier-designs-update-chandelier-with-drum-shade

By far one of the easiest and most trans-formative DIY’s in our home was the chandelier update in the playroom.

If you remember, we posted the playroom before & after HERE. Just painting it alone was a major shift in my day. That yellow just wasn’t me, and I spend hours a day in there. After some Painter’s White paint it was time to really shift the mood with the long awaited chandelier update. After some quick spray painting, the brass chandelier in the once dining room, now playroom, makes the room one of my favorites in the house.

While gold is back – 90’s brass is not. And while I wanted the playroom to be pretty, I was not game for spending money on a light fixture that wasn’t a forever piece. I’m not a fan of spray painting things like drawer pulls and door handles because they get a ton of wear and end up flaking, but no one touches a chandelier… I decided it was worth the risk.

What you’ll need (Printable Shopping List):

Old Chandelier
Mineral Spirits
Rag
Saw Horses or something to hang the light from.
Rustoleum 2x Spray Paint (I used this white matte option)
Painter’s Tape
Ribbon
Twine
Hot Glue Gun
LED Lights

Tips for taking the light down:

Turn off the power at the breaker. Double-check that step.
Loosen the cap on the receptacle.
Unscrew the mounting bar. Have someone there to catch the light!
Undo the wire caps and recap the ceiling wires.
Cover the wires on the light with painters tape.

I headed to Home Depot and bought some mineral spirits and 2 in one primer+spray paint in matte white. We put together this beam on our saw horses and grabbed the chandelier for a detailed wipe down. I wanted to make sure all dust and grim were fully removed for a smooth finish.

You can make a beam on two ladders or kitchen island chairs if you don’t have sawhorses. Sawhorses are extremely handy though. If you think you may be DIY-ing a few pieces, you can grab them for super low prices. Ours are wooden which is great because for this project, and others, we can drill a 2×4 into them, which makes for a sturdy beam that can be easily removed.

We then taped the electrical wires so I could go to town on the spray paint. Painters tape is perfect for it. Make sure to lay under the light and check all of the little nooks and crannies. And the chain!! Remember that people will be looking up at it.

Once I felt I had covered every inch, I did another quick spray and let it fully dry. Just like wall paint, I would rather do extra prep work and thinner layers of paint to make sure the paint dries evenly.

Once it dried, we hung it back up and I knew it needed a little more help. I wanted to soften up the chain and make it more whimsical. I added a soft seafoam silky ribbon to the chain to match our vintage map and I have to be honest – I had no actual method. I tried a braid and I’m terrible at things like that so I just messed around until it looked good from far away. After all, it’s 6 ft up in the air. And a playroom. Just call me Monet.

I stepped back and it still needed help. I found some twine upstairs, and put my hot glue gun to work. Covering up the plastic faux candles was easy and, let’s be honest, necessary.

I covered the bottom quarter-inch of the faux candle tube in hot glue and then wrapped the twine tightly around it. Pushing the twine together as I wrapped. When I got close to the top, I add some glue to the top edge and adjusted and wrapped accordingly. The first two take patience, once you get the hang of it it’s quick.

A major point with candle covering – switch to LED lights. The original light bulbs were blazing hot and would have surely been a fire hazard.

You can peep the playroom before HERE.