If you saw my Instagram from last week, you'll know I've been working on a fun little DIY light fixture for my office. It's been way too long since I've DIY'd something and shared it here, so I figured it was high time to get 'er done to show y'all!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEHbwwQyWE7/?taken-by=mayricherfullerbe
I've been a fan of Sputnik-style light fixtures for awhile now. They're modern, kinda funky and fixtures with exposed bulbs are definitely "in" right now. I needed a ceiling fixture to replace a sad-looking fan in my office, but wasn't ready to commit to spending the big bucks on a new fixture just yet.
Then on Pinterest (of course!) I spotted Little Green Notebook's DIY branch light and I thought a variation on that would be the perfect thing! I made a couple of modifications to make it work for my space and the step-by-step is below in case you want to make one yourself.
Supplies needed: (* Denotes an affiliate link. That means I get a tiny commission when you purchase through my link. There's no cost to you - thanks for supporting this little blog. :))
- Outlet box mount*
- 2 packages of Y socket splitters*
- 3-in-1 socket adapter*
- Flexible extender*
- Light bulbs
- Ceiling medallion*
- Spray paint
Start with the 3-in-1 socket adapter and screw a Y socket splitter into each end.
Keep adding additional Y socket splitters to open ends until you get to the look you want. I ended up using 15 and gave it a pretty symmetrical look. What can I say - I like balance!
Once you finish attaching the Y splitters in a pattern you like, add lightbulbs to the remaining open sockets. You'll take these out to paint the fixture (unless you want to leave it white, which is pretty too!), but I liked seeing how it would look in its final form before heading to that step.
Finally, screw on the flexible extender and outlet box mount to finish the assembly before painting. Here it is before I got my spray paint on.
Before taking it out to paint, I installed it temporarily to make sure I was really happy with the scale and amount of light it gave out. My office isn't huge, but I found that with my original design, it wasn't quite bright enough. No big deal - I just added a few more Y splitters and bulbs to increase the amount of light.
Onto the painting!
But, here's one other pre-painting step that's very important!! Make sure to stuff the sockets with some newspaper to protect the light bulb contacts. It would be a shame to finish painting, screw in those bulbs, and then have the fixture not work!
I decided to spray my fixture metallic coppery-gold and since it was a tricky fixture to paint, I used a cardboard box as a makeshift paint shed - it worked perfectly to prevent overspray from getting on the concrete and helped it stand up for painting and drying purposes. I made sure to use multiple light and even coats and rotated the fixture several times to make sure all surfaces were well-covered.
(Side note: for those who are wondering about priming prior to spraying the metallic paint...I skipped that step. Should I have? Probably not, but since this fixture is installed on the ceiling, durability isn't an issue and I decided to be a total rebel and not prime. Many of these pieces are plastic though, so it will chip if you scratch at it. So far so good though!)
Now let's get to the good part - seeing it after installation! (Outlet mount boxes are super easy to install - just follow the directions in the box. If you don't feel comfortable with that, definitely hire an electrician!)
I added a ceiling medallion to really finish it off around the outlet box and I think it looks great. Here's how it looks with my office area in the background:
Love all those fun bulbs!
Hooray for successful DIY projects! What have you been DIYing lately?
