How to Fashion a Unique, Faux Chandelier

If you love the elegance and style chandeliers bring to a room, but aren't so keen on their price-you're in luck. With a little out-of-the-box thinking, you can fashion a chandelier-like piece without breaking the bank.

Although the practical purpose of chandeliers is of course lighting, aesthetically, they serve other functions as well. Chandeliers bring a sense of sophistication and glamour to any space; a good chandelier can "finish" a room. They're a key component to the ever-desired and emulated shabby chic look-and their anachronistic and incongruous presence among other less formal furniture and decorations is part of the appeal.

When it comes down to it, though-what separates a chandelier from any other lighting fixture? The draped , hanging strands of crystal. It's this feature that can be exploited and played upon to create a fabulous, unique faux chandelier for any area in your home in which you'd like to inject a bit of interest.

There've been three in-person chandelier inspirations I've held onto. In high school, my friends and I ended up in a room at Hashininger Hall at KU in Lawrence, Kansas, after some party-the notoriously bohemian coed dorms where all the artists seem to live. I noticed some paintings that were propped around-that I had seen about a year previously at an art show somewhere; the dorm room belonged to some up and coming punk rock golden child artist.

In a corner, over his bed, this guy had knotted and wrapped the ancient frayed cord of an impossibly old small chandelier around a painted ceiling pipe. In place of the lightbulbs, dark purple candles had been placed in the sockets, and replacing several missing crystals, were vintage toy army men, affixed and dangling from fishing wire. It was the most genius and gorgeous thing I'd ever seen.

Not too long after, at another party somewhere, another artist type student had hung an upside down, vintage umbrella skeleton from a plant hook, and draped it crazily-but artfully-with long strings of glass and plastic beads, paper flowers, and doll heads. The result was a very chandelier-like piece of art.

Finally, I have a friend who has a very cool, constantly evolving chandelier over her dinner table. It's a regular, fairly plain hanging light fixture, but over the years, she and her husband have added things to it.

She says it started out by just hanging a couple decorations on it once for a child's birthday party; they never came off-and they've been adding various beads and small decorations to the fixture ever since. Because of the strategic placement of the objects, it doesn't look chaotic or junky-more like brilliantly controlled opulence.

Some of these inspirations might be a bit eccentric for everyone's tastes, but there are good ideas that can be used. Below are further ideas for fashioning your own "chandelier."

Base fixtures

If you have some kind of hanging light fixture already in place, it's easy to make use of it -it's a ready- made chandelier template. Strings of beads can be draped, tied, or otherwise strung around. Look at the fixture's features to see how you can use them best. Are there holes, curli-qs, or other design features that are conducive for affixing objects?

Although it's nice to actually have a chandelier that is used as a light, non-light objects can be used as bases as well. Anything that can be hung from a hook is game. A decorative lantern, large wire vases and bowls, candle holders, certain wall and decorative ornaments. Anything that can be hung, and is ripe for having things draped and affixed to it.

Something to consider --look at thrift stores and yard sales for vintage hanging light fixtures. Usually, there's an issue about wiring in such things. However, some of these fixtures can be converted into candle chandeliers, or just need not be a "real" light. One great idea, for those who would really like to have a functioning light, is to incorporate clear Christmas string lights into the chandelier.

These can be strung around the light fixture, and/or draped strategically along with other beads and strings. Dollar stores sell small strands of string lights that use batteries, so a proximal electrical outlet or extensions cords may not necessarily even have to be considered.

Things to hang and drape

There are a multitude of possibilities here. One of the nicest I have lately seen was in a home decorating magazine. In a bedroom, a very plain hanging light fixture had been altered with dozens and dozens of string pearl strands, all draped with painstaking care-the result was a semblance of a real chandelier. Strings of any kinds of beads are are really great choices.

During Christmas, dollar stores and Big Lots have very long such strands very inexpensive prices. Many of them are decidedly Christmas oriented and therefore unsuitable, but many are plain-clear, red, green, gold, silver. These make perfect beads for stringing around light fixtures.

Other ideas include: Mardi Gras beads, long necklaces, ornaments tied with ribbon, and swags of plastic flowers.

A final note here: one obvious thing to keep in mind-never allow anything you are placing on the fixture to come into contact or even near the actual light bulbs, (or even more obviously, candles) and never place anything heavy on the fixture. Use common sense too, when it comes to choosing and displaying items that are in the reach of children.