Hi Peeps! I am super excited to FINALLY show you our farmhouse wire basket chandelier tutorial! We have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off shuttling kids to dance competitions, school events, choir concerts, baseball practice, ya know, the usual. I’m sure you can relate if you have little ones of your own. If you follow us on instagram, you get to see a little glimpse of our lives behind the blog!
So without further adieu, let’s get down to business. For this project you will need: A 6 foot piece of barn wood {ours was a 1″ x 8″ x 6′} Measuring Tape and pencil A hole saw {or speedbor bit} Hot Glue Gun Electrical Wire {Chandelier kit works great} Wire Strippers
Wire Cutters
Screwdriver 5 light bulb sockets 5 mismatched wire baskets {We found ours at HomeGoods and Marshalls} Baling Wire Rope
Step 1. Measure your barn wood and align your baskets on the barn wood so they are spaced out evenly. Mark each spot centered on the barn wood with a measuring tape and pencil. This is where your light sockets will be.
Step 2: Take your hole saw {use the size that best fits your light sockets} and drill a hole in each spot you marked in step 1. You can also use a speedbor bit for this. Step 3: Place your light bulb sockets in each hole. If they don’t fit snug, hot glue them in place flush with the bottom of your barn wood. Step 4: Wire your light sockets together starting at one end. Do this by stripping off a small portion of the insulation {This is the plastic on the outside of your wire} on your chandelier wire at each light socket. Make sure you wire the same sides with the same wire all the way down. So the wire on the right, needs to be wired to the right side of each socket . They cannot cross or it will not work. Wrap the wire around each screw and tighten it with a screw driver. Continue wiring the electrical on all five light sockets. Step 5: Some baskets might need to be cut in order for the light socket to fit through. We had to alter 4 of our 5 baskets. We cut the bottoms of the baskets with wire cutters.
Step 6: Next, attach your baskets with baling wire. You can do this in a lot of ways, but we wanted ours to look rustic. So, we drilled two holes in four locations on each basket and looped the baling wire around each basket to secure them in place.
Step 7: Cut a hole in each end of your barn wood the same size as your rope, our rope was 3/4 inch. The length of your rope will depend on how high or how low you hang your chandelier from your ceiling. We tied a simple knot in the rope to hold the barn wood in place. Wrap your electrical wire around your rope on one side. When you get to the very top, leave yourself enough wire to either swag {like we did through the chain}, or wire directly into your existing electrical box.
Next paint your wall. HA, just kidding. But if you want to see a funny video of us painting over our orange wall, you can find it HERE.
Step 8: Hang your chandelier directly above your table. In our kitchen, our electrical box has never been directly over the table. So, we used a swag hook to center it. Make sure you anchor your chandelier into a stud/roof truss.
I love that you can see the light sockets on top. It makes it look a lot more rustic that way! I added a little greenery to the top for decoration.
If you missed the post about our cute kitchen signs, check it out! I get comments about the signs and our chandelier all the time!
I wish pictures did it justice, but they just don’t!
I’m in love with the new feel of my house. Our kitchen is coming together at last! When we painted over the orange wall, it began a transformation for the better! It finally feels calm, fresh, and farmhouse.
I hope you like it too! xoxo, Brooke
Published on March 25, 2013
30 thoughts on “Wire basket chandelier tutorial {FINALLY!}”
This, along with your birdhouse chandelier are my favorite projects of yours! Incredible.
I love it! I saw it in your painting video when you posted it, and wondered…and looked forward to this day! Thanks for sharing, it’s fantastic! Debbie 🙂
Absolutely love this idea! Now if I can get my husband to make one to replace an ugly old ceiling fan! Where did you purchase your chandelier kit? I’ve never done any lighting projects so I am not exactly sure what I am looking for. Thanks!!
I LOVE this!! I am in love with the blue kitchen and the new farmhouse feel. It is SO expensive to find artistic elements to spice up a space and make it interesting. The light fixture is totally unique and the wall art, too. Just love it!!
VERY, very cute! I just purchased an ooollldd metal funnel at a garage sale (with a great patina (sp?)!) and a wire/cord set from World Market. I can’t wait to rig it up and see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing this post, and giving me the inspiration I need to get up and actually complete my project! 🙂
Here in Australia it is illegal to wire directly into your mains. You would need a qualified electrician to do that. Also lamp fittings here in Australia would not be allowed to set into wood directly due to overheating issues. However!!!! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this little number and will be changing a few things to make it safer for my home. Gorgeous!
I make such things as well, though in much different styles… One of the things I have used to get round the overheating issue is to use electrical nipples and hexnuts as a spacer for the bulb fitting . That way, there is a piece of metal contacting the wood, not the light fitting itself.
Another great project by Brooke! I love seeing what you have up your sleeves. I’m sure you would have to spend a fortune for a light fixture like this at stores such as Anthropologie or Restoration Hardware. Great DIY!
what??? this is the most amazing project ive seen in blog land! sooo cute! would fit perfectly into my home:-) i have to tell you that i secretly hope i will one day bump into you at the St George DI…. you are an amazing person. Thank you for being willing to share all of your talent and time with us!
I made one like this this weekend! It is perfect! Thank goodness my hubby is an electrician so he put it together for me. Thanks for the wonderful idea!
Well to make a long story kinda short, I had a stillborn baby at 22 weeks on June 29, 2013. We then had to go on with life as normal as I could for our older children. We left for our son’s baseball tournament that next week after we had a little funeral for our little angel.. From there we went on our planned vacation for a week. When we came home we came back to a beautifully landscaped yard and a clean house done by our family and friends. One of the surprises my sister made for me in the house was a light fixture inspired by this one. It is the most beautiful thing. Thank you for inspiring others Brooke
I love this idea!! I am going to be sharing this with my husband to make a smaller version of it…maybe 3 baskets across instead…since our dining room isn’t that big. Thank you for the idea!
This, along with your birdhouse chandelier are my favorite projects of yours! Incredible.
LOVE THIS Brooke! It’s so unique and creative! Not to mention AWESOME. 🙂
Also… CALL ME!
Fantastic idea. You come up some very inexpensive and fabulous ideas.
love it!!
I love it! I saw it in your painting video when you posted it, and wondered…and looked forward to this day! Thanks for sharing, it’s fantastic!
Debbie 🙂
Love it Brooke! Great tutorial 🙂 Scheduling for pins
Absolutely love this idea! Now if I can get my husband to make one to replace an ugly old ceiling fan! Where did you purchase your chandelier kit? I’ve never done any lighting projects so I am not exactly sure what I am looking for. Thanks!!
I have a wire basket I need to do something with-this is perfect! Thanks for the great idea.
What an incredibly genius idea!! This is super cute!! Totally love it!!
WOW!! Love how your kitchen is coming together!!! This looks gorgeous and again, I LOVE the new paint job!!
XOXO, Mallory @ Classy Clutter
I believe this is in my future! Just absolutely LOVE IT!!
I LOVE this!! I am in love with the blue kitchen and the new farmhouse feel. It is SO expensive to find artistic elements to spice up a space and make it interesting. The light fixture is totally unique and the wall art, too. Just love it!!
VERY, very cute! I just purchased an ooollldd metal funnel at a garage sale (with a great patina (sp?)!) and a wire/cord set from World Market. I can’t wait to rig it up and see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing this post, and giving me the inspiration I need to get up and actually complete my project! 🙂
~Jillian
Teapots & What-Nots
Here in Australia it is illegal to wire directly into your mains. You would need a qualified electrician to do that. Also lamp fittings here in Australia would not be allowed to set into wood directly due to overheating issues. However!!!! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this little number and will be changing a few things to make it safer for my home. Gorgeous!
Those are some things I wondered about, too. I’d probably ask an electrician before attempting it but it sure looks cute!
Hello!
I make such things as well, though in much different styles… One of the things I have used to get round the overheating issue is to use electrical nipples and hexnuts as a spacer for the bulb fitting . That way, there is a piece of metal contacting the wood, not the light fitting itself.
Woo – very, very pretty!! It’s so lovely!
Had to Pin this! Thanks for the tutorial.
Rita
Another great project by Brooke! I love seeing what you have up your sleeves. I’m sure you would have to spend a fortune for a light fixture like this at stores such as Anthropologie or Restoration Hardware. Great DIY!
What a great way to freshen up a space! Loving the teal one in the middle!
I love your blog! Definitely following now, stay in touch xx
thedailysugar.blogspot.com
what??? this is the most amazing project ive seen in blog land! sooo cute! would fit perfectly into my home:-) i have to tell you that i secretly hope i will one day bump into you at the St George DI…. you are an amazing person. Thank you for being willing to share all of your talent and time with us!
I made one like this this weekend! It is perfect! Thank goodness my hubby is an electrician so he put it together for me. Thanks for the wonderful idea!
This is so nice!! Thank you for posting such a great and detailed tutorial!!
Well to make a long story kinda short, I had a stillborn baby at 22 weeks on June 29, 2013. We then had to go on with life as normal as I could for our older children. We left for our son’s baseball tournament that next week after we had a little funeral for our little angel.. From there we went on our planned vacation for a week. When we came home we came back to a beautifully landscaped yard and a clean house done by our family and friends. One of the surprises my sister made for me in the house was a light fixture inspired by this one. It is the most beautiful thing. Thank you for inspiring others Brooke
I love this idea!! I am going to be sharing this with my husband to make a smaller version of it…maybe 3 baskets across instead…since our dining room isn’t that big. Thank you for the idea!
i never knew how to wire a multi light fixture before your tut was great and so is that scrumptious chandy xx
Do the MDF boards/molding come in white, or did you paint them?
Yes you can get MDF that is primed with white.