Upcycled Bottle Chandelier
/Use upcycled wine bottles to create inexpensive lighting for a wine cellar, kitchen, bar or dining room.
TOOLS
- utility knife
- glass-cutting tool
- drill with 1” paddle bit
MATERIALS
- wine bottles in assorted colors and heights
- damp cloth
- lamp sockets and wire
Clean the Bottles
Collect an assortment of discarded wine bottles ranging in different heights and colors. Remove labels using utility knife and damp cloth. Once most residue is gone, rinse bottles in sink with running water. TIP: Some labels are more difficult to remove than others. Consider soaking them in water until the paper and glue soften.
Score Bottles
Place each wine bottle upright on a flat, even surface. Use glass cutting tool to score the perimeter of the bottle, approximately 1/2” up from the bottom. Once completely scored, knock bottom of bottle loose using hammer. The hammer should create a clean break, causing the bottom to drop off in one piece. NOTE: The bottoms of the bottles are removed so that the sockets and light bulbs can be placed inside.
Add Wire to Sockets
Cut lamp wire with wire cutters into 16” strands which should account for the proper span needed between the socket and the junction box which each socket will be screwed into. Attach each end of the wire to the corresponding positive or negative screw located inside each socket using screwdriver. Repeat this step for all wine bottles.
Ensure Proper Socket Fitting
Insert light bulb into socket and ensure a level fit by placing sockets up inside of each of the bottles. Repeat this step for all wine bottles.
Cut Wood Plank to Size
Depending on the desired length of your wine bottle chandelier, cut the plank of 2” by 8' pine to size using reciprocating saw or circular saw. NOTE: The remaining portion of wood will be used to create a ceiling canopy which should be at least 24” long. If your wine bottle chandelier is intended to be 6 feet long or smaller, the remaining pine will be sufficient enough to make the canopy.
Stain the Plank
Use damp cloth to add two even coats of self-sealing wood stain to 2” x 10’ pine plank.
Drill Holes for the Bottles
Using drill and 1” paddle bit, add holes directly through the pine plank spaced approximately 8 inches apart.
Test Fit
With the bottle-holding plank placed along a flat, level surface, place wine bottles upside down into drilled holes to ensure a tight, secure fit.
Add and Conceal Junction Box
Attach shallow square plastic junction box along the center of the top of bottle-holding plank using drill. Create a fascia to hide the junction box from view by making a four-sided frame using 1” by 2” pine fascia trim, miter saw and wood screws. Place fascia around junction box and test all socket wires for proper length. NOTE: To electrify the chandelier, lamp wires from all wine bottles will connect together in the junction box, then be transferred to the ceiling through one central grounded wire permanently affixed to the main junction box of the ceiling.
Create the Ceiling Canopy Piece
A ceiling canopy will be attached directly to the surface of the ceiling and be used to suspend chain which will hold the bottle-holding plank. Create the ceiling canopy from the remaining 2” x 8’ pine, first by staining it with two coats of the self-sealing wood stain. Next, use drill to add two central holes into the canopy spaced wide enough for securing the canopy tightly to the ceiling-mounted junction box. Add a third hole roughly 1 inch from the other two, wide enough to feed lamp wire up through the wood plank and into the ceiling-mounted junction box.
Add Hanging Hardware
Attach six hook eyes to the wood plank for securing each strand of chain. When all hook eyes are in position, do a dry run by attaching the ceiling canopy to the ceiling with screws up through the holes and into the junction box. Attach chain to hook eyes, then cut chain to proper length using bolt cutters.
Suspend Bottle-Holding Plank
Suspend bottle-holding plank from ceiling canopy with chain. Use caulk gun to add silicone along surface of drilled holes. Next, insert wine bottles up into holes until securely and snugly in place, then insert sockets up through the wine bottles and through drilled holes of plank.
Feed Wires to Junction Box
Feed each socket’s wires up through the holes and into the central junction box. Lastly, with the help of a friend, remove screws from canopy, then insert grounded wire from the bottle-holding plank’s junction box up through the small, drilled hole of the canopy and into the junction box of the ceiling. Re-attach canopy, then turn on light switch to test chandelier.
