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This Easy DIY Pendant Project Costs a Mere $35 (And Doesn't Require Any Wiring)

A budget-minded blogger dreamed up this battery-operated pendant that couldn't be easier to install.

By Mallory Abreu March 19, 2020
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Timisha Porcher/Toolbox Divas, LLC

Looking for the final touch for a home office she designed for a friend, blogger Timisha Porcher suddenly had a lightbulb go off. Or on, really. "I saw a chandelier in a magazine for around $300 (too expensive) but I thought, I can make that," she says. A mere $35 and two hours later, the pendant was cut, drilled, and glued into existence in this Baltimore home. Because there was no ceiling light in the room, Timisha used battery-operated LED puck lights with a remote control. Fabric attached to the bottom of the shade with hook-and-loop tape hides the inner workings but provides easy access to pucks to change batteries. Follow the how-to below to make your own pendant light.

  • Working time 2 hrs
  • Start to finish 2 hrs
  • Difficulty Kind of Easy
  • Involves Drilling, Staining, Gluing, Cutting Fabric
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What you need

Tools
Materials
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How to do it

Step 1

Make the Wood Topper

To create a decorative topper for your pendant, gather a variety of wood finials with interesting silhouettes. Drill through the center of each wood piece, then stain if desired. (Timisha sprayed on a powder-base wood dye then buffed it in.)

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Step 2

Attach Lights to Stir Sticks

Stack the paint stir sticks on top of each other and mark the center; drill through the center of the stack. Hot-glue the bottom of a puck light to both ends of each stir stick. (The light tops twist off for battery changes.)

Step 3

Create the Light Frame

Assemble the stir sticks to form a frame for the bottom of the drum shade. Thread one end of the rope through the holes of the sticks and knot. Fan the sticks out like a sunburst and hot-glue them together.

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Step 4

Make a Fabric Diffuser

To create a diffuser for the bottom of the shade, cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the diameter of the shade. Glue one side of the hook-and-loop tape along the inside edge of the bottom of the shade and the other to the fabric edge. Pleat the fabric as you go so it won't bunch up when hung.

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Step 5

Finish Assembly

Thread the end of the rope through the PVC pipe and the shade. String the wood finials onto the remaining rope at the top. Attach fabric diffuser to the bottom of the shade using hook and loop tape.

Step 6

Hang the Fixture

To hang the pendant, create a loop on the loose end of the rope and secure with a rubber band. Wrap the rubber band with ribbon. Screw a swag hook into the ceiling and hang the light.

By Mallory Abreu
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