DIY Wire Lampshade Decor

One of my favorite DIY projects from the Mom Cave I decorated and designed from the SLC Home Show was the wire lampshade chandelier. These wire lampshades are great because you can upcycle an old lampshade you have laying around or find a cheap, old lampshade from your local thrift store. You can really personalize your wire lampshade chandelier exactly like you want it. While I wanted mine to be shabby chic, yours could work for a more modern room with a cleaner, brighter look. You can choose various lampshade shapes, leave it bare wire or wrap it with various lace, ribbon, or fabric, and you can add fun embellishments to make your chandelier really stand out. This tutorial is simple and you can tweak it however you like!

Supplies and Tools

old lampshades
ribbon, lace, or fabric
any embellishments
scissors
hot glue gun

Step 1: Using scissors, cut and tear off all of the old fabric from your lampshade. This doesn’t have to be perfect or clean at all, you just want to get it all off! Make sure the wire is totally clean and looks bare.

Step 2: Choose the fabric, ribbon, or lace that you want to use. You can cover the lampshade (I did this with the beige lace), wrap strips around the wire (I did this with the rectangular, cream one), or wrap strips around from top to bottom (I did this with the light pink lace). Get creative with how you wrap or cover the lampshade! Make sure to use hot glue to secure the lace as you wrap. This will vary depending on how you wrap the lampshade. For the cream one that I wrapped only around the wire, I used little dabs of hot glue every few inches to secure. For the pink one that I wrapped from top to bottom of the lampshade, I mainly only used hot glue at the beginning and end it secure it. Depending on how you wrap your lampshade, you can change how you glue it to fit what you need.

Step 3: If you prefer, add any embellishments with clips or hot glue. I love to add a little bling to mine! Also, Most lampshades have some kind of wire inside that would normally hold the lampshade onto the lamp. Tie ribbon, lace, or string to this wire inside to hang your chandelier. Hang them at varying heights and distances from one another. I love this effect!

This is my favorite kind of craft- one that can be completely adapted and individualized to your personal taste! I loved this simple DIY project because it really adds character to any room. Check out the tour of the Mom Cave I decorated and designed these lampshades for.

I shared these ideas on a local Utah show. You can check out the segment on Good Things Utah.