When I was an undergrad in college, I often found myself wishing that
design blogs and magazines had decorating tips for my particular
lifestyle. That lifestyle being living with no money in a veritable shoe
box with poor air conditioning, loud neighbors, communal bathrooms and a
suspicious smell. Although I perused various design websites on a daily
basis, bookmarking things for my future “dream home,” I couldn’t find
things to use in the present moment, things that would help me transform
my decrepit cinderblock dorm room into something even remotely homey.
So all you freshman design aficionados and first-time renters with
work-study jobs: This series is for you. Over the next several weeks,
this column will feature cheap, quick and shockingly easy tips for
brightening your dorms, apartments and general student life. Horrible
posters and ratty dorm furniture be gone — Design*Sponge is going to
college!
Our first DIY is sure to brighten up your midterm study sessions!
Dorm rooms can be pretty depressing places, but even they can be made
magnificent and regal with the right touch — like a shimmering
chandelier (that
happens to be made out of metal clothes hangers and duct tape).
Although we would never encourage purchasing wire hangers (haven’t you
seen
Mommie Dearest?),
sometimes you just end up with one — or several hundred. If this is the
case, you’ve already got most of the supplies for this low-budget
project! So get the rest of your supplies together and join us after the
jump! —
Max
Alright, now that you’ve gathered your supplies — many of which you
probably already had (isn’t decorating fun?) — it’s time to start! Here
are the directions:
1. Take your wire hangers and, one at a time, unwind the hook section
so that it’s completely separated. With two pliers (or your hands if
you’re Superman), straighten the bends in the wire by holding a plier at
either side of the bend and bending in the opposite direction.
2. Once each of the 10 hangers is completely unwound and
straightened, bunch them so that all of their hooks are together and
pointing in the same direction.
3. Holding your bunch of wires in place, start rolling strips of duct
tape around the bunch, beginning near the hooks. Work your way down
until about 1/2 of the wire bunch is covered in duct tape. We used
alternating strips of neon pink and metallic silver tape for some added
snazziness. Colored duct tapes can usually be picked up at any art,
craft supply or hardware store.
This is kind of what it should look like at this point (minus the string lights — we’re not there yet):
4. Now, take 5 of your wires and bend them so that they curve gently
upward. This will be the first tier of your chandelier. If your wires
are looking freakishly long and this isn’t to your liking, use a wire
cutter or the wire cutter section of your pliers to trim off the excess.
5. With the 5 remaining unbent wires, continue duct taping for about another 6 inches (give or take, no need to be precise).
6. Bend the rest of the wires upward in a similar fashion. Position
the bent wires so that each is pointing in a different direction around
the circumference of the wire bunch.
This is kind of what it should look like at that point:
Admittedly, it will look like a wonky Dr. Seuss contraption at this point, but have patience! You’re almost done!
7. Take all of the light bulbs off your string lights and place them
in a bowl or similar vessel. This step is incredibly important if you
don’t want to end up sweeping broken glass all night long when you
should be doing homework. Or partying.
8. Tape the side of the cord with the two-pronged plug near the top of your chandelier.
9. Spiral the cord down along the shaft of the chandelier until you
reach your first tier. Then wind the cord around each wire of the tier,
to the tip and then back to the center. You can hold the lights in place
by using the clips that are often attached t0 each light. Repeat on the
second tier, then hide the plug somewhere in the middle.
10. Put the light bulbs back on!
11. All that’s left is to hang that thing! Screw a simple ceiling
hook (available at most hardware stores) into your ceiling to latch the
hooks onto. Then plug your extension cord into the lights and run it
along the ceiling and wall with some of your handy-dandy duct tape!
12. BAM! DONE! INSTANT CLASS! Now it’s time to impress all your roommates and friends with your ultra-swanky chandelier!