DIY: Birdcage lamp

AvatarCaxton magazines staff
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Upcycling pro, Sacha Olivier shows you how to transform an old birdcage into a gorgeous table lamp

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

  • A birdcage; hunt around in thrift shops to find an old one or buy a new decorative one. Look for one with a base that simply clips on and off.
  • A mini chandelier

PUTTING YOUR TABLE LAMP TOGETHER:

  1. Spray the birdcage with Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover in Flat White. Don’t worry about getting this coat of spray paint even; the idea is to give the birdcage a worn, vintage look. Once the paint is dry, you can enhance this aged feel by rubbing sandpaper over certain areas to expose some of the base colour underneath.
  2. Your mini chandelier will likely have a ceiling cup that’s intended to fit against the ceiling; remove this and any other fittings located at the top of its cord, but leave a little of the chain if you’d prefer to hang it as I did (step 5).
  3. Using a wire stripper, strip away about 2cm of the insulation at the top of the chandelier’s cord to expose the wires.
  4. Remove the base of the birdcage by releasing the clips.
  5. Drill a small hole in the middle of the top of the birdcage and feed the cord of the chandelier through it. Pull the cord so that the chandelier is hanging in the middle of the cage; you can use small white cable ties to secure it. I simply attached the chandelier’s chain to a key ring and secured this onto the birdcage’s ring, and fed the cord out the side.
  6. Reattach the base of your birdcage by securing the clips.
  7. Cut the chandelier’s cord to the desired length using pliers and connect it to a three-pin pronged plug. This is a fairly simple job, but if you’re not feeling confident it’s best to ask an electrician for help.

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