DIY Tutorial: Turquoise Bead Chandelier

DIY Tutorial: Turquoise Bead Chandelier

diy turquoise bead chandelier

I am so excited to finally share this tutorial with you – a tutorial that sprouted in my brain nearly a year ago, as I was walking through World Market.

I spotted this wood bead chandelier,

world market

world market

and instantly, I saw this.

 

I have loved that Majorie Skouras chandelier for years, and the semi-precious stones on it are beautiful.  Of course, it is also $4800.  (as it should be because it is amazing and spectacular)  So my wheels started turning, and I went up to the cash register, plopped down my 40% off coupon and was promptly told this chandelier was backordered.  I still placed my order and was told it would be a few weeks.  Those weeks turned into months, MONTHS, and finally, I got a call that it was here.  It was great timing too because I wanted to do a piece of lighting over the table in my Home Depot Patio Challenge that was really special.

To do this DIY, the first thing you need to do is tape the chandelier so no paint will get on the cord or bulb area or metal rim that goes along the outside.  This means lots of strips of painter’s tape.  This part is the most time consuming and labor intensive, but it is necessary and important.  (the actual lighting part of the chandelier was wrapped in a grocery bag and taped tightly)  My sweet babysitter, Anna, was the lucky one that got to do this part of the DIY.  She knocked it out during nap time, and she did an awesome job, so many thanks to her!

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Because of all of the spray painting, this is definitely an outside job, and it is best to find a place to hang your chandelier where you can see all sides of it.

You can view in this photo how I rigged mine, ha!  The heaviness of the yard cart really held everything together here.  : )

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I did prime the chandelier simply because it seemed like the wood beads had a coating on the outside of them, and I was worried the paint would not stick.  Rather, I did not want to take the chance of the paint not sticking, so I primed it.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just get a light coat on everything.

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Next comes the turquoise paint.  I actually bought a few different colors to see which one looked authentic, and Rustoleum’s Maui Blue won hands down.  You need to get it in Gloss.  (I got mine at Home Depot)  I thought this paint ended up looking really authentic when it was all said and done.  The beads have a lovely sheen to them, and it does not look “painted”.  The fact that this paint has an enamel quality to it is to your advantage in this project.

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You may be wondering about how to get paint on all sides of the beads.  It actually was not all that hard because the air from the spray paint kind of pushes the beads in a rotation so paint covers the spheres.  That was a nice, unexpected perk of spray painting this fixture rather than brushing it, but I did have to open the bead strands in a few places, stick my arm in, and spray the inside.  I did two good coats and then let the chandelier dry overnight.

The next day, I took all of the tape off (this takes some time!) and touched up places where the paint got through with nail polish remover and a q-tip.  Then it was time to start gluing the yellow beads.  I didn’t know much about beads before I started this project, but after some conversations with local bead stores, I realized it would be best to use cabochon beads, which are flat on on side.   You don’t have to use cabochon beads as long as your beads are not super round.

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Gluing the beads took no time at all, and then my chandelier was complete!

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I probably won’t keep this chandelier on the porch forever, but it has been fun and pretty to have out there for awhile.

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Written by Grace

 

 

26 Comments
  • Mary F.
    Posted at 09:07h, 08 July Reply

    Bravo! That is gorgeous!

    • Grace
      Posted at 15:58h, 08 July Reply

      Thanks Mary F! In all honesty, it turned out better than I even thought it would! 🙂 G

  • Rana
    Posted at 09:56h, 08 July Reply

    That it’s such a beautiful chandelier.

    • Grace
      Posted at 15:59h, 08 July Reply

      Thank you, Rana! I was even impressed with how well it turned out. 🙂 Thanks for commenting, G

  • Beth
    Posted at 10:31h, 08 July Reply

    WOW. I’ve been salivating over the expensive versions of this fixture for a couple of years. Thanks so much for sharing your source and your tutorial. I’m so excited to do this for myself. What kind of glue did you use to glue on the flat beads? Thanks so much.

    • Grace
      Posted at 16:00h, 08 July Reply

      Hi Beth, you and me both! 🙂 I used hot glue to glue on the beads. Good luck! I would love to see a photo when you are done. G

  • Andrea Jay
    Posted at 11:58h, 08 July Reply

    What a great DIY. It seems quite doable. My only question is, how do you find a 40% off coupon to World Market?

    • Grace
      Posted at 16:04h, 08 July Reply

      Hey Andrea, they usually have a coupon going (and they will often have it at the register if you ask), but towards the end of a season, they will have some big sales. I would just keep an eye out as they will probably have a big blow out close to fall. I would also sign up for the emails – you can get some good coupons that way, too. I think it’s called being a “World Market Explorer”. Hope that helps! G

  • Tiffany
    Posted at 12:11h, 08 July Reply

    Grace you NAILED IT! Love it.

    • Grace
      Posted at 16:04h, 08 July Reply

      Thanks Tiffany! xo, G

  • Emily
    Posted at 12:13h, 08 July Reply

    I can’t believe you got this idea in your head. I would have been scared to death to take this on, but boy I’m glad you did because the results are amazing! It resembles your inspiration piece very much and it turned out great Grace. I’m impressed!

    • Grace
      Posted at 16:06h, 08 July Reply

      Emily, ha! Thanks a bunch. I think you could do this chandelier in all sorts of colors, and it would be pretty. Emerald green beads with blue stones would be beautiful – you can tailor it to your favorite colors which I think could be fun. Thanks for your comment, xo, G

  • Chrissy
    Posted at 14:26h, 08 July Reply

    This is beautiful! I have totally been in love with this style for a while. How do you get such awesome coupons btw? Is it for the trade or is there an awesome mailing list I am missing?

    • Grace
      Posted at 16:08h, 08 July Reply

      Hey Chrissy, thank you! There is usually a coupon going, but you can sign up with their World Market Explorer program and get rewards and even better coupons. Plus they have pretty big sales. I commented back to another gal with more in depth info if you want to glance at it. Hope that helps, thanks so much for your comment! G

  • caroline [the diy nurse]
    Posted at 17:58h, 08 July Reply

    Its stunning! And it looks so expensive. I love that someone could do this with white and wooden beads for a more coastal look or whatever they pleased 🙂 Good job!

    • Grace
      Posted at 09:24h, 15 July Reply

      Caroline, thank you! And yes, I would love for people to try different colors. I’m already kind of itching to change mine now that I’ve imagined all of these beautiful color combos in my head. Ha. 🙂 You should do one! Send me a pic. xo, G

  • Kristin Jackson
    Posted at 18:38h, 08 July Reply

    I have wanted to do this for ages!!!!! So glad you, my genius friend, tackled it!!! It looks absolutely amazing & I love that floral wall too. Xx

    • Grace
      Posted at 09:25h, 15 July Reply

      Kristin, great minds think alike. 🙂 Miss you. xo

  • Laura Ingalls Gunn
    Posted at 06:00h, 11 July Reply

    Completely gorgeous and wonderful festive!

    • Grace
      Posted at 09:22h, 15 July Reply

      Thank you, Laura! It feels very festive when you are out there in real life. 🙂 xo, G

  • Renea
    Posted at 06:47h, 11 July Reply

    Love this chandelier! It looks awesome on your porch. I also notice your seagrass rugs. I’ve been searching for those specifically. Ikea used to carry them. Where did you find them?

    • Grace
      Posted at 09:21h, 15 July Reply

      Thanks Renea! Yes, I love that rug, too. I actually found it at World Market. Here’s the link:

      http://www.worldmarket.com/search.do?query=seagrass+rug

      You can get a big one, but I used the 3×5 ones and put them together to make the size I needed. Hope that helps! G

  • Dacia @ Lemon Drop Life
    Posted at 11:26h, 21 July Reply

    This turned out beautifully!

    • Grace
      Posted at 15:27h, 22 July Reply

      Dacia, thank you so much! It did turn out even better than I imagined. Always good. 🙂 G

  • Grace Mitchell
    Posted at 12:05h, 09 November Reply

    Looks great!! I am doing one myself. What size bead is best to glue?? I am looking for some now and I’m not sure what the dimensions of the iron strip on the fixture is.

  • Lacee
    Posted at 00:17h, 18 December Reply

    Where did you get your 40% off coupon?? Great idea!!!

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