We have repurposed an old electric wagon wheel chandelier into this beautiful and functional Solar Porch Chandelier!
Projects are always fun from the planning to the doing and then the viewing!
Our front porch makeover project is a multi-step process with small projects built into it. The first part to be completed is the part I’m sharing today, The Solar Powered Chandelier Makeover.
The inspiration for our outdoor chandelier came from 2 places. This first one was this outdoor chandelier we saw on a Secret Garden Stroll back in the spring. Our second inspiration came from an outdoor chandelier we saw for sale at a local marketplace event, also back in the spring. The vendor had used tea cups to create little planters from which were hanging ivy vines. I have one very similar to it on my Yard & Garden Pinterest board which you can see here.
We enjoyed the shopping process while hunting for a chandelier that would suit us. We looked at quite a few in flea markets, thrift stores and the Habitat for Humanity Home Store. We actually purchased an lovely wall sconce at the Habitat for Humanity store which we repurposed into a Tea Cup Sconce Planter for the porch. My favorite thrift store was having a sale! Now, if you’re a thriftier, a sale at a thrift store is a big deal! We found ‘the one’ at the sale and I enjoyed ‘dickering’ the price down. I was able to get it for $7 less than asking and paid only $12 for it! Budget friendly is a must for any project! Sorry I forgot to take a picture while the big ugly light covers were still on it. We kept those to repurpose later. 
After removing those ugly light shades, we placed the chandelier onto a couple of saw horses and gave it a good scrubbing. It’s pretty ugly right now. You really do need to have a vision on these type of projects! Stacy removed all of the faux oil lamps and all electric lighting cords to prepare the chandelier for the painting process. 
This is the paint we selected at Michael’s. Always check with Michaels when you need spray paint for projects. It’s never, or rarely on sale so you can use their 40% off coupon code! 
I wrapped the chain while painting the wood. The chain was later painted to match the faux oil lamps. I applied 2 coats of paint and 2 coats of lacquer to the wood. 
A coat of fresh paint can make amazing transformations, can’t it?! Stacy gave these faux oil lamps 2 coats of fresh paint. He also covered the wood with paper and painted the chain to match the faux oil lamps. Time to put it all back together! 
You only need 2 tools for this project: Ratchet or wrench Screwdriver Once he had it all put back together, it was time to attach the lighting features. We selected these, Hampton Bay Solar Path Light 6 pack. The only part of the solar lights we used was the decorative lighting part. The poles which would normally be stuck into the ground to support the lights, will be repurposed as guides for the water hose in the yard to keep the hose from crushing flowers and shrubs. (my Marigolds will be happy!) 
Stacy used Gorilla Glue to attach the solar lights into the place where a bulb would normally be. FYI, Gorilla Glue dries white so don’t make a mess! 
The chandelier is complete and ready to hang! The pulley system will allow us to lower the chandelier in the event that the solar panels don’t charge sufficiently. We were concerned about this because the solar panels are on the top of the lights which will be facing the ceiling. Out front porch gets full sun in the afternoons so we thought we would be ok. There may be a need to lower the chandelier in the winter time when the sun doesn’t shine so bright though. 
After the Solar Chandelier had been hung for several days, we discovered the panels DO get sufficient sunlight to charge every day. We both love the pulley system with the rope because it adds to the rustic ambience of the chandelier and of course if the need arises, the chandelier can be easily accessed. 
We both love the way our Solar Chandelier turned out! (a storm blew down those siding pieces and it sticks out like a sore thumb, that is on the porch project to-do list!)
It’s a little hard to tell but this is a night time picture with the solar lights on. It really does create a cozy, romantic ambience on the front porch. We did not keep up with our total costs on this project but I believe I can safely say it is under $50 which is awesome! Now onto the next part of our front porch makeover. I’m learning to sew! I will share my next project with you later this week! Have you done a budget friendly summer project this year?
Linked up here: Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party, Week 35, This Momma’s Meandering Mondays 54, Parenting Pin-It Party #60, Bump Date and Blog Hop, Merry Monday Linky Party #10, Happiness is Homemade Link Party #27, Motivation Monday Linky Party #98, Turn It Up Tuesday!, What’d You Do This Weekend? #35, Project Inspire{d} Week #74 Party and Features, Create Link Inspire Linky Party #32, Create It Thursday #62 (Plus Features), Cook it! Craft it! Share it! Link Party #12, Link Up Party # 6 , Best Of The Weekend Party, The Art of Home-Making Mondays ~ Please Join Us for Link Up #9 , Scraptastic Saturday
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Shirley Wood
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Danielle@DIYDanielle says
June 3, 2016 at 9:36 pmGreat transformation! Thanks for linking up #SustainableSundays
Just Plain Marie says
June 2, 2016 at 8:59 pmWhat a wonderful transformation. It’s fabulous when things that might head to the landfill can be revived and made beautiful and useful.
Thank you so much for sharing with us at Sustainable Sundays! I look forward to seeing what you share with us next week.
Kayla says
May 30, 2016 at 8:14 pmNot only did you repurpose this project, but you made it solar too! I love it!
Susie at Oui Crochet says
May 29, 2016 at 11:08 pmWow! What a great project!!! I love that it is solar!
Visiting from #SustainableSundays
Kristina & Millie says
May 18, 2015 at 10:13 pmHow awesome?!? I love this almost as much as the tea cup sconces! I think the rope pulley, while it ended up not being needed per se, is a brilliant idea! I love the vibe and will have to figure out a way to do one of these solar chandeliers myself 🙂 Thanks for sharing with the creative challenge!
Andrea Fogleman says
January 13, 2015 at 7:28 pmI love how you turned it into solar powered. Fantastic job it’s awesome! Thanks for linking up to Scraptastic Saturdays.
JES says
July 19, 2014 at 9:56 amThanks for sharing your creativity on the Art of Home-Making Mondays! Please join us again next week!
Gentle Joy says
July 14, 2014 at 1:09 pmWhat a wonderful idea…. I love the look of it and the reusing of items for a different purpose. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Shirley Wood says
July 14, 2014 at 1:22 pmThanks for stopping by. We had fun on this project and are really enjoying it on our front porch!
JES says
July 14, 2014 at 10:03 amWhat a neat DIY project~ thanks for sharing! I found you at the “So Much at Home” Link up and wanted to invite you to our weekly link up on the Art of Home-Making Mondays too… Hope you can join us 🙂
Shirley Wood says
July 14, 2014 at 10:08 amThank you for the kind words and the invitation, Jes. I’m on my way to your party!
Emily says
July 10, 2014 at 10:00 pmI love this idea!! What a great project! thanks so much for linking up to Create Link Inspire party! Emily
Shirley Wood says
July 11, 2014 at 8:18 amIt was indeed a fun project to do with my sweet husband. Thanks for stopping by,Emily.
Treana @ House of Bennetts says
July 10, 2014 at 3:30 pmSo cute! Projects like these always have multiple steps and to see them laid out like this is super helpful! Thank you so much for sharing on the Merry Monday Linky Party! We hope you will join us next week. – Treana from http://houseofbennetts.com
Kim @ The Cookie Puzzle says
July 8, 2014 at 9:23 pmWhat a great idea! I can not wait to try this…Pinning it now!
Shirley Wood says
July 8, 2014 at 10:23 pmThanks Kim. Please be sure to tag me when you make one. I’d love to see yours too! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the Pin 🙂
Carolin says
July 8, 2014 at 6:29 amWow, I can’t believe that you made this for less than $50. Such a clever idea and so unique.
Thanks for linking up with the Monday Parenting Pin It Party!
Shirley Wood says
July 8, 2014 at 6:46 amThanks Carolin. The only purchases we made was for the chandelier and the paint which was under $50. Those thrift store finds are awesome!
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
July 7, 2014 at 3:49 pmWhat an awesome project, and all for under $50! Love the tip about the spray paint, too. I always buy it full price at Home Depot and forget that I can get a better deal at Michael’s.
Kristen from The Road to Domestication says
July 7, 2014 at 3:33 pmThis is SO cool, Shirley! I’m actually in the process of re-doing my BACK porch LOL
Neatly-Packaged says
July 7, 2014 at 2:25 pmVery cool!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
http://neatly-packaged.blogspot.com/
Anna @ Northern Homestead says
July 7, 2014 at 11:59 amOh wow, I really had to go back to the first picture to see if it is the same chandelier as you bought, what a transformation! Love it, you did an awesome job!
Shirley Wood says
July 7, 2014 at 12:32 pmThanks Anna. A little paint make a big difference! It was not hard at all and very inexpensive.
Sarah says
July 7, 2014 at 10:55 amThat turned out beautifully!
Shirley Wood says
July 7, 2014 at 11:27 amThank you Sarah.
Logan says
July 7, 2014 at 9:51 amWow that’s awesome! I love that it is so budget friendly.
Shirley Wood says
July 7, 2014 at 11:27 amThanks Logan. We enjoyed the fact that it didn’t break the budget!
Alli says
July 7, 2014 at 7:40 amI love to see things redone and spray paint is my BFF! Love what you did with the old chandelier to revive it and make it your own. It’s neat that you used the solar lights – never thought of that one!
Shirley Wood says
July 7, 2014 at 11:26 amThanks Alli. We are sort of on the warpath around here with the power bill. Really trying to be creative with ways to cut energy cost. Since we already had the Porch makeover project underway, we thought why not make our chandelier into solar instead of with plants hanging from it!