What do you get when you marry a floor lamp and a chandelier? A fabulous solar light feature!
It’s already time for our Thrift Store Décor Project! It sort of snuck up on me this month, so I challenged myself to get this floor lamp solar light feature done!
I bought this floor lamp last year at Vendors Village in Clarksville Indiana on a shopping spree. It was $10.
I looked and looked for the perfect chandelier, but couldn’t find one. Then this little beauty fell into my lap. My neighbor Rodney was getting rid of it and asked me if I wanted it. It would be perfect for my floor lamp solar light feature!
After I checked to see if it would work with the thrift store floor lamp I got busy gutting it—taking all the wiring out of the chandelier. It’s fairly easy using some needle nosed pliers to snip the wires and pull them out of the arms of the chandelier.
To see how the floor lamp solar light was really going to look, I needed to paint the two items to match. I used Krylon Metallic Spray Paint. If you look closely at the chandelier, it may look a little different. I removed the bottom portion and used some of it and part of the top of the floor lamp to change up the top a little. It was a lot of trial and error to get the pieces to match up.
See how the chandelier will rest right on top of the old floor lamp? All of that took place LAST March! Then it sat in the garage until this past weekend.
I purchased these solar lights at the Dollar General Store for $3 each. They won’t work “as is” so I have to retro-fit them slightly. I removed the collar of the light and then put the light back together with existing screw and fitting.
Funny side note: Looking at this picture it’s obvious that these lights are 2 different styles. All the time I worked on these I never noticed it until I took the final pictures in front of the tree.
I needed some nuts to attach to the solar light fitting. To make it all work, I had to snap off the prongs of the original chandelier parts. Using pliers I just bent it back and forth until it broke off.
I used Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive to attach the broken nuts to the black fitting on the solar light. I simply squirted it in a plastic tray and dipped the plastic fitting into it and placed the nut on it.
The housing of the solar lights were metallic, but they didn’t match the chandelier very well, so I taped up the top of the solar lights and used the same metallic spray paint to make them match. I think the floor lamp solar light feature is going to come together!!
The nuts I tried to secure with the Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive didn’t hold to the plastic when I attempted to thread them onto the stems.
![solar lights on chandelier[3]_thumb](https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/solar-lights-on-chandelier3_thumb_thumb.jpg "solar lights on chandelier[3]_thumb")
For now I removed the nuts and simply rested the plastic fitting over the threads of the chandelier. (in this photo the nut is threaded, I removed it)
![testing flameless candles for chandelier[4]_thumb](https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/testing-flameless-candles-for-chandelier4_thumb_thumb.jpg "testing flameless candles for chandelier[4]_thumb")
I tried out some flameless candles in the candle cups of the chandelier. That’s the beauty of a project like this, it’s very versatile! I could even have removed the reflective lower portion in the glass globe, and put the flameless candles in there. So many options!
Floor Lamp Solar Light Feature
But for now I left the solar lights in tact. You can see that I can also hang the chandelier as it is easily removable from the top of the floor lamp.
This floor lamp solar light feature was a fun project and if you’re making it for yourself, it’s fairly inexpensive. If I were to sell it, I’d have to ask $25 just to get my money back ($10 for lamp, $15 for Solar Lights). But all in all for a new lawn or garden feature, it’s a good deal!
Be sure to stop by and see what my Thrift Store Décor Friends have been up to this month . . .
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Painted Succulent Planter
Domestically Speaking Spring Thrift Store Basket
Refresh Restyle Galvanized Cake Stand
My Repurposed Life Floor Lamp Solar Chandelier
Petticoat Junktion Sisal Rope Planter
See ya next month for another great Thrift Store Project!
gail
sharing at Creativity Unleashed
Here's another great chandelier project for you.
Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.
Terri Spencer-Williams
Oh, this is GREAT, Gail. I just used the link you sent for me to try and this is going to do the trick, I do believe! Plus, I got an immediate other lamp globe replacement project that popped into my head! So, wow! Thank you-just wanted to let you know. You are a kind person.
Best wishes, Terri š
Gail Wilson
awww, thanks so much Terri. You made my day!
gail
Terri Spencer-Williams
Thank you, thank you!! Gail, that is kind of you to help me with this search! I got so excited that I went straight away to emailing you even before I tried the link! Good Grief. Tomorrow is my friend's recently deceased birthday-and she's feeling it. It will.would be a wonderful gift, almost in his honor but for her. He was the one who looked high and low for that piece for her. What a great husband-he never gave up looking! In any cases, your time and your kindness a truly, sincerely appreciated! Keep churning out your ideas and excellent descriptions. At this point, I must "live vicariously through" you and some others as I just cannot get up, out and go and do what I was able to before. Prayerfully, I will have the right Dr's-I surely worked hard to find them!--and I will be much better! BTW, I used to own and run an antiques emporium inside of a very nice antique mall where I live. I had the best time! I also loved learning the history of items and be able to recognize them, etc. Just sayin'. With sincere gratitude, Terri. š
Gail Wilson
Hugs to you Terri as you work with your drs to improve your quality of life!! I hope you found a good replacement globe, if not--keep looking at that link, as things will turn over.
gail
Terri Spencer-Williams
Gail, it is Terri, who was asking about the globes from the old chandelier that you changed into a solar lamp. Thanks very much for answering. Ye, I DO mean the glass globes that had the metal around them. They are wider at the to[p than at the base-you show them in a picture where they are all off and sitting beside your very cool project. My friend and I are looking for the shape in a milk-glass white color. They are larger, rounder at the top and a lot smaller at the bottom, to accommodate the lamps "projectile"-I'm SURE that is not the right word--area where the glove fits around a bulb. I think mine will be slightly larger than hers. I'm sorry my description was hard-it only goes to show that people(Just like you) who give directions on the marvelous tutorials are very challenged-because getting it right and in a great descriptive way, seems to be an art unto itself! You are kind to take note! If that helps it would be of great help to know where to find them online-we both are a like out of order for right now. Besides both of our extraordinary losses, and our friendship, she is doing therapy for knee surgery and mine are both "out of order"-the right one is swollen twice it's normal size-I have developed Rheumatoid Arthritis, of all things. And she is supposed to have her other knee done-this next one will be a total knee replacement. But we're here! "). I know it would brighten-oh-haha-didn't mean to make a pun-but my Dad loved them -anyway, it would lift our spirits. We both will actually and most likely cry-seriously. Then we'll enjoy them through our tears and think of our beloved's, who were trying to help us find these items and left the Earth with that 1 unfinished task. I hope that does not sound too dramatic. We would just really love having our lamps back and working! Any help as to where to look would be much appreciated. If not, then thank you anyway, and, as I said before, I will keep enjoying your repurposing adventures-in the bed with ice all over me! Blessings, Terri, for Terri and Susan
Gail Wilson
Terri,
Try this link https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=milk+glass+chandelier+globe&_sacat=0
You will have to scroll through a bunch to see if you can find the one you're looking for. Good luck!
gail
TERRI SPENCER
OH GAIL, --GUESS THAT SEEMS AN ODD WAY TO START THIS BUT YOU'LL GET IT IN A MINUTE! FOR ONE THING, I AM AN EVER-RAPT-ATTENTION PAYER TO WHAT YOU DO. YOUR PROJECTS ARE SO DARN USEFUL AS WELL AS LOVELY AND DESCRIPTIONS ARE GREAT. IT IS JUST THAT MY FRIEND DOWN THE STREET, WHO'S HUSBAND DIED THIS YEAR, AND I, WHO'S DAUGHTER DIED 3 YEAR AGO-WHILE MY FRIEND AND HER HUSBAND HELPED- HAVE BEEN SEARCHING TO NO AVAIL FOR THE OLDER BIG GLOBE LOOKING PARTS OF THE CHANDELIER YOU GOT FOR 10 BUCKS. WE HAVE BOTH BEEN LOOKING FOR ONES IN MILK GLASS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF SHE NEEDED ANY METAL AROUND RTHE BOTTOM, BUT I DIDN'T AND WE CAN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE. HER HUBBY LOOKED FOR HER AND I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR BOTH OF US-MINE IS FOR A FLOOR LAMP THAT MY PARENTS GAVE ME THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR LIKE 80 YEARS OR SO, IT SEEMS, ANYWAY. I HAVE THE SHADE THAT GOES ON THAT- IT IS A BRASS FLOOR LAMP, ALTHOUGH THE "BRASS" HAS COME OFF THE BOTTOM-WHICH IS QUITE HEAVY- AND IT IS A METAL, WHICH DOESN'T DISTURB ME ONE BIT. IT HAS A HINGED ARM SO IT CAN BE CHANGED IN POSITION AND I DO NOT HAVE THE LIGHTING IN THIS HOUSE THAT WE NEED AND BESIDES, IT WAS MY PARENT'S! IT GOT KNOCKED OVER AND THEN THE GLASS GOT TOSSED-OR IT WAS MORE THAN BROKEN IN HALF OR EVEN A FEW BIG PIECES BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE MCGUYVERE'D A WAY TO FIX IT TO "LET THERE BE LIGHT", SAFELY! COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE US SOME POINTERS OF WHERE WE MIGHT LOOK ONLINE? WHAT WITH COVID AND HER KNEE SURGERIES AND COVID AND MY TWO NEWLY DIAGNOSED WEIRD ILLNESS-AT LAST THEIR NOT CONTAGIOUS- WE CANNOT GET OUT AND WANDER AROUND AS BEFORE! I THINK HERS IS GOING TO BE JUST A BIT SMALLER THAN MINE. IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS, IT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. OTHERWISE, THANKS ANYWAY AND KEEP UP ALL THE GOOD WORK. MAY YOU HAVE A FINE HOLIDAY SEASON, WHICH IS ALMOST ALREADY HERE! THANK YOU, GAIL.OH, I HAD AN UNCLE WHO WENT TO PURDUE, BTW. Oops, didn't know I had the all caps on. See, I need all the help I can get. LOL.
Gail Wilson
Terri,
I'm so sorry, but I'm not exactly sure what kind of globes you're looking for? I'd love to help you out if I can figure out what exactly it is you're looking for. I got the lamp for $10. The chandelier I show in this project was free. Are you talking about the frosted glass globes with the rim around them?
gail
Jennie
I love this so much that I did 2 from hanging lights on sheapherd hooks. I kept my solar lights in the little cups by using the globes that I found. The sun in Arizona is so strong after a year maybe 2 the solar lights need to be changed out. I bought the least expensive solar lights .99cents each, they all last the same amount of time.
Charlotte
Love, love, LOVE this! I am going to be on the lookout for these pieces!
Jo Miller
Thanks for these very good instructions on making the solar lamp post. I have an old lamp I want to do this with and so pleased to find good instructions
Pamela Williams
I love it! I've been hunting a thrifted chandelier for years.... I gave away two before I thought to do this...And of course I haven't found anything since!
Bliss
I love it! Im gonna be on the lookout for parts, that light would kick up my patio a notch.
suzanne
You are soooo good!
Debbie @ Refresh Restyle
Now I need to look for these two! Love your first photo and you're wearing my fav shoes š This turned out so great!!
Gail Wilson
It's funny how if you just wait long enough, things come together! I'm still looking for a few tweaks on this project....something to hold the lights on the stems more permanently.
š hahaha you noticed the shoes! That's my go-to pair. The ones I wore (and will wear again) are a different color.
Donna
Love it! I have an old lamp and similar chandelier. You are so generous to share your creativeness.
Happy Birthday you look beautiful and your puppy is adorable. Enjoy every day.
Donna
Gail Wilson
Donna,
Yay! So happy to inspire you to make a new project. š
Thanks for the birthday wishes. I appreciate it.
gail
Maryann @ Domestically Speaking
I LOVE how that turned out Gail... SO clever!
larry jkelley jr
ok I clicked on acubborad door and it took me to a lamp
Gail Wilson
Larry,
I don't know where you clicked from or why you were taken to the wrong post. Perhaps you were looking for this one?
https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/easy-cabinet-door-projects/
gail
kristin salazar
Oh WOW what a makeover! I have a light I really want to do this too, thank you for all the tips!
Kathy
Wow, all of that trial and error worked. Love the project and I can totally relate to not noticing the difference in the solar lights.
Kimberly
Gail, I think you read my mind! Yesterday I was googling "chandelier lamps" for inspiration images about marrying the two things. Lo and behold this morning I open your website to see this. Now I am thinking of doing one inside and one out!
GirlfromWVa
Awesome project. Love how the chandy can be used on lamp base or hung. The color is very nice.