Wire Orb Ball Light Fixtures

We’ve been remaking our family room after 6 years in this house. We bought it as repo and have been slowlyrepairing and updating the things left in disrepair by the previous homeowners. It’s been a huge DIY project but it has been rewarding to remake everything in our own way. One of the biggest challenges in this house was a lack of lighting when we moved in – they literally removed almost every single light fixture from the house when they left and there weren’t very many to begin with. The family room was especially dark, even after we installed a ceiling fan with a light.

I like to craft small projects while watching TV and the light is so dim that I often have to bring in a table top light on an extension cord, which is a big production, or leave the kitchen lights on, which just sucks lots of energy and they are too far away to make much of a difference. I tried a table lamp and it wasn’t enough light. The corner of the family room would be a great place to put a ceiling light but ceiling fixtures are so expensive, difficult to wire, and then, what if we didn’t like a wired light fixture there after we installed it? Argh, what a challenge! I started looking on Pinterest for ideas and kept being drawn to ball-shaped fixtures hung from the ceiling. I needed something bright, beautiful, and practical. I decided to create a light fixture that was mix of these two ideas:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/158963061822036657/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/158963061817898254/

With bolt cutters or wire cutters, cut 3 equal lengths of 16 Gauge Galvanized wire per wire ball light you plan to make. For the smallest ball, we cut 3 pieces each of 36″ of wire, the middle ball used wire pieces 50″ long and the largest ball used wire pieces 68″ long.

Bend the pieces of wire into circle, hoop shapes.

Wrap the joints of each piece of 16 Gauge Wire with the 9 Gauge Galvanized Wire.

Wire the 3 hoops together at the joints with the 9 Gauge Galvanized Wire.

Wrap the 9 Gauge Galvanized Wire across each section made by the hoops, at least 5 times. For a fuller ball, wrap more wire across each section.

Paint the balls with Metallic Spray Paint in Metallic Gold. Be sure to get the inside of the ball as well as the outside.

Hang the plug-in fixtures from the ceiling using the hooks.

Thread the wire balls onto each light fixture and secure in place on the fixture.

Thread a light bulb into each light fixture.

Plug in the lights and enjoy!

Supplies:

GE Energy Smart LED Light Bulbs from Target x3Plug-in Hanging Light Fixture16 Gauge Galvanized Wire9 Gauge Multi-purpose Galvanized Utility WireMetallic Spray Paint in Metallic GoldMAP gas or Propane Torch (Optional)Flux (Optional)Solder (Optional)Wire Cutters or Bolt CuttersPliersFine Grit SandpaperMetal FileWire Brushes

Get more details at: http://hydrangeahippo.com/2014/04/super-bright-leds-diy-lighting/