The Succulent Chandelier
Are you looking for ways to brighten and enliven a room full of neutrals? Color Cord Company can help with a succulent project that will keep you busy and enhance your home with a bit of greenery, vitality, and lively elegance.
One of our favorites, this holiday project is appropriate for year-round decor because it’s versatile enough to incorporate various types of plants. With a little help from Mother Nature, we made an earthy four-port chandelier using our DIY Parts and Cloth Covered Wire!
Ready to get started building your own succulent chandelier? Check out our material list and instructions below.
Materials
- Green Cloth Covered Electrical Cord
- 5-Port Canopy
- Basic Ivory Sockets
- Metal Barrel Male Cord Grips
- Metal Barrel Female Cord Grips
- Flat Top Metal Socket Covers
- 1/4 IPS Cap Finial
- Floral Craft Ring
- Succulents & Botanicals
You can definitely personalize the plants in this succulent chandelier, like using holly accents for Christmas, String of Pearls for summer, or the orange accents of the Flaming Katy for fall.
Don’t forget to match your cord color and hardware finishes to your desired plant aesthetic. We’ve recommended a few colors that work for our succulent project. Which ones are best for you? Maybe you want a red cord to create a more Christmas-y vibe or a yellow cord for a bright pop of color.
Step 1: Prepping
We started our succulent chandelier by drilling into four of the existing eight holes on the floral craft ring to ensure that our four pendants will fit easily through the opening.
Since these pendants are made from our cloth-covered wire and cord grips, they are a bit thicker than the existing holes allowed. Then, we painted the floral craft ring a dark forest green to match our wire.
Step 2: Wiring Four Pendants
- Strip your cloth covered wire to expose the positive, negative, and grounding wires within.
- String on the grip and socket cap.
- Now use pliers to bend each of the three interior wires and wind them around the matching screw.
- Finally, cap the socket and place the final cord grip in place for a secure fit. You’ll have to do this four times to create four light bulb-ready pendants that we’ll attach to our ceiling canopy.
If you need more guidance and visuals for wiring the sockets for your succulent chandelier, please explore this blog about working with porcelain light fixture sockets.
Step 3: Wiring a Four-Port Ceiling Canopy
Since we don’t have a four-port canopy, you can either purchase a blank canopy and drill the holes or modify our existing five-port canopy for this succulent chandelier. When altering an existing canopy, you’ll need to use the 1/4 IPS Cap Finial to cover the center port.
If you want to go the extra mile and have us do all the work, we do offer Custom Canopy production if you need a particular number of ports!
Step 4: Designing the Floral Ring
The next step of this succulent project is all up to you!
Tap into your imagination when styling your succulent assortment around the floral ring. For example, we used moss to fill in any empty spaces and really cover the frame of the succulent chandelier, but you might have another filler in mind to comprehensively hide the craft ring from sight. Since succulents can last weeks without watering, make sure all your filler botanicals have similarly long-lasting lifespans.
Once you’ve decided on your design, use super glue to ensure every succulent and any filter or botanical accents are firmly attached.
Step 5: Assessing Pendant Lengths & Installation
Once the glue has dried on your succulent chandelier, it’s time to put it all together. We sandwiched the floral craft ring between our female and male cord grips and secured them with the set screw. The pendant drop-length is up to you, but we chose to have them drop roughly six inches from the craft ring.
When you order your cloth-covered cord, we recommend getting them about a foot longer than you think you need so you can play with the length and accommodate any mistakes throughout your succulent project.
Step 6: Attaching Your Ceiling Canopy
Your ceiling canopy should attach to a junction box above your dining room table, entryway, or anywhere else you plan on putting this succulent chandelier.
- To install this project, turn off the breakers and light switches throughout your home.
- Then, attach the mounting plate to the junction box with a few screws (they usually come included with a canopy kit).
- Strip the cloth covering from this end of your cord and wrap the appropriate wires around the positive, negative, and grounding screws. Push all the wires into the junction box and screw the canopy into place, covering everything.
Find more details on attaching a canopy to your ceiling here!
Step 7: Light Bulbs
With everything else set, all that’s left to complete this succulent chandelier is choosing the perfect light bulbs! Explore incandescent and LED styles in our selection to find the perfect fit for your design.
If you want to take your creation a step further, you can always explore shades and cages that could elevate your aesthetic even more. We love the exposed bulb look, but some people prefer the more is more style.
DIY With Us
So, how did your project go? Send us photos of your DIY Holiday Projects, and you might be featured on our social media!
