For years I’ve been wanting to convert an electric chandelier to a solar chandelier, to light up the seating area in our backyard. I just needed to find a discarded electric chandelier to start my project. Luckily for me, our wonderful neighbors tossed out a chandelier and completely understood my quirkiness when I asked if I could have their trash! And so began the next frugal trash to treasure projects for my husband and I.

My vision was to create a quaint little seating area in our backyard near our little pond and fire pit. My wonderful husband recently built 2 fabulous cedar benches from old half cut cedar logs (also given to us by our wonderful neighbors). More on that project in another blog post. But first, let me show you how the solar chandelier came to fruition.

Step One-take apart the electric chandelier

My husband (Mike) took apart the electric chandelier. He removed the glass globes and the decorative rings around them. He also removed the metal bushings, all the electrical cord and wiring. Basically leaving just the metal framework of the chandelier.

Step Two-paint the chandelier

I cleaned up the chandelier and applied a coat of glossy black spray paint. Truth be told, I would have preferred a mat or flat black finish vs the glossy. But, I happened to have 2 cans of glossy black paint leftover from another project, so I decided to use what I had and not buy any more paint. Besides, the glossy finish is a bit easier to clean than the flat finish. The spray paint covered very well and only required one coat.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-Gloss-Black-Spray-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-10-oz/1000380789

Step Three-ready the solar lights

We purchased these solar lights from Lowe’s. They were a bit more money than I wanted to spend ($4.98 each). But they work very well and are really bright and strong…4 times stronger (according the the tag)! In this case, they were worth the extra money. It would defeat the purpose of a lighting source if it wasn’t bright enough. So, these were the perfect choice for a solar chandelier.

Step Four-prepare the solar lights

Begin by removing the plastic strip from the inside of the solar light. This will allow the light to begin it’s solar capabilities.

Step Five-remove posts from the solar lights

Since the post is not needed, remove it from the light portion. But, set the posts aside and use them for another project.

Step Six-glue the solar lights onto the chandelier

Clear Gorilla Glue works well securing the solar light into the light sockets on the chandelier. But, it’s not an instant set. So, if you don’t want to sit there all day and hold each light in place until the glue sets (I sure didn’t). Then I suggest the next step of adding hot glue as well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gorilla-Gorilla-3-fl-oz-Clear-Grip/1002695092

Step Seven-additional glue to secure the solar lights

Since the gorilla glue does not set instantly…use a hot glue gun and add the hot glue to the gorilla glue in and around the light socket and hold the solar light in place until the hot glue sets. The gorilla glue will set later leaving a secure fit.

Here’s a look at the chandelier with all the solar lights secured/glued in place. In case you’re wondering how I worked on the chandelier…I tipped my grandson’s wooden highchair upside down and placed a fluffy towel on it to hold the chandelier while I glued the solar lights in place. You may also use a box in much the same way.

Step Eight-finishing touch to the solar lights

Since the solar lights have a square base and the light sockets are round, the glue had to be applied heavily to hold the solar lights in place. The result of excess glue is necessary, but in my opinion…not very attractive. So, I used black electrical tape to wrap around the glue build-up at the base of each light. It covered up the glue and also added an extra layer of strength and security to hold the solar lights in place. The electrical tape gave each light a more finished smoother look.

Building a planter box as a base for the solar chandelier in the backyard

And now to provide a place to hang the chandelier. I asked my husband to build a rustic, but simple wooden planter box in the corner of the 2 benches in the seating area. The box will function as decor for the area and also as a base to attach a very tall shepherd’s hook that the solar chandelier will be suspended from. To make the planter box, my husband used scrap wood that was laying around in our shed along with a piece of old barn wood given to us by another neighbor. So the cost of the planter box was virtually nothing.

Securing the shepherd’s hook

Mike used a mallet to pound the shepherd’s hook into the ground-just inside the planter box below the platform. Then he drilled a notch type of hole into the edge of the platform for the post of the shepherd’s hook to fit through. He secured the shepherd’s hook to the inside of the planter box using a 1-in Two-Hole Strap Conduit Fitting (link below). He had previously purchased a 2 pack and only used one, so he had one available for this project. My apologies, I didn’t get a photo of the strap on the pole. Mike had already nailed the platform back in place before I could. He kindly thought ahead and drilled drainage holes into the platform for when I plant and water flowers in that space.

Here’s what the planter box looks like with the shepherd’s hook in place in our backyard seating area.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Accents-84-in-Steel-Painted-Metal-Shepherd-s-Hook/3342788

Fill in the planter box with dirt and bargain flowers

Now to add the pretties. I found a great bargain on some Fall mums at Lowe’s. Normally $1.98 each…reduced to just 50 cents each. I also purchased a bag of Flower & Vegetable Garden Soil from Lowe’s-it was on sale for $4.98. One bag filled the planter box platform perfectly to plant the mums. I deadheaded each plant to promote new growth of flowers. The plants were looking a little weary, so I gave them a dose of miracle-gro to help them along.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/1-Pint-Yellow-Garden-Mum-in-Pot-L4359/1000295447

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Miracle-Gro-Water-Soluble-5-5-lb-All-Purpose-Food/1000806092

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sta-Green-2-cu-ft-Garden-Soil/3353740

Here’s the finished planter and shepherd’s hook. It looks so pretty with the mums right now (even better than this picture). I can’t wait to add spring and summer plants to it next year!

Planter box is ready to add the solar chandelier

Now time to put the chandelier in place. The shepherd’s hook holds up to 8 pounds, so it was the perfect item to suspend the chandelier from. Plus, the black metal shepherd’s hook looks perfect with the black metal solar chandelier. Oh sure, I could have had Mike build me a wooden post for the solar chandelier to hang from. It may have been a little cheaper, but it would have distracted from the simplicity and beauty of the metal chandelier. I wanted it to shine and be the focal point that it is in this backyard seating area.

Here’s what the chandelier looks like in the daytime and as it was getting dark. I was so happy seeing it light up for the first time, I was practically jumping up and down! It looks so pretty, I love, love, love it!! It’s exactly as I had envisioned it would be! I couldn’t be happier!

This solar chandelier is so pretty in the backyard setting during the day. And, even prettier at night.

Let there be light!

The seating area has other solar lights that I purchased from Lowe’s as well. The white light post was here when we purchased our home, but the light no longer worked. So I replaced it with a solar light last year. It’s design and brightness is similar to the ones in the chandelier. And, this past summer I purchased a solar flood light from Lowe’s to shine on the pond area. It’s perfectly pretty.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Portfolio-20-Lumen-Black-Solar-LED-Landscape-Flood-Light/1000571997

Here’s our seating area all lit up at night. It is so nice to sit out there any time of the day or night. The solar chandelier adds so much ambiance to the area, even when the lights are not lit.

Well folks, that’s our frugal project come to light and my vision to fruition! Total cost for all the components that we didn’t have laying around and had to purchase…less than $48.00!! You can’t even buy a solar chandelier itself for this low of a price. Not to mention the price of a specially designed wooden box planter. I love frugal projects, they provide years of priceless enjoyment!!

Here’s more of my favorite trash to treasure projects…