DIY Network

Umbrella Lighting Bright and funky idea for illuminating the room From "From Junky to Funky" episode DFJF-109

In this segment, Mike Spatafora uses an old picnic umbrella to create spectacular lighting for the homeowner's newly designed room.

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This patio umbrella has been transformed into an indoor cabana-style lighting unit.

Materials:

Picnic table umbrella
Tung oil
Metal angle brackets
Green glass candle holders
2" chandelier fixtures
1" threaded nipple
2 nuts
2 – 3/8" washers per lamp
3/8" lamp wire
Anchors
Hot glue
Drywall screws
Screw gun
Glass and wood drill bits
Band saw
Table saw
Hand sander
Hot glue gun

Figure A

Umbrella Section:

1. Choose and mark a line on the umbrella that when cut, will provide a flat surface to attach to the wall.

   
   

2. Disassemble the umbrella (figure A).

   
   

3. Cut the sections that require cutting. Cut on your pre-marked lines. Cut both brackets where the spines meet with the band saw. Rip the center of the post using the table saw.

   
   

4. Cut the post to fit the room.

   
   

5. Pre-drill 3-5 holes in the center poles for mounting screws.

   
   

6. Sand all pieces, and then finish with tung oil.

   
   

7. Pre-drill holes into the spines where your wiring will eventually be strung.

   
   

8. Reassemble. Use metal angle brackets to affix the spines back into the center brackets. Right angle brackets can easily be bent by hand to allow for the desired angle.

   
   

9. Screw all of the pieces in place. Pre-drill every hole to keep the wood from splitting. Assemble the umbrella in maximum open position to allow for headroom clearance underneath.

	Figure B
	Figure C

Lighting Fixtures:

1. Drill holes in the bottom of the green glass candle holders (figure B).

   Safety Note: Use caution when drilling into glass. Wear gloves and safety glasses.

2. Use arrowhead shaped glass and tile bits with plenty of water as lubrication. We built a simple drilling jig to support our glass. This is needed because any pressure on an unsupported section of glass will most likely cause a crack.

3. Drill holes using progressively larger bits. Don't try to drill the final hole first. The final hole should be large enough to accept your chosen electrical hardware.

4. Assemble the wiring and all hardware components (figure C). For our project, we used 2" chandelier fixtures with 1" threaded nipples, two nuts per unit per 3/8" washers and 3/8" lamp building wire.

5. Once everything is wired together, pay close attention to make sure you keep your hot connections running to hot connections, and likewise with your neutrals.

6. If you are building this unit off-site from where it will be installed, make sure you leave yourself a long enough whip at the plug end of your wiring to ensure enough material will reach to the nearest outlet.

Final Steps:

1. Adorn everything with beads (figure D). We used hot glue to keep our beads in place.

2. Attach the umbrella to the wall using necessary anchors (figure E).

3. Plug the unit into the outlet.

Figure D

Figure E

Project Expense:

Umbrella: Free
Glass votives: $10
Lighting: $12
Materials: $7

Total: $29