Pepper Design Blog

Office Makeover + Pinterest Challenge: New Pendant!

I took on the Young House Love + Bower Power Pinterest Challenge and I’m excited to share my results!

So the room is no where near done (you can read about the progress here), but you might remember that it started as this:

Some major demo, a little bold paint and a few other fun additions later, and we’re left with this:

But back to the challenge… I wanted to make a chandelier for the guestroom ‘nook’ (aka the far end of the office with the Spanish rounded ceilings) and I decided to try my hand at a capiz shell pendant. I saved this beautiful Serena capiz chandelier by Oly in my ‘favorites’ folder a long long time ago, it’s so stunning!

Source 1 & 2

Actually, I had no idea who it was by or how crazy pricey it was (north of $1,500) until I began pinning similar styles on Pinterest.

So after much deliberation for how a not-so-fancy version could be DIYed, I set out to hunt down my main materials.

First, I needed capiz shells to line my new pendant with. I searched eBay, Amazon, online vendors… you name it. And then I remembered a shell shop near the beach in San Diego that was sure to have exactly what I was looking for. Best part? The shop is always 50% off. It’s funny, locals are on to the game, but when I stopped by earlier this week to peruse capiz shells, I overheard one of the owners tell a tourist wondering when the sale was going to end ‘Oh, you know… we never know. Maybe a few weeks?’ I wanted to whisper into the girl’s ear ‘Don’t worry, if you come back next year it will still be on’.

Nevertheless I found my best option. This chandelier was $39 and at 50% off it beat my online finds. If you’re looking for something similer though, this online chandelier or several of these capiz strands could definitely be used.

Mine on the left kind of looks like a super cheap version of the Laura Ashley chandelier on the right.

Now that I had my shells I set out to make the pendant frame. My initial thought was to hunt down a drum lampshade at a thrift shop, but I searched and searched… and then I thought that maybe I could build the frame from two tapered lampshades with the same sized bases (I was looking for about 18″). That turned out to be quite pricey because only the big box stores had them in stock. Finally, I ended up at Lowe’s searching for wire that I could shape into a circle and solder together. I realized I was taking on a huge project  when I sat there deliberating where the clamps might be put and how I could weld two perfectly straight ends into one long circle.

I decided to give HomeGoods one last shot late in the evening last night. I was hoping to find a drum lampshade period – no tapering, no fancy schmancys. Just one that I could take home, take apart and begin my project. Wow did HomeGoods come through in a big way! Not only did I find my lampshade (the Perfect shade!) but  it was coming apart at the end and I was able to get it and the base lamp for $15. Sweet.

The last piece of the pie was a basic pendant light from Lowe’s for $20. I found a similar one at Home Depot but it was $39, so that one will be going back.

Now it was time to get crafty!

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Capiz Shell Pendant Light

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Materials: pendant lampshade, 200 capiz shells with at least one hole drilled into each – preferably pre-strung (this number will depend on the size of your shade and the length that you’d like it to hang), white thread & needle, craft glue (any glue that will dry clear), pendant kit, paint (in the same color/finish as your pendant kit) & paint brush, spray paint (in the same color/finish as your pendant kit), light bulb, x-acto knife, Goo Gone (plus rag and gloves)

{1.} I began by disassembling the lampshade so that I had just the top and bottom frames. My x-acto knife really came in handy for this one – I started with scissors but quickly realized that a thin blade would be much better at pealing the outside right off. If you’re left with a gooey mess, try wiping down the frame Goo Gone and a rag, just be sure to use gloves.

{2.} I spray painted the metal top and bottom frames a dark brown to match my bronze pendant kit.

{3.} While the paint was drying I began to take the shell chandelier apart. I kept strands of five shells strung together and restrung (with white thread and a needle) any loose or shorter strands so that I had nearly 40 strands of five shells.

{4.} Then I slowly began attaching the strands of five to the top frame of the disassembled lampshade.

{5.} When all 40 strands had been tied to the top frame, I measured the length of the shells and tied the bottom frame directly to the top frame at the same distance with thread (fishing line would work great for this step as well). I wanted a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ to the pendant so that it really did resemble a lampshade, but you could always forgo the bottom and just let the pretty shells sway.

At this point I found it helpful to hang the lampshade from a floor lamp (removing the previous shade) so that I could work with it while it was hanging.

{6.} Now it was touch-up time. First was gluing stray shells together so that the shade had a flat look to it (totally optional), previous to gluing the shells sort of ‘spun’ on their own.

{7.} Now that the pendant was upright and hanging, the next touch-up step was to restring and retie several of the shells that had come apart or out of order. I even tied several strands directly to the bottom frame so that some stayed taught.

{8.} Finally, I used brown paint and a brush to cover up the points where the thread wrapped around the now brown lampshade frame.

{9.} Depending on the lampshade that you chose, you may be able to attach it directly to your pendant light kit and wire ‘er up! We had to make the washer in the top frame of the lampshade slightly larger to fit our pendant kit.

{10.} I posted an ad on Craigslist for a licensed electrician (a good tip is to ask them to bring a copy of their license with them right in the ad to weed out anyone that could do damage and not be accountable) to hook the pendant to our existing light switch for $25. An electrician from our neighborhood responded and rewired the new light the next morning! When that was taken care of Kevin simply attached the new wires to the existing box. You can tell from this shot that we took out two of the three arms of the pendant kit so that it wasn’t quite as long.

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Here’s a shot at night to see how the shells make the pendant sort of ‘glow’, I love that. For this photo Bodie decided he was definitely not moving.

And there you have it! I’m linking over at Katie’s, Ana’s, Erin’s, and Sherry & John’s blogs… come check out all of the great ideas.

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: organizing the bookshelves, wall collage part 1, part 2, fabric bulletin board inspiration, (new) inspiration board, new lamps, wallpapering open shelves, finding the perfect credenza, new trim, dining table-to-desk, a new desk & bookshelves, installing remnant carpeting, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress,  inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300,inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.

Office Makeover: Wall Collage Part 2

I’ve slowly collected items for the new wall collage in the office (read more about the inspiration here) and while it’s not finished, here’s a quick update on the progress.

Here’s the before where I took my favorite layout from this post and hung paper cut outs on the wall to get a better visual. Then up went the frames with their original artwork:

Some of the frames were cool garage sale finds, like this vintage guy that just needed a new photo. Actually the Chinese ship was very neat, but it didn’t work here. The bummer was that this frame had a paper backing and was oh-so-old, but I carefully removed the paper with an X-ACTO knife (the company sent me several to play with and I keep them in my pen container on my desk I use it so much), replaced the aged matting and added an illustration of birds – another garage sale find.

The wall didn’t look quite right – it needed more uniformity. I decided that while the frames matched in an un-matching sort of way, the mattes needed to be more in line. In terms of matting photos, I don’t stray from white or linen (the textural, grasscloth sort – not just the color) and so I shopped my usual matte locales: eBay, Etsy, Aaron Brother’s, Michael’s and even a few local mom & pop shops. Ebay and Etsy didn’t carry linen – and Aaron Brother’s and my local mom & pop stores (which I love supporting) quoted between $25-50/matte. Craziness. Michael’s came through with a low $10ish for a custom matte (which is awesome!) and I placed my order.

A few custom mattes with brighter, cheerier images has left me here:

The large watercolor was painted by Kevin’s Grandma, the floral arrangement is a favorite artist of mine (more on that soon…), the lower left landscape was a souvenir from our travels, and the beautiful blue butterfly was a recent find in Charleston, SC. I’ve searched high and wide for ethically conserved butterflies (aka not killing them to frame them)  and I found a great source – this artist collects butterflies that have already died on his butterfly farm.

I haven’t yet found the perfect piece for that oval frame up top but I’m thinking of showcasing an object on matte board rather than a photo (sort of like the butterfly). The more and more I look at the collage the more I’m thinking that I might have to replace the large frame’s matte for a white one – and that maybe the painting needs a new home and a ‘brighter’ family photo or illustration should take its place. The walls are so dark and the images play a huge role in brightening or darkening that corner.

There you have it! That’s the latest update.

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: organizing the bookshelves, wall collage part 1, fabric bulletin board inspiration, (new) inspiration board, new lamps, wallpapering open shelves, finding the perfect credenza, new trim, dining table-to-desk, a new desk & bookshelves, installing remnant carpeting, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress,  inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300,inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.

Office Makeover: Organizing the Bookshelves

My office is now in functioning form. It’s not finished but it’s an open space for me to disappear to every day to log hours and to finish both work and fun projects.

I love having my own space! It’s wonderful. Every detail has been so liberating – from organizing my file structure and having a place to store work materials (my 9-5 job), to finding a home for every little craft object that participates in the clutter of everyday life around here.

Here’s a sneak peek at my organizing in action, please ignore those crazy wires (need to find a solution for those soon):

That’s a new curtain, too! I created that for this project early last year and realized very recently how perfect it was color-wise for this space – it’s Cassandra Seaspray and it can be found here. The french doors between the kitchen and office are glass so it can be difficult  to ‘disappear’ when Liv’s nanny is over to help play with her while I’m working. Plus, guests get a little privacy in the room.

Here’s the desk – clean and clear. Knowing me that won’t last long.

I used a combination of Target and One Kings Lane fabric boxes, See Jane Work brown portfolio boxes and metal baskets, and West Elm white lacquer magazine butlers and file cabinets to outfit the shelves. The look I’m hoping to achieve is organic – plenty of mixed textures and naturals colors.

I’ve learned an important lesson after having a few work spaces: you must love your organizational tools and the way your office looks when tidy, or you’ll never aspire to it at the end of a long day.

That big gap there on the left is where the printer will sit. It’s nice and close – none of this wireless business that would *sometimes* allow the computer to communicate with the printer on its own free will.

Here’s an angle of the desk and left bookshelf. I have to soak in as much clean and clear desk as I can now… it may be a while after my organized desktop chaos takes over.

Treasures include an estate sale yellow glass candy jar that doubles as nook to stash rolls of ribbon, a wax bird from West Elm (on sale) a See Jane Work metal basket that houses fabric remnants I’m currently working with (the rest are sorted by color in the big OKL fabric boxes at the bottom of the shelf) and a favorite photo of Liv and I printed on glass (have you heard of Fracture? I discovered it through a Groupon). I still need to take some time to label all of the boxes. Labeling, labeling is awesome.

I brought this ceramic urn back with me after our trip to Iowa for RAGBRAI. I found it at a little garden shop in Woodward, IA and managed to stuff it in my suitcase. Now it’s home to paint swatches that we frequently pull out when working on the house.

All the while I was working on this particular afternoon, Liv gleefully watched on from her chair in the kitchen. Moms have got to take full advantage of nap and meal times!

Ordering all of the office organizational supplies can be a daunting task, and I find that having a clear layout where each and every object will go is helpful. I made this rough sketch before purchasing supplies and it helped to determine how many of what was actually needed.

I deviated from plan a bit, but all in all I’m less distracted and more on target with a careful plan laid out in advance.

Man this is a tough room to photograph – too narrow! But here’s one last shot before all the techy stuff is added back in:

PS I need a camera expert – what’s the ideal setting for indoor photos? What a steep learning curve this new SLR camera is! Indoor photos especially…

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: wall collage part 1, fabric bulletin board inspiration, (new) inspiration board, new lamps, wallpapering open shelves, finding the perfect credenza, new trim, dining table-to-desk, a new desk & bookshelves, installing remnant carpeting, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress,  inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300,inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.