How to Make a Ladder DIY Chandelier

| |

I love this Farmhouse Style Vintage Ladder DIY Chandelier so much. Today I am going to show you how to make your own.

DIY Chandelier

Every once in a while I will see something online that I love. Four years ago I saw the ladder dining room chandelier that @lizmariegalvin put above her dining room table I knew I wanted to make something similar. Since then I have made two and today I am sharing how you can make your own Ladder DIY Chandelier.

How to Make a Ladder DIY Chandelier 4

For years I had thought I wanted to change the chandelier in our family room. I always thought I would just replace it with another single chandelier until I found these distressed white wood chandeliers online. They were so well priced that I ordered one. And then it hit me. These were perfect for a ladder family room chandelier! So I ordered two more.

How to Make a Ladder DIY Chandelier

I found a ten-foot ladder @vintagejunktionla that was old and wonderful and got it to work.

The first thing I realized is my ladder had to have an odd number of sections. The center chandelier that hangs from the wall goes through the center section. Then I needed three more sections on each side. The ladder I bought had eight sections so I needed to cut one off.

IMG_8009

Next, I painted the ladder with Milk Paint and I used one and a half small cans.

Ladder Chandelier DIY
IMG_7998

I painted the ladder with two coats but didn’t try to get it perfect because I wanted a shabby look to match the wooden chandeliers.

IMG_8005

I also painted the dark brown chain with milk paint. That looked chippy too. (Don’t worry about painting the wire that comes out of the top of the light as that gets painted after it is hung.)

IMG_8010

We added two metal rods to the ladder where the two outside dining room chandeliers would hang. That was easy. Then we put two hooks in the ceiling to hold the chains. It’s important to try to find studs in the ceiling.

Next, we hung the ladder. This was WAY harder than I thought it would be. I didn’t even think about the fact that because the ladder was really old it might not be straight. And it was not even close to being straight! So we took the ladder down and tried to bend it, but of course, that didn’t work. I finally added one more chain link to the left side and it fixed it perfectly. The ladder was finally straight.

IMG_8008

Next, we hung the two side chandeliers at the desired height. (Trust me, you want to hang these first.)

How to Make a Ladder Chandelier

We decided to run the wires from the two outside chandeliers along the inside of the ladder and then up the center wire of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

IMG_8011

Then we hung the center chandelier.

IMG_8014

First, we got the height right so it matched the other two chandeliers. We did this by placing a metal rod on top of the ladder to hold it temporarily in place. Then we threaded all three wires from the three chandeliers up the center chain and into the ceiling.

Make a Ladder DIY Chandelier

Finally, I painted all of the wires with milk paint. Note to self, don’t let your dog sit under the ladder unless you don’t mind having a paint-splattered dog.

The project took a full day and a half but it was worth every second. I can’t even express how much I love my new dining room chandelier! Thank you, Liz Marie, for your inspiration. Be sure to check out her feed @lizmariegalvin.

For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome

If you are enjoying my blog, you can sign up to receive my blog updates here. .

Here are Items You Can Use to Make the Ladder DIY Chandelier

If you are looking for some ways to add fall to your home, check these out.

I just found a whole bunch of new fall foliage and added it below. Just click on any of the photos below to see many of my favorite faux greens that I bought for our home.

Check out this fall foliage for under $15. Click on the photo to see more.

Here is some fall foliage under $21. Click on the photo to see more.

Similar Posts

the-waco-airbnb-dining-room-3
How to Make a Ladder Dining Room Chandelier

Pin the image below to your decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!

How to Make a Ladder DIY Chandelier

For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome

Similar Posts

12 Comments

  1. I love what you’ve done with this room. The one thing that is bugging me is the lampshade on the side table between sofa and chair. It is way out of scale with the lamp.

  2. While I admire your style, I feel your ladder chandelier is off. The ladder itself, to my eye, (I am a trained professional designer) seems too big in relationship to the table. Maybe if the lamps were simpler and lower. While a clever idea. I think there is too much going on. Also, they are way too high. The lamps should be 30-36 off the table. It feels disconnected, busy and fights the great dinning table and chairs. Too many open lines with the ladder, shape of the chair backs and windows behind the table. I don’t think the ladder is necessary. The lamps on their own would have been enough and the focal point. However, if you love it, that is what counts in the end, just my thoughts.

    1. I do not mean to be rude as you but Leslie is sharing HER style with us. She let’s us know she is not professionally trained. This is why her blog is so great. Seriously, are there rules that are not to be broken in home decor? Look up the word design and creativity. My auntie was a professionally decorator who broke every rule in the books and was very sought after. There is no perfect in any design but Leslies is close and her love of using different hues of pink is just gorgeous.

  3. I truly love your style & decor. I love this unique ladder Chandelier.
    My question did you layer the beautiful window wall collage yourself or did you purchase it like that? I’ve been wanting to create a piece like this but I have no idea how to do it. Is there glass in the windows? Please let me know I really love this piece of eye catching art❤️

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *