How to Repurpose Old Light Fixtures to Enhance Patio and Garden Areas

There is an biannual event in the Omaha area called "Junkstock", where folks have repurposed old junk into something beautiful or quirky or even junkier, but with pizazz...at least that's what I hear. My husband Bret and I have never made it to this event...probably because we have enough junk of our own which we hang onto so long (you know, because we might be able to do something creative with it!) that--if anything--we should be a vendor at one of these events! 

After I posted something about Junkstock on my Facebook page, I started thinking of old repurposing projects I hadn't gotten to, and the broken chandelier from my childhood home came to mind. My folks had tossed it our way with a "maybe you can do something with this" years ago, and it's been sitting in our basement storage with several of the crystals falling off and the fixture itself in a twisted mangled mess from loose screws on several of the arms. All this talk of junk suddenly inspired me to tackle this project! Here's a step-by-step--by way of Vine videos--of how this went from junk to something fun and unique...


















I found some simpler copper-colored solar lights which didn't compete so much with the cut crystals, so here's what the final fixture ended up looking like:


Shortly after finishing this project, Bret and I were in a Nebraska Habitat for Humanity ReStore and stumbled upon a couple old pendulum lights for $3 apiece, so I repurposed those into outdoor lighting as well.

Who knows--if I keep going, maybe I'll have a booth someday at Junkstock...or just some cool lights in our garden! 

What old junk have you repurposed into something fun? I'd love to hear from you in the Comments section below--and don't forget to include pictures. Peace, love and junk, man...peace, love and junk.

Today's Quote:
"OLD is the new NEW."
-- ReHouse Architectural Salvage