How to Turn Glass Bottles Into Colorful Pendant Lights

Make a beautiful light fixture for your dining room with this easy DIY.

After polishing off your next bottle of wine, don't toss it into the recycling bin just yet. Instead, use it to create a unique light fixture that will look beautiful displayed over your dining room table—or really anywhere in your home.

For this easy DIY project, we opted for wine bottles in a pretty blue hue, which cast the perfect muted glow. Feel free to use any color that speaks to your home's décor, but keep in mind that the more transparent the bottles are, the more light will be let through.

Another aspect of this craft where you can get creative is with the light fixture you choose. We went for a black, three-light pendant that hangs from a single mount. Any style, color, and number of lights will work so long as the wires are thin enough to thread through the tops of the bottles.

Give wine bottles a second life and use this tutorial to turn them into pendant lights.

DIY bottle pendant composite

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Glass cutter
  • Tea kettle (or pot for boiling water)
  • Fine grit sandpaper
  • Dremel

Materials

  • Empty glass bottles
  • Light bulbs
  • Light fixture

Instructions

  1. Cut off the bottoms of the bottles:

    Glass bottle being cut in half but a glass cutter.

    Martha Stewart

    Wearing protective gloves and goggles, use a glass-cutting tool to score the bottom of the bottles. We used a glass bottle-cutting tool kit, which is readily available and great for many DIY bottle projects.

  2. Run the bottles under water:

    Glass bottle being run under water

    Martha Stewart

    Alternate pouring hot and cold water over the bottles where you made the cut until the glass breaks.

  3. Sand the edges:

    Glass bottle being sanded

    Martha Stewart

    Pour water over super fine sandpaper and run the cut side of the bottle over it to smooth out the edges. Use a dremel to sand down any edges that are still sharp, if needed.

  4. Thread lights through the bottles:

    Lights being threaded through glass bottles.

    Martha Stewart

    Thread the wires of the light fixture through the tops of the bottles and secure them to the mounting base. Screw the light bulbs into the light fixture and hang in an area of your choosing.

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