Mac’s Maker Project 2011 – A Junkpunk Chandelier

For our annual visit to Mac & Helen’s in 2012 we thought we’d try to make a chandelier. We wanted one that would fit with the style of our old house which has a certain combination of simple, basic, slightly rustic Georgian-Victorian with a beach shed!

The previous C19th owner was a stonemason and a metal worker, so there was many examples of simple chunky ironwork and tools around the house (see my home reno blog Domus Renovatio!). We’ve progressed this mixture with a basic and slightly industrial feel with stainless steel and iron in the kitchen and utility rooms, using warehouse lights, led-upgraded kero lamps, and added a mixture of simple chandeliers around the older part of the house. So there’s a theme but a variance – a different light in every room!

However we had one missing. We needed a chandelier for our dining room which already features Mac’s iron and wood furniture, so we were thinking along those lines. We wondered about something steampunk (without going too thematic).

When we explained the concept of steampunk to Mac he went one better. Junkpunk!

Over the years he has collected a huge array of materials from various places including a 1920’s car found in the bush near his house. It’s pretty much rusted and decayed, but a few components were salvageable, e.g. some lovely big iron cogs! As we played around with the library of rust, a design started to form in Mac’s mind…