When I saw this gorgeous room divider at a second-hand shop in Pretoria I just knew we would be able to re-purpose it into something special. Look at the beautiful scrollwork and it was going for an absolute bargain.
Lovely old room divider
I initially thought I’d use it as a headboard for our little house by the sea, but changed my mind when I saw these copper candle holders on sale. The beautiful cutouts on the candle holders seemed to echo the scroll work on the room dividers.
Copper candle holders
My two random finds seemed destined to be together.
Turning Candle Holders Into Electric Lights
We started off by converting the candle holders into lights. The only light fitting I could find were white and clashed horribly with the copper.
Spraying the light fittings
So we stuffed some tissue paper inside to protect the working bits and sprayed them to match.
Waiting for the paint to dry
We removed the very sticky labels with some thinners and then used this awesome step drill bit to make a hole in the bottom of the candle holder.
Mark and drill the holes
Hubby had to file away some of the rough edges before he attached the light fitting. Snug as a bug :-)
Attaching the light fitting
Once the light was done, we tackled the room divider.
A Room Divider Gets a Makeover
We removed all the hinges and cut the legs off. Taking the hinges off was the most difficult part of the whole project.
Unscrew the hinges and cut off the legs
The room divider had been painted with white chalk painted and sealed with clear wax, but I wanted them to look a little more antiquey so I added some dark wax over the original paint job. The panel on the right has been stained and you can see the slight difference in color, it’s a little more toned down.
Staining the panels
I found some plain white, wooden brackets which I sanded a little to distress and then applied dark wax in places to match the room dividers. We drilled a hole at the top of the bracket and another one in the room divider to fit the wire for the copper lamps..
Drilling holes for the light
We used wax paper and a Sharpie to mark where the holes should go for the brackets and drilled two screws into the divider to hang them.
Figuring out where to make the holes
We pushed the electrical cord through the hole in the divider and the bracket and stuck the wire down using our glue gun.
Wire her up and glue her down
This is where I started doing a happy dance, she’s sooooooooo pretty!!!!!
The lights are up
We propped the room dividers behind our bedside tables and plugged those beautiful lights in.
I love how they turned out and yes, I keep all my old teddies 8-)
My bed is a magical place where I suddenly remember all I was supposed to do
What do you think of the wooden skull? My mom says it’s creepy, but I think it’s awesome.
And our beautiful Cleo seems to approve.
Our beautiful purr baby Cleo
I’d love to hear what you think. Does it work for you? I still have one piece of the room divider left. I’m thinking it will make an awesome cupboard door or something like that? How would you re-purpose it?
Oh and don’t forget to Pin for later.
If you’d like to make one and don’t want to go to all that trouble of finding the materials, I’ve got you covered ;-) Disclosure: If you click on the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us feed our beautiful fur babies
Just a quick update. I finally got round to doing something with that other piece of the room divider. It’s now part of an awesome pallet headboard ;-)
32 comments
Use the middle piece for a statement piece in the living ro0m above your couch. With the legs off, my original idea of using the legs for a partial frame for your initial changed. With the legs on you could have used a curved version of your initial, but without legs I believe the plain letter would be better.
That’s such a lovely idea Maxine. Thank you very much ?
I love this idea and as for the third panel, I would have used it on it’s side in the middle of the other 2 panels to take the place of the head board. I don’t have one for my guest bed and this would work great. Thank you so much for the idea. Now I will be on the look-out for a room divider.
Wow Gerry, you must have been sending secret signals some how. We just this weekend, used the left over panel to make a headboard. That’s quite freaky and I absolutely love you idea. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate that so much
Designs in Room Divider are looks great!!! We are the manufacturers of Wooden Room Dividers handmade by craftsman in India. One can order it and get it delivered at home worldwide – AarsunWoods.com
Oh I have to go have a look at that. We struggle to find beautiful ones here. Thank you
They are super cute! I have a room divider I don’t use anymore and I know it would be perfect for this project. On my to do list. Love them Michelle!
Hey, that was quick. Thanks so much Carolann, I’d love to see what you do with yours
What a great way to reuse the divider, very clever! I don’t think it’s creepy I all. I think it looks very pretty with the light hanging down in front. You and the hubby did a fantastic job. Love it!
Thank you Linda <3 My mom's not a big fan of skulls so when she comes to stay we pack it away, so she doesn't stress.
What a beautiful old screen – love what you have done with it – the room looks so relaxing and beautiful. I think a cupboard door would be wonderful for the last piece, or something in the garden?
Thank you Sarah. A friend of ours has asked us to make her a craft cupboard from the left over piece, but I agree with you it would look stunning in the garden too
What an amazing way to upcycle this divider! In a million years, I would have never thought to use them this way. They’re gorgeous! Hope your weekend is a fun one, CoCo
Oh my word Coco, thank you so much. Love, love, love what you do at The Crowned Goat.
That definitely works for me. It ties together so nicely!
Thank you so much Anon ;-)
So adorable! I adore DIY projects. LOVE your take on this… you can do so many things with room dividers! FUN!
Thanks Jill :-)
Michelle, I love what you did with the room dividers!! They look great on either side of the bed with those pretty light hanging in front. I’m sure you’ll find an amazing way to use the other divider!
Thank you Keri, I love the difference it’s made to our bedroom.
You are so creative! I love how well this came together. I never would have thought to do this.
Thank you so much Hannah :-)
They look awesome!! Love when you are able to think out of the box and find another use for something that is made with a specific purpose. The lanterns are gorgeous too!
Thank you sooooo much :-)
Michelle this is gorgeous. Actually, the word does not do it justice. I love the intricate work of the panels and how you combined them so well with the lights. The neutral colors that you used only serve to highlight the beautiful texture even more. And the net is so pretty in the room, creating a soft look. Pinning.
Thank you Mary ;-)
How clever, it’s so so unique and super pretty! I love the idea and having it beside your bed on each side is so cool! Wow! Love that scull too!!!
Thanks Katrin and I agree with you, I love that wooden scull, so pretty and it’s perfect for hanging up my fake jewelry.
Oh my Gosh! This is jaw-dropping gorgeous! I love the quality it has given the room and much better than its original function!
Thank you sooo much Maya. They’ve made such a difference in the bedroom.
This is so beautiful and the teddies are adorable. Glad to see someone else also keeps them.
Thank you Anon :-) Love those teddies