Turn A Pool Noodle Into Stunning Light-Up Home Decor With An Easy DIY

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Pool noodle hacks have become quite clever, with people using them to create everything from pool noodle hacks for watering your garden to stunning lighting displays. Because of the flexibility of the foam noodles, it's possible to construct lighting decor that's twisted into shape and lit with the delicate touch of fairy lights and sparkling acrylic diamond garlands, as @my_home_by_kendra_nicole demonstrated. The subtle dusting of color that the lamp gets from a little spray paint completes this magical piece. Given how plain these noodles are, it can be difficult to comprehend how lovely the finished product of this hack will be. 

This piece sits on a wood base made with 12-by-12-inch wood art panels from the HANSILK Store. It's best to use this type of wood panel because the underside is hollow, a feature that becomes critical in one of the steps of the DIY. A single pool noodle, plus a 16.5-foot strand of clear acrylic crystal garland from JIAKAI, and some battery-operated fairy lights, are some of the other key pieces you'll need for this project. You'll also need two wooden dowels to give the pool noodles their shape.

 A drill, some screws or wood glue, as well as some needle-nosed pliers, a miter shear, and a pair of scissors are the tools you'll need to shape the DIY. Finally, you'll need some textured paint and sponge brushes to take the pool noodles from their naturally neon color palette to something a little more subtle and elegant.

Your first step is to cut the wooden dowel rods into two short pieces. Cut them right down the middle at a 45-degree angle using the miter shears. If you've never used miter shears, you'll appreciate how easy they make cutting angled pieces. Though we're using them to cut wood here, they're also good for cutting plastic, moulding, and other construction-related items. 

Next, cut the pool noodles at a matching angle. Attach the dowels to the baseboard with the angled side being fastened to the board. Use either wood glue or a drill and some screws for this step. The dowels should be angled away from each other. This position will make the most dramatic loop in the pool noodle when you insert the dowels into the holes in the center of the noodles. Once the basic shape of the light is constructed, spray paint the entire DIY using Rust-Oleum Chiffon Cream Chalked Matte Paint, then follow this up with the Rust-Oleum Bleached Stone Texture Spray. This makes the piece look like solid stone. 

Once the paint dries, attach four strands of the garland to the underside of the pool noodle. Trim it into short pieces so that it'll fit within the confines of the twisted pool noodle. A pair of needle-nosed pliers will help you pull open the wires that hold the crystals together. Glue the fairy lights in among the garland strands. If glue doesn't work, use an open staple gun to affix the lights to the noodle. Hide the lights' cord on the underside of the base.

Glamorous lighting displays make a home look more expensive. Thanks to the design of this DIY light, you've already achieved a chic look. However, you have some options to make it even more so. One simple way to do this is to construct a second, smaller light that has a 6-inch by 6-inch base and a shorter pool noodle. Once it's done, it can be placed to one side of the light to create an asymmetrical lighting display.

Another option you have is to add more noodles to the original piece. There are a couple of designs that would look pretty. The first would be to place three pool noodles of varying heights, one right after the other, with the shortest one in front and the tallest one in back. Alternatively, you can place a taller pool noodle in the middle and then flank it on both sides with two slightly shorter ones. If you go with these designs, you'll need to adjust the position of the tallest pool noodle so that you have enough room to add two more noodles to the mix. You'll want to leave a couple of inches between the positioning dowels, too, so that each pool noodle retains its own shape. This alternative design adds height and depth to your room with this decor piece, making your space more interesting. You could also switch up the spray paint color for something that fits more into your aesthetic.