She Transforms Styrofoam Balls And Wood Into A Chic Way To Light Up Your Home

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Modern design gives off an air of luxury with its clean lines, monochromatic color palettes, natural materials, and geometric forms that communicate minimalism, functionality, and taste. Thankfully, achieving the organic modern aesthetic in your home doesn't have to be a costly endeavor. In fact, the style's focus on simplicity is ideal for DIY projects, keeping materials and effort to a minimum. If you've been wanting a stylish statement light source to brighten up your home, build your own by gluing styrofoam balls to a wooden dowel and then illuminating the dowel with a strand of lights. 

One way to give your home a cozy, lived-in feel is to use different types of light fixtures that suit your design style and set the tone for the space. The warm glow of a tabletop lamp is inviting and intimate, while a commanding chandelier brings elegance to the space. Een if this DIY light is tucked into a corner, it can add an eye-catching decorative element and a soft glow to the room.

You may already own some of the supplies needed to recreate this light, shared in a TikTok video by @diy_decoration_by_adisa. The project requires a square wooden dowel, such as the 1-inch-by-36-inch Waddell Hardwood Square Dowel from Home Depot, a sturdy wooden base, Styrofoam balls, water-based acrylic paint, a low-temperature hot glue gun, and battery-operated LED strip lights. 

The first step is to paint the Styrofoam using a brush and water-based acrylic paint. If you prefer spray paint, choose a product specifically labeled as safe for polystyrene foam. While the project in the TikTok video uses Styrofoam balls, you can use any shape, especially if you already have foam to repurpose for DIY projects. Otherwise, craft stores sell foam hemispheres, flat circles, squares, rectangles, cones, and more. You can also slice up pool noodles to create donut-shaped pieces.

While the foam dries, securely attach the wooden dowel to a sturdy base, making sure it stands upright and remains stable before proceeding. You can keep these pieces bare, as modern design does embrace the use of natural materials, but you can also paint them. Next, attach a strand of lights, starting at the wooden base and running up the dowel. A strip such as the 3.3-foot echosari Battery-Operated LED Strip Lights could work well because it includes a remote control, has adhesive backing, and can be trimmed to fit the dowel. The battery pack can be hidden behind the base, but if you choose to glue it down, make sure you can still access the batteries. 

Finally, arrange your Styrofoam shapes along the dowel before securing them with the hot glue, taking care not to cover the LED lights completely. Do you want a symmetrical or asymmetrical design? Do you want pieces on all sides of the dowel or just one? For a wider, more angular look, attach rectangular foam strips horizontally at intervals along the front of the dowel, creating a flat panel-like arrangement.