Building your own chandelier sounds like crystal and brass arms – the workshop version is a lot simpler: a lamp cage made of ring modules, six fabric cables, six lamp holders and a ceiling rose with six holes. The pendants run from the ceiling rose through the rings of the cage and then hang freely inside it. The result looks like one big light, but at its core it's six times what you already know from a single pendant. Here's how to assemble the cage, route the cables and get everything hanging evenly at the end.
Materials and tools
For the round cage chandelier you'll need:
- a cage structure, such as Cage Cerchio: size S made of 6 modules of 22 cm each (40 cm diameter) or size M made of 6 modules of 32 cm each (60 cm diameter),
- a ceiling rose with six holes from the multi-outlet ceiling roses,
- six lamp holders with cord grip and six light bulbs,
- fabric cable for six drops – sold by the metre or cut to length in the configurator.
Tools: flat-head screwdriver, wire strippers, folding rule, pencil, and a drill for the ceiling plate. The square cage (Cage Quadrat, 4 modules, 34 × 34 or 48 × 48 cm) goes together exactly the same way, just with four corners instead of six ring points.
Step 1: Choose the cable size
Before you order: if the ceiling rose or any lamp holder is metal, all six cables need to be 3x0.75 with an earth, and every earth gets connected. With a ceiling rose and lamp holders made of porcelain, ceramic or plastic, 2x0.75 is enough. Mixing is not a good idea – a single metal part on the light decides for all of them. Why that is, is explained in 2x0.75 or 3x0.75?
Step 2: Assemble the cage
The structure arrives flat-packed. Lay the modules out in a ring on a soft surface and push them together before any cable comes into play. Check that the ring lies flat and isn't warped – a circle that's crooked on the floor hangs even more crooked from the ceiling. On size M the six ring points are about 32 cm apart, on S about 22 cm. These points are where one pendant each will later run through the cage.
Step 3: Plan the lengths
Each drop has two sections: from the ceiling rose diagonally down to the ring, and from the ring straight down to the lamp holder. First measure where the cage should hang. Above a dining table, a gap of 60 to 70 cm between the tabletop and the bottom of the bulbs is a good starting point; in a stairwell it can hang a lot lower.
That gives you the cable length per drop: ceiling height minus the hanging height of the lamp holder, plus a bit for the diagonal run to the ring, plus 15 cm connection allowance in the ceiling rose. If you're unsure, add 20 to 30 cm per drop. You can always shorten, you can't lengthen. The full calculation is in Calculating cable length.
Equal lengths give you a calm, level plane of light. If you want a cascade, plan the differences deliberately at 15 to 20 cm – a random 3 cm just looks like a mistake.
Step 4: Wire the lamp holders
You do this on the floor, six times in a row: cable through the lamp holder's cord grip, remove the sheath, strip the cores, into the lamp holder's terminals, tighten the cord grip. With 3x0.75 and a metal lamp holder, the green-and-yellow earth goes to the PE terminal. The cord grip has to carry the weight, not the cores in the terminal. How to remove the fabric sheath cleanly without it fraying is shown in Stripping fabric cable.
Step 5: Route the cables through the cage
Now comes the actual chandelier part. Lay the cage flat and feed each cable from the outside through a ring point, so the lamp holder hangs down inside the cage. One cable per point, working clockwise – that way you'll know later which cable belongs to which hole in the ceiling rose. Mark the cables at the top end with masking tape from 1 to 6.
Important: the cage hangs from the ceiling rose; the pendants only run through it. The weight of everything – cage plus six pendants with bulbs – is ultimately carried by the ceiling rose, and that in turn by the ceiling fixing.
Step 6: Wire the ceiling rose
Feed the six cables from below through the six cord grips of the ceiling rose, then remove the sheath and strip each one at the top. All the L cores go together into the connector, all the N cores together, and with 3x0.75 all the earths together – each along with the matching core of the ceiling wiring. That's seven conductors per pole. Check beforehand that the connector is rated for that; with this many cores, push-in connectors are easier to keep track of than a terminal block, see Terminal block or push-in connector?
The connection to the ceiling wiring must be done by a qualified electrician. All the more so with six drops and a metal ceiling rose with an earth. You can prepare everything up to the connector in the ceiling rose, so that on site only the ceiling wiring needs adding.
Step 7: Line it up
Once everything is hanging, level the cage: spirit level or folding rule from the tabletop to two opposite ring points. Then move each lamp holder so it hangs straight below its ring point. Only then screw in the bulbs. With exposed bulbs it pays to use identical models and one colour temperature – six different shades of white are obvious straight away.
Common mistakes
Not numbering the cables before routing them: then two drops cross above the ring, and you only notice once it's on the ceiling. Ordering too little: six drops means six lots of allowance. And: overlooking a metal part and ordering 2x0.75. Better to check the parts list first.
FAQ
How many pendants fit in the cage?
With the round Cage Cerchio six, one per ring point. With the square Cage Quadrat four, one per corner.
Can I hang a cage chandelier from a standard ceiling outlet?
Yes. All the pendants come together in one connector in the ceiling rose, so there's still just one ceiling outlet. The light is then switched as a whole.
Which light bulbs work?
Exposed bulbs such as globes or porcelain-effect LEDs, because the cage defines the shape and shades would hide it. Dimmable LEDs are worth it – six points of light at full power is a lot of light.
You can put the complete build together in the configurator – here already preset with a black cage, black fabric cable and porcelain lamp holders: Open the cage chandelier in the configurator. The preset ceiling rose is metal – so make sure you go for the cable with an earth (3x0.75).