IKEA Chandelier Hack – Stockholm into Sputnik

Jules Yap·
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After pricing vintage Sputnik-type chandeliers, as well as new ones at DWR or Jonathan Adler, we decided we could not tap our retirement funds to splurge on one.

IKEA chandelier Stockholm into Sputnik hack

Materials:
  • IKEA chandelier, STOCKHOLM

We kind of liked the idea of the new IKEA chandelier under the STOCKHOLM range. But our hearts still yearned for that Russian space-satellite vibe.

So, we purchased the STOCKHOLM and performed a simple hack on it. We put the acrylic spokes in randomly rather than in the manner prescribed by the directions.

Magic. We love it. Take a look at the picture of the original Stockholm (below), as well as our faux “Sputnik-ified” version.

stockholm original
Photo: IKEA.com

And here’s our version again.

stockholm hack

~ by Caissie St.Onge

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Jules Yap
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50 Responses

  1. Hi all! I just picked up one of these. Is anybody still rocking it after all these years? Also would like some tips to easily transform This fixture.

    Reply

  3. Thank you so much for this great idea! I am restoring a 1960 mid-century modern home and really liked this fixture (as well as the price), but was concerned it would be too tall to hang over a dining table. Using your Sputnik method will totally solve the issue, plus make it way more interesting!

    I’m an artist, so have been adding my own twist to many details of the house and this will end up being another example of that. Thanks again for sharing your inspiration!

    Reply

  5. Hi! I have this ikea stockholm chandlier. Please suggest me a hack to clean this. I have dirt accumilated on it how can i clean it without removing each stands? What is the easiest way to clean this chandlier?

    Reply

  6. Wow! We just did this hack in my sister in laws new hair salon and it looks fab – I started off with a pattern and starting with the longer spokes but as I got near the end I just started randomly and evenly putting the spokes in – I think it looks much better than the recommended ikea version.

    Reply

  7. Wow! I installed the chandelier Sputnik style after seeing your hack. It’s amazing. It was easy to do, just time consuming and a little hard on the neck muscles. All I did was start with the longest spikes and placed them in randomly, then I put the next smallest size in and so on and so forth, randomly all over so the ball is even. Make sure you put the lightbulb in first because once it’s together, it’s a real headache to change the bulb. I had to contact IKEA because I couldn’t fit my hand in. They said to remove 1 or 2 of the slices and then replace them after you change the bulb. I think that it was a not very well thought out plan on their designer’s part because it is cumbersome to do, but it works. Love, love, love this light. I have it hanging over my Torsby table and Tobias chairs in my apartment. It’s the first thing that everyone notices. It’s a Wow statement piece!

    Reply

    1. Hi Laura! Do you still have your lamp up? We just picked up one and it has a few missing pieces. We were thinking of changing it before we put it up to this new style. Any other tips? Thanks!

      Reply

  8. Crap…….Why the heck didn’t I see this prior to having an electrician put it together according to the directions (I love it as designed but I REALLY REALLY LOVE your sputnik hack.). Wonder how much he’d charge to copy yours? I was actually looking for what size light bulb as the LED recommended by Ikea is way to dull to light up our dining room table. Wonder if I can use a dimmable 100w equivalent?

    Reply

  10. Your hack made it to the mainstream. My local Ikea displayed this lamp in standard and “random” style. I’m installing mine right now.

    Reply

  11. Great hack! I need light bulb advice. I just hung my Stockholm, and the bare bulb glare from a plain incandescent is hard on the eyes. Next I picked up a bulb at Lowe’s designed for bare bulb applications and am not thrilled with that, either. I saw (yes, after the fact) that Ikea recommends the LEDARE LED bulb E26 600 lumen clear. I’m hesitant about the clear version, but Ikea makes (and Amazon carries) an opaque version. Has anyone tried either of these? Are they noticeably different? Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hi Maureen, so now that you had this lamp for a while what kind of lightbulbs did you end up using? I just picked up one of these lamps and we are going to install it after I change it to the style.

      Reply

  12. Amazing Hack! I have had the expensive sputnick in my previous home but I actually like your hack better! I can’t wait to try this myself. Thanks!

    Reply

  13. Just used your fabulous hack! Actually, at the Ikea in Orlando they had one set up Sputnik style & I fell in love with it. Many of you are concerned about the size of this chandelier, so I will share my finished measurements from the ceiling. My electrician shortened the cord and wire to the maximum physically possible and my hung fixture is 36″ to longest bottom spoke. I can not figure out any way to make it less unless you come up with a way to replace the half sphere that mounts to the ceiling bracket with something flatter. An assembly tip: I inserted all the longest spokes into the fixture first to insure they are evenly spaced throughout the fixture, and the I inserted to next longest spokes, again spacing evenly throughout. From there you can more or less randomly fill in with the shorter spokes, still trying not to put any two identical spokes next to each other. It took be about 1 1/2 hours to fully assemble all spokes and I did not find any need to switch spokes around, using my method.

    Hope this info is helpful.

    Reply

  14. Hi, my wife and I just bought the chandelier and think your style is great! One question: how would you shorten the length of the cord? Our ceiling is low, so we need to make it as short as possible and cannot figure out how to do this and preserve the extra cord (trying to get it into the dome) in the event we want to move it to another location. Thanks for the advice/help!

    Reply

  15. @Monica & @Eric, no real instructions, just basically stuck the spokes in one at a time and eyeballed it as we went to make sure we were spreading out the different lengths all over the globe. If you buy the chandelier you will be able to see that there are a certain number of spokes in a few different lengths, so we basically made sure that about 1/4 of each type made it into 1/4 of the globe, if that makes sense. But, we weren’t fussy about making it perfect. @Jacko, we are kind of slobs and rarely clean it even though it is in our kitchen and probably collects the most yuck of anything in our house. After six months, we just ran a Swiffer duster over it and it’s a-ok! @KT, I’m not sure if it would hold spray paint or not, but I will say that the light sort of shines through the acrylic spokes, so if you did try to spray it, it probably wouldn’t be as sparkly because the refraction would be occluded. I think of it as being pretty neutral and complimentary to the other finishes in our house, since it is clear.

    Reply

  18. Fab hack. I’d love it, but worried about the dust and how long it will look good. It must be a bugger to clean! Any ideas anyone?

    Reply

  20. Do you have the the steps to how you “hacked” this chandelier? I love what you did. I recently bought this and have it spread out in the spare room and feel overwhelmed in trying to put this together.
    Any help is appreciated.
    Thanks.
    Monika

    Reply

  21. I did this hack yesterday and it turned out great! There are 6 different spokes that come in the package. I put them in in this order: 6,5,4,1, 3,2 trying to space them interestingly and evenly as I went. It wasn’t totally random because I wanted to make sure it didn’t turn out lopsided!

    Reply

  24. I showed this to my wife and we both like your Spuknikified version way better. I think we will do this in our new home. Thanks for inspiring!!

    Reply

  26. Love what you did with the chandelier- I can not locate on the ikea website- how many light bulbs does this take, it appears by your photo, it is one but not sure

    Reply

  28. @HSN, we put an LED bulb in there so we shouldn’t have to change it for 20 years, we hope, BUT, we realized that the best way to change it, if you had to, was to remove one of the C-shaped “slices” of spokes from the upper and lower frames, change the bulb, then replace the slice. That should do the trick!

    Reply

  29. Freaking Awesome!!!! I kept eyeballing this light fixture, but I just wasn’t sold on the shape and size. With your hack idea, it’s a done deal! LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER the way you assembled it!! Fantastic Idea!

    Reply

  31. Is it possible to change the lightbulb once the chandelier is constructed? A standard light bulb doesn’t quite fit through the bottom ring (and neither does my hand, which is small!)

    Reply

  32. We were able to shorten the hanging length of the chandelier but cutting the wire cable, but I don’t know the exact dimensions of the “ball.” Our house is fairly small with low ceilings, but while I consider it a statement, I don’t think it’s overpowering. I do have non-filter pics, but not sure how to post one. I will tweet one. My handle is @Caissie.

    Reply

  33. This looks great! Do you have any pictures without an Instagram filter by chance? Just trying to get a better idea what it looks like in person.

    Reply

  34. Awesome! Thank you! I’ve been wanting to buy this chandelier but hated the shape.
    I’m so glad it can be customized! Great work! 🙂

    Reply

  35. Didn’t realise the acrylic spoke self-assembly could be modified; I’d assumed the final shape was pre-determined by the design (to prevent error). Definitely gonna try this now!

    Reply

  36. Lisa, on the actual Ikea website, if you go there, the diameter as put together there is 20 inches. It says it has a chain and a hook. So, I imagine you can carefully shorten chain and cord or swag it… gaining maybe 8 inches, but looking at the cup for the ceiling, dont know that it would be that much, maybe a gain of more like 4″. hope that helps

    Reply

  38. Your hack is AMAZING and closely resembles the high end (i.e. out of my price range) models. Question: the website says the chandelier is 28 inches in height; can this length be shortened? I have a hallway this would be perfect for, but at 28 inches, it would hang too low and the website doesn’t specify if the height can be modified. Thanks!

    Reply

  39. wow! I saw this in the catalogue and thought, such a pretty fixture, but what an ugly shape, I didn’t know how it was put together spoke by spoke. this is beautiful!

    Reply

  41. Nice work! Compared to yours, the normal lamp is too symmetrical and static. Your personalized version is way more lively.

    Reply

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