DIY Hanging Herb Chandelier

Make a gorgeous, rustic herb chandelier in an afternoon and enjoy fresh herbs all summer long with this simple DIY woodworking tutorial.

If you’ve been following along with our backyard reno, then you’ve probably already seen our DIY Outdoor Pillow Covers and our Outdoor Storage Bench (with a hidden surprise!). The last part in this little corner of our backyard is the DIY Hanging Herb Chandelier.

(PS. Thank you for your help naming this project!! I was struggling to come up with a name, so I asked everyone over on Instagram stories. You guys totally delivered – thanks, friends!)

I have dreams of hanging this beauty over the center of our outdoor farmhouse table. Enjoying the scent of fresh herbs as we sip strawberry lemonade out of a mason jar and eat hot-off-the-grill chicken on top of a salad with lots of greens and fresh berries. (I would invite you over, of course!)

Well, my outdoor farmhouse table is still on my to do list, so I found this hanging herb chandelier a pretty little temporary home above my outdoor storage bench.

This herb chandelier is so simple to make – it took us less than an hour from start to finish! It does take a couple of specialized tools, but don’t let that scare you off. Just start building up your workshop by purchasing a tool at a time as you make projects and soon you’ll be unstoppable! Here’s how you build this Hanging Herb Chandelier:

How to Make a Hanging Herb Chandelier

Here’s a video that shows the whole process, be sure to subscribe to our channel so that you can see all the latest updates! (Plus we might just be doing a giveaway over there in the very near future!). I’ve also included a few extra details below.

You’ll Need:

4″ x 4″ beam
Ceiling Hooks
Thin Rope for Hanging the Pails (I used Coconut Husk Rope)
Thick Rope for Hanging the Herb Chandelier
2.5 Quart Galvanized Pails
Herbs

Tools:

To begin, I drilled some holes in my galvanized pails to allow the plants to drain, using a step bit on my drill.

I tried to control how much pressure I put on the bit so that it only went down to the first ‘step’ while creating three small holes in the bottom of each pail.

Then I planted my herbs – I chose a variety including rosemary, basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley, and oregano, but you can choose herbs that will grow well in the region you live in.

As you’re transferring the plants into the pails, make sure you loosen the root system and water them after you’ve planted. (If you have kiddos who are itching to help – this is the perfect project for them to help with…maybe just buy a little extra dirt).

I pre-drilled holes into the long wood beam. The beam that we had was 5 feet long, so I put my holes every 9 inches.

Then I screwed in the ceiling hooks. I made sure the hooks I purchased were sturdy enough to hole the galvanized pails with the plants and soil inside.

We used a screwdriver to screw the ceiling hooks all the way into the wood.

(Our little helper thought this looked like a lot of fun!)

We made sure the hooks were all facing the same direction.

I drilled a large hole into the ends of the wood using a 3/4″ forstner bit (which was about the same size as the diameter of my thick rope). This is where you could modify this project if you didn’t want to purchase another bit for your drill. There are so many ways you could hang this project. If I didn’t have this drill bit, I would just wrap the rope all the way around the beam and tie it securely.

Put some duct tape on the end of the rope so that the frayed edges would easily go through the hole. Then I tied a knot.

Then I used this coconut husk rope to hang the herb planters. I love it because it grasps really tightly, but it’s very easy to work with, and it has the look of a rustic twine.