Title: Converting Plug-in Pendants to Custom Chandelier
Bonnie used a grouping of inexpensive IKEA light fixtures to create a custom fixture for her dining room — and it looks much more expensive than it cost! Click above for the pics and head below for all the instructions. Give Bonnie a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful...
TOOLS:
3 small IKEA Melodi plug-in pendant lamps ($9.99 each)
3/4" aluminum conduit piping (we bought three 5' pipes, but had leftovers)
plywood
gloss polyurethane
wood stain
3 cable ties
light fixture box heavy enough to support weight of box (unless you're just replacing an old fixture)
STEPS:
1. Install fixture box in desired location in ceiling if needed (we were installing it in a room with no existing ceiling light, but had a switch to an existing outlet already, so we fished the wire from the outlet to the ceiling where we installed the fixture box)
2. Build simple plywood box (open on top) — ours was 42" wide, 18"deep, and 3.5" high
3. Sand, apply wood stain, and apply several coats of gloss polyurethane (follow directions on wood stain and polyurethane)
4. Drill three, 3/4" holes in bottom of plywood box (we did them 13" apart)
5. Cut aluminum piping to desired lengths (leave a little bit of extra for inside the box)
6. Drill two small holes directly across from each other at top of each pipe (large enough to fit a cable tie through)
7. Cut off plug-in ends of pendant lights
8. Pull pendant light cords through pipes
9. Feed a cable tie through the two holes at the top of each pipe and connect the ends to keep them from falling through the holes in the box
10. Wire lights together and attach to fixture box
11. Screw box to ceiling (this varies depending on your ceiling — we nailed two strips of wood to the ceiling joists, and screwed the box to these on either side so it can be easily removed if needed)
RESOURCES:
Just IKEA and your basic hardware store
Give Bonnie a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Bonnie's got hairy arms and a five o'clock shadow....
I like this so much I might try it at home.
view kelleyk's profile
I'm confused. What does the main photo of the living room have to do with this project?
view Anna at D16's profile
The lovely new paint, new floors, absent sheers, and new furniture make it hard to tell it is the same room.
Clever use of cable ties, and a very attractive result.
view Splomo's profile
Anna at D16 - we weren't sure about that first pic either! but thought it was a strong enough project to post!
view Aaron's profile
kinda clunky
view sunan's profile
This is very good-looking. This does not look like $60.
The least this looks like it could cost is $250 if you ask me.
This is just beautiful.
view Curtis's profile
Ha, the hairy arms/ five o'clock shadow would be my wonderful hubby Kevin ;-)
As for the living room photo, I apologize for the randomness, it was the only pic we had of the room before renovation (the previous owner's), and a before pic was required. We turned it onto a dining room and there was no overhead light...
We needed something inexpensive, since we're slowly working through renovating the whole house on a budget. I saw the pendants at ikea and figured I could turn them into something. We kind of had to wing it as we went, and originally thought we could install them into some sort of existing box or fixture plate of some sort, but after scouring the hardware store gave up since it had to be long enough to space the lights far enough apart. We just decided to use some scrap plywood and build the box to the dimensions we needed. The cable ties to hold them in, was likewise stumbled across after a lot of frustrating trial and error, and scrounging the house for something that might work:) (although I noticed, one of the lights hangs a tad lower than other 2, but haven't felt like taking it down to fix yet)
It gave us what we needed, which was some much needed light and a fun fixture that didn't cost a ton (really, less than $60 since most of what we used we already had lying around).
Here are some more pics of it in the room, and thanks a TON to AT and all of you, for the inspiration/ ideas I've been using throughout our remodeling!
http://picasaweb.google.com/mckernanb/34NewlandCtRenovations#5306022852572063906
view mckernanb's profile
Very nice project and beautiful home! Congratulations! You mentioned that the ceiling didn't have a preexisting fixture box. How did you fish the wires from an outlet to the ceiling? Was the outlet on a side wall? Did you have to take down the drywall? I also want to hang a ceiling fixture but there is no fixture box in the ceiling. We have recessed lights instead. I wonder if I can "steal" the wires from the recessed lights if I cannot find any wires from an outlet like you did. Any ideas? Thanks!
view catrin's profile
Hi Catrin!
To fish the wires from the outlet to the ceiling I think we had to cut 2 small holes in the drywall (and patch one). The outlet that was already controlled by a switch was on one of the walls in the room (in the pic, it's to the right of the windows).
1. We cut the first hole for the fixture box in the ceiling where we wanted it (I think we used a more heavy duty fixture box made for a ceiling fan) and,
2. another hole right where the wall and ceiling met directly above where the outlet was (I forget if we had to cut a small hole by the outlet too or if we were able to just pull it out and access from there?).
We then used an electrical fish tape reel (from Home Depot) to "fish" the wire from the outlet up to hole#2 where we had to drill a small hole in the ceiling joist I think to get the wire from the wall to the ceiling--this hole we had to patch after (sorry, not sure if this all makes sense). From there, just a straight shot to the hole where the fixture box was going. It was actually a lot easier than it sounds.
With that being said, at the end of our hallway we ALSO installed a ceiling fixture where there currently wasn't one (see pic#81 in photo album) and that one we did just wire it to a single recessed light nearby (the light directly over the dinette table in pic#79) which was controlled individually from the other group of recessed lights in the kitchen, so now the switch turns on the one recessed can and the new fixture nearby. If you have that option, it may be easier...
Ha, sorry for the long response-- hope that helps a little! If you need more details just let me know, and I'll have my husband refresh my memory on the exact steps we used:)
view mckernanb's profile