This TikToker Turned a Thrifted Wooden Bowl into a Pendant Light

published May 7, 2023
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Having a variety of lighting options in your space is a way to introduce a peaceful ambiance with different lamps, light bulbs, and hanging lights. Although you could purchase one, pendant lights can be fairly easy to DIY, and you can even use an item at the thrift store to brighten up your space.

Gianne (@tidytotes) is a Seattle-based painter and artist who shared an easy project for a renter-friendly pendant light that only requires the use of a drill.

After thrifting a red wooden bowl, she did the unimaginable and upcycled the bowl into a shade for a pendant light. You can’t put anything past a thrifted bowl, as it’s suitable for trinkets, rings, or small plants. Gianne’s DIY was a surprise, though, because a majority of pendant lights are usually made of rattan, glass, or metal.

To start the DIY, she used a drill to place a hole in the center of the bowl and then formed a circle big enough for a lightbulb. Once the LED light bulb was placed inside of the bowl, it was connected to a pendant light cable and attached to her ceiling. 

In her comment section, some were concerned for the safety of the bowl because it’s wooden. “Love but how do you know the wood won’t overheat and catch on fire?” But others assured that the LED light bulb doesn’t get hot enough to cause a fire. 

Others were pointing out the creativity in Gianne’s DIY, and that’s a key factor in most rental-friendly renovation projects, as lighting fixtures can often be lackluster. If you don’t happen to have a bowl lying around and don’t find an ideal one while thrifting, you can always purchase a light rattan lamp shade and a similar pendant lighting cord ($12) to Gianne.