I've gotten tons of questions about the pendant light in my breakfast nook/craft room, so I thought I would share how it came to be with you! For years there was a dusty old ceiling fan hanging in my breakfast nook, and I absolutely detest ceiling fans. I'm not sure why I lived with it for so long, but this year I vowed to change it...I mean, doesn't such a great space deserve pretty lighting? So...anyhoo...I had this gorgeous lamp shade that I loved that I knew would make the perfect pendant light. I sat it on my table and let it live there for a week trying to figure out the easiest way to make it work, then I called in the calvary, my fabulous father-in-law! I know...I could have probably figured it out myself, but I would have had an awfully hard time considering that I am 5ft. tall and terrified of electricity. Today, I want to show you how to turn a lamp shade into a pendant light!
Here is the before...
See...I had to hide my ugly fan with a Faux Stained Glass Window I made...oh, the shame!
Here is how we turned a lamp shade into a pendant light...you are welcome ;)
First, TURN OFF THE POWER TO THE LIGHT SOURCE YOU ARE REMOVING!
Remove the ceiling fan. We opted for removing the blades first to make it a little easier to work on getting the screws out of the ceiling.
You will need a pendant light kit, a cap to cover the hole in your ceiling that holds all of the electrical parts and of course, a lamp shade! If you really don't want to piece your own pendant light together, you can totally buy them already assembled!
Next, follow these instructions... How To Wire Pendant Light Structures. I could totally try to tell you how to do this in my own words, but I would severely mess up the names of each piece. I snapped pics as we went along, and my father-in-law made sure to tell me that nobody should really need instructions for this, but I know better. He is old school, so I just grabbed the you-tube video that actually explains it well instead of making you listen to me call things what-cha-macalits and doodads. You are welcome ;)
A little note: If your lamp shade needs a lamp harp, you will need to slide the harp over the pendant cord before installing. Mine had to be installed this way, but most lamp shades can simply slipped on over the bulb.
Also be sure not to tighten the ceiling cap until you pull the cord down to your desired length. I wanted mine to hang over my table like a chandelier since I will be using the light to work by. If you aren't placing a table underneath, then you may want to hang yours higher.
I just love the way it looks in my breakfast nook/craft space/office! I actually enjoy working in there now and not having to hide the ugly old ceiling fan!
So, do you have any old lampshades hanging around that you could turn into beautiful pendant lights?
Sharing at Tidy Mom!
Hand Scraped Flooring says
Great tutorial! Love how the breakfast nook turned out. Even though I don't have a breakfast nook, may have to try it in a bedroom corner. Thanks for the idea!
Karisa Hiemstra says
Love the look! Where did you get the material for those curtains? I am in love!!
Jessica says
Thanks, Karisa! It's from Onlinefabricstores.net My favorite place to buy fabric!
Mary Grant says
I have been trying ro find fabric similar to the one you have for curtains. Where did you get the fabric from?
Jessica says
Hi, Mary! It's from onlinefabricstore.net They have the most beautiful fabric!! Hope this helps! ~Jess
Tanya Carlucci says
Does it set off a lot of light since its a lamp shade? We bought a lamp shade to turn into a pendant and realized just that, it might not project enough light since its a lamp shade. (We got it for our nursery) thoughts?
Jessica says
As long as I use a bright enough bulb, it works great! Hope this helps! xoxo Jess
Brianne Lester says
Where did you get the harp & finial piece that fit the pendant cord through the hole? I have a shade that I would like to hang from a cheap pendant cord set and I like the upside down idea, but don't know how to do it.