DIY pendant lamp

We've never liked the light fixture in our living room. It wasn't our style, it didn't make sense with the rest of the lighting in our house, and after painting the living room a light blue-grey (Sico's Clouds of Volcanic Ash), it stuck out even more. We knew we wanted to replace it, but there always seemed to be a higher priority project on the list.

{before}

Then one of the two bulbs burned out, so it wasn't even really providing light any more.

{before, providing virtually no light}

Adam's brother gave us an Ikea lantern he wasn't using months ago (maybe a year ago, even?) and when I was cleaning out the storage area in our basement it occurred to me that it would be a good temporary fix until we were ready to invest in something permanent. I found a mini pendant kit at Home Depot for $14.99 (I could only find the chrome kit online, but in store they also had it in white and ORB). If you have an Ikea nearby (we don't), they probably offer something similar, possibly even cheaper. Adam took down the old fixture and had this one up in less than 30 minutes.

{after}

For a single-bulb fixture, it adds a decent amount of soft light to the room. Much better than what we had going on before.

The pendant light clips into the lantern's frame and we just eyeballed how low we wanted it to hang, then marked the cord with painter's tape so we could shorten it. Since it hangs over the coffee table (i.e. no heads to worry about), we were able to get away with hanging it a bit lower and I love the effect.

Even as a temporary fix, it suits the room - and our style - much better than the old light. It's bright, airy and casual, and it adds another modern element to the room.

This room still needs an area rug to tie it all together (and cover up the laminate flooring until we replace it down the road) and I've already ordered THE ONE. Unfortunately it's on backorder until the end of the month, so it won't arrive for awhile yet. Wouldn't it be awesome if it got here in time for my birthday? A girl can dream.