How to Make Stylish DIY Kitchen Island Lights With Lampshades
Need a renter-friendly solution to your pendant lights? This project is for you! You don’t need to spend big bucks to have stunning high-end pendant lights, you just need a little innovation!
This project doesn’t require any power tools and you can easily find everything you’ll need at your local hardware and home goods stores.
As a renter myself, I had been wanting to update my kitchen to match my aesthetic a bit more. This project is a quick, easy, and budget-friendly way to do just that.
Follow me as I do it myself and show you how you can as well!
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Tools and Materials:
- Mini hacksaw
- Lampshade
- Clear silicone
Best Clear Silicone
1. Remove Your Pendant Light
Before I did anything, I needed to remove my current pendant light.
As I’m a renter, I made sure to save all parts of the light fixture that came with the apartment in a safe space so that when I eventually move out I can put everything back to the way it was originally.
If your light fixtures are glass, take extra care when removing and storing them.
2. Create the New Pendant Light
I started by removing the circular piece at the top of the lampshade where it would usually be screwed in place on a lamp.
If you have power tools you can use one here, but I wanted to keep this project renter friendly so I’ll show you how to do it with a mini hacksaw.
Do this part carefully as you don’t want to slip and injure yourself.
3. Hang the Lampshade
I added a tiny ball of silicon to the end of the three pieces of metal that were connected to the circular piece we just removed.
I decided to go with silicone because while it will secure it in place, it will also be easy to remove it when I move out.
Then I thread the pendant light through the three pieces of metal and secured it in place.
DIY Kitchen Island Lights
And that’s it! Just a few minutes out of my day and I have already made my rental feel homier and more my style.
How would you upgrade your rental? Let me know in the comments below!
Comments
Join the conversation
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I have a suggestion to upgrade those plain lampshades we see on sale everywhere. I bought some cording I think it's called at a fabric store. Sold by the yard so measure first. You could also use ribbon. Glue carefully around the top and bottom of the lamp shade. You could chose an accent color or just go with the color of the new lamp shade.
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I like this idea and you did a good job with what you had. I have a kitchen that didn't have enough overhead lighting and gave out shadows when I tried to cut up veggies. I solved that by having updated overheads in (brighter and whiter - not yellow) and purchased a small lamp at a thrift shop that was cobolt blue. It was the accent color I needed and did a dynamite job of killing shadows. Even my guy commented, "Wow, that's much better". Sorry no pix, I'm not at home.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
You said that you put the lampshade on the pendant lights and then you "secured" them. How did you "secure" them?
I’d give anything just to have hanging lights instead of these stupid fluorescent things! I love the light itself from them but I sure would love to have some regular lighting.
You did a great job on these and so so simple! My only question is do you have enough light in the room now?
Genius. Love it.