I recently decided I hate the lights in my kitchen
So I wanted something great in like 10 minutes. Because I have what my husband calls a short attention span. I also wanted something cheap since the aforementioned husband is great at a lot of things but electricity is not one of them. And I didn't want to hire anyone for the job.
So I found some inexpensive shades at IKEA and bought them. I came through the door barely acknowledged my children pulled out a kitchen chair took off the old ugly fixture and shoved on the new cheap IKEA shade.
Upside down of course - because that's the only way I could make it work. And God knows I was not going back to IKEA. Sometimes having a short attention span really pays off.
But the guts of the light were showing which I didn't like. Neither did James my 9 year-old. I believe he said: ""that looks horrible mom.""
Um - okay.
My mom was in town busy ironing my new curtains made out of tablecloths (more on that later) and she was delicately dancing between being supportive and rolling her eyes. When I mentioned a coffee filter as a potential diffuser for light fixture she said ""hmm maybe” but I knew it was just to appease me.
Still in an effort to support me she came up with the parchment paper idea. Brilliant!
diy light fixture from a short attention span person like myself
In a nutshell:
- Remove the old ugly glass cover of the ceiling fixture
- Spit out all the dead bugs and dust that fall into your mouth
- Wash the old ugly glass cover and use it for something else: like a serving bowl or frisbee or very large soap dish
- Lay out some parchment paper
- Place the small side of the IKEA shade on the paper and trace with a pencil (I used a crayon because that's all I could find)
- Carefully cut out the circle and glue it on the shade with clear glue dots (found at craft stores) Totally kidding! Like I have those?! I used the crusty glue from the kids' backpacks
- Once the glue sets manhandle the shade back on to the fixture and poof - a new not-so-ugly fixture for under $15
The parchment paper hides the components of the light AND reduces the glare on my crow's feet - bonus!