I want to share how we turned a gifted basket into a $17 light fixture.
This was quite an accomplishment, for two reasons: The first is it’s tough to find a decent light fixture for less than $100, and we saved about 80 percent of that cost on this project. The second is that it feels appropriate for the space.
About one year ago my mom gave us a small set of stacking baskets, probably from Home Goods or the Dollar Store. I really loved the look of these little baskets, and I looked at them often as we used it to store our new baby’s little socks. And then one day I looked at them and thought, light fixture! A few months later, this project was born.
Tips and tricks:
1.) Selecting a light kit: We bought a light kit from Lowes. A light kit is basically just the guts of a light. It allows you to turn an object into a lamp or a light fixture, but you want to be sure to get the right one for your job. Some are for pendant lights, like ours. Others are better suited for lamps or other varieties of fixtures. It’s not tough to figure out what you need, so don’t be stopped by the foreign nature of the words “light kit.” Someone at your local hardware store should be able to help. Here’swhat we used.
2.) Prepping the “shade”: Lucky for us this basket came with a built-in shade, the liner inside the basket. A lot of people do similar lighting projects without them, but I prefer the diffusion that the shade offers. The first step after bringing the light kit home was cutting the shade to fit around it. Starting with an cross-cut in the center of the base of the lining, we just cut a circle out to get that part of the job done. Note: The liner is not a lampshade and we have no way of knowing if it is heat safe. We used a bulb that does not get hot and were still careful to ensure it did not rest to close to the liner. Always beware of fire hazards, and make the safest decision about what will work in your home. This method may not!
3.) Painting parts: You might not have noticed, but light fixtures usually have a small little plate that hugs the ceiling and disguises the area where the chords actually tie in to the home’s electrical wires. We spray panted the plate that was previously in the space and reused it. It was an easy way to save money. We also “customized” the light kit by spray painting it the same shade of grey we used on the ceiling plate. It wasn’t a necessary step, but it helped give the light fixture a more cohesive look.
4.) Modifying the basket: As we progressed, we realized that the metal base of the basket were too close together for our light kit to fit through them. To work around this hiccup, we simply used wire cutters to trim the base of the basket.
6.) Pulling it all together: The final step involved attaching the wires in the light kit to the ceiling wires and fitting the opening in the basket-turned-shade around the light kit.
Click here to go directly to a Goolge page with light fixture installation instruction and here for safety tips.
Analysis
I am happy with this simple project. The price is right and the look is better than I anticipated.
Cost: $17 light kit
