9/23

Elsie’s dream (DIY) light fixture

Budget: $$, Dad Helped, Dining Room, Epic Projects (Advanced), Home Decor
By Elsie Larson

My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!)I'm so excited to finally share one of my favorite DIY adventures in our current home! If you're a crazy detail person you might remember that we kept the chandelier that our home came with for about a year (you can see it in this post) and we really liked it. When we first moved in it was the one fixture in the house that we actually wanted to keep. So you're probably thinking, "What changed your mind?" Well, every time we had people over for dinner and drinks we would usually end up sitting around the table. And the atmosphere at night was just kinda boring. In the spring we added string lights to the back porch and I started to wish for something more like that in our dining room. It was just so vibey in comparison. 

I usually take an eternity to pick out light fixtures. No problemo, though, because I went with simple metal pendant lights for almost every room in our home. I knew this room needed something special and different to accent our homemade 8 seat table, so I was on the lookout for that perfect "wow factor" fixture. Low and behold, I saw this pin and fell in love! I knew it would be a perfect for our space. I emailed my dad the photo to see it if he thought it was possible to DIY and his response was basically, "Let's do it next week". Enter happy dance! I found the one.My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!) So, this isn't exactly a DIY post, because we can't recommend you build a light fixture from scratch with no electrical experience. That sounds kinda dangerous, doesn't it? Safety first, y'all. But if you do fall in love with the design as much as I did and want to create something similar, these details could help you do that with the help of a professional. 🙂 Here's how my dad describes the process of putting this together!

"First, we decided to go with white, since her ceiling is white, and parts are easy to find. Next, we discussed the layout which was dictated by her dining room table size. We decided to have 11 lights total and cover above table evenly in a 2-1-2-1-2-1-2 pattern. Her table is 8 ft long and 3 1/2 ft wide, a large table as is her dining room. The next step was to draw the tabletop on a sheet of paper and note where the electrical wiring is located on the ceiling. Then draw the 2-1-2-1-2-1-2 pattern evenly and this gave us a template to work off of. We then had to decide how far the lights were to be above the table. With this information we could decide how long each wire needed to be from the ceiling outlet to the light socket. We soldered 18/2-gauge wire to the sockets and insulated with heat shrink tubing. All parts were white. Next, we mounted the 11 wired sockets on the ceiling using a hammer and white staples that worked well with the 18/2-gauge wire while referring to the layout template we made. We hooked up the 11 runs of wire in parallel with the electrical ceiling outlet. You will need to check your local electrical code in your area or have a electrician to terminate the wiring. We screwed in the lights to the sockets, tested the lights and finished by placing a white plastic cover plate over ceiling outlet."My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!) My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!) My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!) My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!) I'm so happy with the end result. We have a dimming switch in the dining room so the lights are perfectly soft for dinners with friends. I love the look of the fixture in morning light and at night, which I think is key. Hooray! With another giant project under our belts we're feeling pretty cozy over here. Now, who wants to come over for dinner? 😉My dream light fixture (and it's DIY!!)xoxo. Elsie 

Credits: Author and Photos/Elsie Larson, Project/Don Chapman (our dad!!)

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