Tuesday, October 30, 2012

42 Preston's Bedroom Update: DIY Herringbone Pendant

We are slowly but surely making progress on the tweaking of Preston's bedroom.  We started out with a plan, painted his dresser, and now I am tackling the lighting situation.


Preston's bedroom started out with the typical "boob light" prior to this project.  The bad blogger in me didn't snap a before picture, but it basically looked like this:

I decided we needed something a bit more appropriate for our growing boy {read into that however you wish...}

Back when we were working on my brother's apartment, we purchased a drum shade from IKEA that we were going to hang in the kitchen.  Since he was renting, the hubs didn't want to mess with the electrical, so we decided to nix it there and I figured I would save it for Preston's room instead.  WIN!


Although the site states that the shade is Gray, I find that it is more of a greige.  But it would still work in the space just fine.  However, since I decided to skip the bold pattern on the dresser and go for the simple, sophisticated hardware instead, I couldn't just hang up a boring ol' shade and call it done.  I still wanted to use the herringbone pattern that I had original found on Pinterest here from this fabulous blog here.

The supplies I used for this project were:

The paint marker was intended to be used on fabric, and I selected something with a fine point for my pattern.  This was my first time painting fabric, so I made sure to test out the pen on a small scrap piece before getting started.


The reason I decided to paint the shade instead of cover it with fabric was because I wanted to save money on the yardage, I wanted a clean look and there is no diffuser to hide any fabric covering imperfections from the bottom, and the shade is not a perfect drum {it is angled}, so covering it would have been a challenge that probably would have left me frustrated and in tears....

However, since the drum shade was slanted, I needed to determine how to make even lines down the sides.  Using the tape measure, I measured around both the top and bottom, and then used my handy calculator to determine the distance to mark on the top and the bottom, to have the same number of lines.


Using the paperclips to hold the tape measure in place, I was able to mark the measurements and then use my ruler to draw straight lines from the top of the shade to the bottom.


The next step was to add marks for the connecting points.  I marked every inch down, all around the shade {44 total lines around, 12 total marks down}.


The rest was easy peasy.  I  just held the shade on my lap, used the pen, and traced the lines.  I found it was easier to connect the dots using a driver's license sized card, and my longer ruler for the top to bottom lines.


The paint absorbed and dried instantly.  When it was all finished, I had just run out of paint.  Whew, it was this close to not making it!


I am beyond in love with the outcome!  It is such a nice and happy surprise when you walk by Preston's bedroom now!


We used a regular ol' light kit {which I sprayed orb}, and it all came together magically!


Let's chat about the powers of a little pendant update!  Anyone else updating lighting in their home?  Or painting lamp shades?


42 comments:

  1. Looks great! I love that you add so many personal touches to all that you do.

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  2. Looks great! URG I wish i could change the light in my kitchen (it's a "boob light") but I am a renter too :( I need to come up with a good way to change it-without REALLY changing it :)

    Thanks!
    xo, Courtney

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    1. Thanks Courtney!

      You may be able to pop some sort of shade right over your "boob" light without touches the wiring, like we did here for the boys room: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-challenge-project-projects-boys_20.html and Dina did here: http://honeyandfitz.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-diy-boob-light-into-drum-shade.html#axzz2Ao564LNl

      xo!
      Jen

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    2. THANKS! I will have to try that!! OH the problems one faces when renting :) i can't wait to PAINT someday! hahaha

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  3. LOVE it. I have a favor...could you show the light kit? I have never done anything like this, so need to see what I am getting myself into!!

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    1. Hi Jen - I am wondering about this also. Love the shade! I bought two of these from Ikea awhile back, but they didn't work for the lamps I intended them to be for, so they're just sitting around. Now I need two light fixtures for my closet (currently small boob lights) and they'd be perfect! But I'm not sure how to turn a flushmount into a pendant like you did. Thanks!

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    2. Hi gals!

      They actually create "kits" made for updating a flush mount light into a hanging pendant. Similar to this: http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/1166-track-and-pendant/24208.html. You can find the kits at most Home Improvement stores. My husband handles the electrical side of it but it typically only takes him a couple of minutes to swap them out.

      xo!
      Jen

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    3. THank you!! That looks easy enough. Granted...I would have to have an electrician come and do it. If my husband touches it, it breaks. The joke his dad always tells is that anyone born into their family has to call a contractor to change a light bulb!!

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    4. I have also uploaded a picture of the pendant looking directly up at it: http://i917.photobucket.com/albums/ad14/iheartorganizing/Blog%20Images/HerringbonePendantLightKit.jpg

      Hope that helps!

      xo,
      Jen

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  4. WOW, Jen! Looks great and I'm in awe of your attention to detail in measuring, marking and making the herring bone pattern. I would have wimped out with randomly placed dots or whatever the masculine equivalent is.

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  5. Amazing!!! I love this pattern you did a great job!

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  6. Love it! I'm scouring the webs for inspiration for a hall light redo. Love this!

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  7. Totally loving this! Such a simple yet striking update.

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  8. Masculine and subtle...you've really hit the mark with this! I can't wait to see the rest of his room!

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  9. Great makeover, Jen! Perfect for your son's room.

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  10. Love the phrase "boob light" it really made me chuckle. What a great way to vamp up a cheap/plain lightshade. Something I never would have thought of doing.

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  11. I think you should add "incredible patience" to your list of supplies :) This looks awesome!

    And, thanks for your kind words on my 3 years of blogging. However, I'm small potatoes to the incredible success you've had in your short three years! Amazing!

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    1. That should've read "compared to the incredible success". Dang fast fingers.

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  12. OMG! I can't believe that I have never thought to do this! Putting it on the list to do.... just in time for the holidays!

    Thanks!

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  13. I love that you called the old one a "boob light." We have a similar one in our guest room, and I've always thought it looked like a boob. :-)

    Love the new shade and the pattern on it!

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  14. I love your attention to detail, and that you did the math to make the pattern work out just right! I LOVE that kind of attention to detail!

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  15. I do love the look of that lampshade.

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  16. you have forever ruined me. heh heh. we have two of the "boob" in our house, and i never thought of them looking like that until now ; )

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  17. I just squealed out loud -- I have been herringbone CRAZED lately -- this would match my inspiration board!! [http://www.peasandcrayons.com/2011/10/diy-herringbone-fashion-inspiration.html] so pinning this to make later! Thanks gorgeous! <3

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  18. Ahhh! This is fantastic. You are so good and so patient. Looking around to see what I can give this treatment!

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  19. You are truly patient! (That is not my strong suit) I doubt I would be patience enough to complete this project-but it is wonderful!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  20. love it! another amazing Ikea transformation!

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  21. That shade is super cute! My daughter's room needs a new light but with our regular 8' ceilings and her 5'11" body, she'd bonk her head. I am inspired to check out some new lights on-line now. Thanks for getting me off my duff!

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  22. i love this - i want to do it on one of my cabinets. looks like i'll need a lot of patience!

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  23. It looks amazing & I love it! I would have never thought that a pattern and a light fixture switch could have such a huge impact! Well done:)

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  24. What a GORGEOUS transformation! Brilliant use of the measuring tape ... I am now EYEBALLING my floor lamp for this DIY! :)

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  25. We are trying to update a lot of the lighting in our house. It's really hard in our case because our ceilings are angled, right along the roof line making any lighting a challenge.
    Here's a look at our challenge: http://www.nateandchellieison.blogspot.com/2012/10/designer-challenge.html

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  26. I absolutely love this! I love shades on ceiling fixtures and I love that you painted the fabric! Now I'm off to find a shade in my house to paint!

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  27. We are working on our dining room and really need a light fixture. This is such a great idea that I may use this in there!

    http://createbakecelebrate.blogspot.com/2012/08/create-dining-room-and-kitchen-storage.html

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  28. I am obsessed with this pendant! It looks great. I'm trying to figure out which lampshade I can copy this looks on!
    Sarah

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  29. This looks amazing! I seriously need to find a lampshade I can do this too as well :)

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  30. loving this lamp shade!! it looks great!

    xo Jessica
    www.NewlyLoved.com

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  31. Such an awesome update, Jen! And SO much better than the boob light. :)

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  32. Love! We changed our "boob light" awhile back with a wire vase I found. It actually worked! http://letyourscribblesbe.blogspot.com/2012/01/diy-light.html

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  33. Absolutely LOVE this! I have "boob lights" through my entire house and an Ikea shade similar to the one here. SO going to get the kit to hang. Can't wait to get those ugly fixtures changed :) :) Thank you so much for your inspiration and direction!!

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