Tuesday, October 26, 2010

How To Easily Install a Hanging Light, Renter Style

So I've got my new light up! I ended up deciding on just one from World Market. Partially because three cost a lot more, and partially because one of those three was the wrong shape (different than what the label showed, how fwustwating).

This little project was so easy it doesn't really need a "How-To," but I wanted to put it out there for anyone else living in an apartment who might be a little intimidated by light installation. It required no permanent installation at all so it's perfect for renters!

Here it is!

Mochi's got her lasers on

What You Need:
  • Hanging paper lantern
  • Light cord (some lanterns come with it, but if they don't you need to buy it separately. It's got a normal 2-prong plug on one end and a lightbulb socket on the other)
  • Two 3M hooks



What You Do:
  • Plug one end of your wiring into the wall (this is just to make sure you have enough slack to reach the place you want your light hanging from)
  • I ran my cord to the corner of the room, up the corner (sort of hidden by my curtains)


  • Place a 3M hook on the ceiling right at the corner and loop your cord through it


  • Run cord along ceiling to desired spot (wherever you want it to hang down from)
  • Place your other 3M on the ceiling in that spot and loop your cord through it, letting the extra length hang down vertically

  • Adjust the slack of the cord until you get it hanging down the desired length (this depends on how low/high you want your lamp)
  • Now that you've got it the perfect length, unplug it!
  • Screw in your lightbulb
  • Attach the lamp (it'll come with instructions, takes about 2 seconds)
  • Plug back in and ta-da! Lamp-tastic!

So to refresh your memory, here is the transformation:



See, that wasn't hard at all! And since we used 3M hooks, there's no permanent damage like holes in the ceiling. Super simple. And it cost a total $17 ($10 for the light cord, $7 for the lantern. I already owned the 3M hooks).

Now comes the following question: do I leave this as is or add more hanging lights? I'm still considering getting two more different sized, slightly smaller ones and having a little light threesome in my corner (hehe) or maybe replacing this one with a slightly bigger one? What say you?

Much love,
Katelyn

14 comments:

  1. Nice post! I think a threesome would look very classy :)

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  2. Thanks! I'm having a hard time finding slightly smaller ones somewhere... I'll just have to keep looking!

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  3. where did you get those s hooks that you used to hook your wires? (not the 3m wire hooks)

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  4. Thank you! Thank you for the step by step! This is exactly what I needed!

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  5. I was wondering how long the 3M hooks held the lamp up? It is a genius idea!

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  6. How does this work with popcorn ceiling?

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  7. Hi!
    I’m an editor for BuzzFeed and I love your site! We'd love to include a couple photos of yours from this post (with full credit and a prominent link back to the original post on your site) in a BuzzFeed roundup of smart tricks for renters.

    Would that be OK with you? Let me know, and thanks!

    Natalie Brown
    natalie.brown@buzzfeed.com
    buzzfeed.com/nataliebrown

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  8. will it work on popcorn ceiling?

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  9. This is what I was looking for, thanks

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  10. Do you have any suggestions like this that are cheap for a bedroom? ANd do you have any suggestions for concealing the cord? I really need help LoL My apartment just looks like "these are the walls you live in" and that's it haha

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  11. I used velvet material one inch to put through hanging wires Use to do that in the 60's. So you don't have to hide don't have to hide don't have to hide

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  12. So you don't have to hide wire. Looks nice

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