I had not one, but two of those “duh!” moments when refreshing my kitchen. (Check out the first one here). I’ve known about recessed light kits for years but never thought about actually using one. And then I realized how easy it would be to add a little glitz over my sink since there was already a boring recessed there! It’s not that I’m against recessed, but sometimes you want that extra love a light can add.
Do you have any recessed lights that are begging for a makeover? Read on… because it’s so easy that you’ll wonder, like me, why you didn’t do it sooner 🤔 After all, it’s as simple as screwing in a light bulb!
There are different ways to do this. The easiest is one-stop-shopping… buying a kit and shade all in one. The next simplest way is to buy a fixture and add your own shade (this is the route I took). And lastly you can buy a can converter. Granted, this method isn’t tough either, but it does require the most work. And I use “work” lightly!
Methods one and two… if you can screw in a lightbulb, you can do this! Screw in the end of the converter, wrap the extra cord, push up the ceiling plate, and screw the nut to tighten. Okay, maybe it’s a couple more steps than screwing in a light bulb, but this video will back me up on just how easy it is!
Method 3 is a little trickier, but the bit of extra work is worth it in that once you are done, you can hang any light on it… not just a kit light. Heck, you can even hang ceiling fans… the kit holds up to 50 lbs. Another advantage is you can customize the ceiling medallion a bit more with “designer” finishes if you get a Can Converter brand kit.
Here is This Old House using a Can Converter kit:
So I went with a modified method number 2.
Why? Because I was trying to get a certain look on a budget. Never fails… I can’t take the easy route. If you want the easy, easy route, check out some suggestions below.
I grabbed this light from Lowe’s in bronze (they also have chrome). There are more options below. I then spray painted it black. Because I wanted a certain type of shade, I skipped the easy route at Lowes, where a nice variety of shades sit right next to the kit. Again, don’t be like me. Make things easy on yourself.
Next, I perused lights and shades on amazon, found this entire fixture for frighteningly cheap, and went ahead and grabbed it! Guys, I got this for $11, prime. Of course it’s no longer available, but there are other similar lights/ shades.
I then combined the two lights, because I really liked the look of the brass set screws.
And here she is…
Ready to jump in?! Here is a roundup of fixtures to get you off and running. If you want to convert your can to accept any pendant, check out this basic version from Westinghouse or the many options of CanConverter. And be sure to check out the Ultimate DIY Lighting Guide to find or create the perfect fixture 🙂
one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve | thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | sixteen | seventeen| eighteen | nineteen
Enjoy!
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Marianne, I just discovered you and I’m LOVING your blog! I have a request for future posts, especially regarding lighting. Could you add pictures of the room when it’s dark outside? This time of year especially, we’re at home and awake when it’s dark for several hours out of the day. I see this consistently across the web too, that all the photos are taken with great, bright, natural sunlight – which looks beautiful, but it’s hard for me to tell what would bring sufficient lighting when there is no sunlight.
Thanks for your awesome tips and lovely photos!