Simple Ikea Pendant Light Hack: For A More Upscale Look

I love Ikea! Its so affordable and I especially love the decor items. I took a trip to Ikea recently and fell in love with this Solklint pendant lamp.

Its gorgeous, but there was one problem… The plastic canopy just wasn’t the vibe 😒. I mean, don’t get me wrong the canopy works for pendants like their Skurup light or the Hektar light. It’s just when you have a beautiful glass shade, a plastic canopy is just not it. I purchased it anyway in hopes that I can do a simple Ikea pendant light hack and give it a more upscale look.

When I’m out shopping I’m always looking to see how I can upgrade an item to my liking, especially if I’m getting it for a bargain. Just like the lifted lamps I made over on 5 Thrifted Lamp Makeover Ideas I was determined to make this pendant light work better in my space.

Here’s how I did this simple Ikea pendant light hack.

I purchased this ceiling light canopy kit from Amazon to replace the black plastic canopy the light came with. The canopy kit I purchased is 4.7 inches round, so just be mindful of how big the opening in your ceiling is. There are different size options available on Amazon as well!

Before starting, we turned off the power from our electrical box. Once we made sure there was no power in the area we were working in, we attached the mounting bracket (thats included in the kit) to the junction box.

We installed the lights in our upstairs hallway so we needed to shorten them. I measured and using a Wire cutter, cut the cable to my desired length. We cut the cable a little longer than what I measured. Its always a good idea to cut too much than too little. The extra cable can also be coiled in the canopy plate.

If you want to try this hack and are cutting your cable, be sure to leave room for error by cutting your cable a little longer.

A general rule for the height of a pendant light (when there’s nothing below it like a dining table or island) is 7 ft from the floor to the bottom of the pendant. This measurement is for a 8 ft ceiling height. If you’re ceiling is higher than 8ft add 2.5 to 3inches of height for each additional foot.

Using the same wire cutter, we stripped the cable to expose the wires.

We pulled the cable through the new canopy plate and attached the wires together as instructed.

We used electrical tape to secured the wires and capped the ends.

Look at how well the canopy plate from Amazon compliments the shade holder the came with the Ikea light!

Once we made sure the wiring was correct by adding a light bulb and turning the power back on. We screwed the canopy plate to the mounting bracket and finally were able to attach the glass shade.

I like to attach my shade, if possible, at the end to avoid any damages while mounting everything else up.

Here it is all put together! Looks so much better now!