Ikea Hack Ceiling Fan Chandelier

I have a love/hate relationship with ceiling fans. As a former southern California resident I completely understand their functionality and necessity. There are times when I don't think I would have survived summer without them. Now, while it hasn't yet been so hot that I've needed them, I've been advised that they serve a similarly important role in the winter in forcing heat from poorly placed central heating vents down to the part of the room where the people are.

So, fans are good. I get it.

But, fans are also really, really ugly. I'm very concerned with ugly light fixtures and my house was full of them. I knew that I couldn't take on every ugly fixture at once (time and budget simply wouldn't allow it), so I started with the easiest fixes, or rather, the fixes I had the least control over. That is, I started with the ceiling fans.

My first project was this standard white ceiling fan in my bedroom. While I was glad that it was white (and not brass and faux wood--- don't worry, we're getting there) I just couldn't get excited about the awkward globey thing pointing down from the middle.
I'd seen some rather impressive and rather ambitious ceiling fan chandeliers on Pinterest, and knew I was not going to be cutting PVC pipe to make this happen.

But, it so happens that when I was 21 and impressionable, I impulse bought a chandelier at Ikea. It has hung from a hook in the ceiling and its Ikea bulb set-up in my dressing area ever since, and has made me smile more than a $20 chandelier really should. But, here in my new home, it made the ultimate sacrifice.

I removed the chandelier from the bulb set up (and put it in a box in the basement, I'm not that heartless) and tied 3 equal lengths of strong monofilament (okay, fishing line) to the metal ring that the bulb used to hang from. I cut the monofilament to about 9 inches, so once it was knotted, I had about 4 inch long loops to work with.

I removed the ugly globe from my ceiling fan (put it in the basement with the other half the chandelier set up) and unscrewed the lightbulb. Then, I hung the three loops of monofilament from the screws designed to hold the globe in place. When I put the lightbulb back in place in the socket, I had to be sure that the weight of the chandelier was hanging from the monofilament, not the bulb. This took a little adjusting, but was pretty easy to do by shortening the loops a bit.
Admittedly, if this were from anywhere but Ikea, it would probably have been too heavy. But, it's been hanging for a month now with no disasters yet.

Comments

JucieMeBack said…
Hi, do you know the name of the chandelier?
Messy_Veronica said…
I believe it was called the RIMFROST. Unfortunately, think it was discontinued a couple of years ago (purchased in 2008).
Unknown said…
Thank you so much! Here in Brazil its very necessary anda beatiful too! I loved it!
Unknown said…
This is awesome! Thanks for the inspiration!
Anonymous said…
I did a similar thing with metal and faux crystal outdoor chandelier and hung it over the fixture in my closet. I used heavy duty ornament hangers to loop over the adjuster screws:)
Rajeev Raghav said…
Absolutely brilliant Idea of changing the design of ceiling fans which can enhance the look and feel of your room. Thanks for sharing this brilliant post with everyone.
William white said…
Thanks for the well written and interesting article!
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