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.