DIY Drum Shade Light

Let me begin by saying that I am working on the jewelry tree, but it is not quite finished, so I will blog about that later. Today, I decided to tackle the much hated light fixture in what will eventually be my dining nook. Right now it houses my many tools, some extra tile, a bathroom vanity that I will one day install and countless other goodies. 


This is what the old light fixture looked like:

I believe this is the cheapest "chandelier" you can buy and it just screams "boring," so I had to do away with it. I looked online for some inspiration and settled on putting up a drum shade light. Sounded easy enough. Here are some of the ones I liked:

Luckily, I already had a drum shade at home (from an awesome lamp I bought at Marshall's a few months back). I was a little sad to take the drum shade from the lamp, but it was for a good cause. :) 

Isn't it beautiful?

I decided that I liked the simple wire and chain from the old light fixture, so I did not buy a new light kit. The only other thing I needed was a light socket, which I picked up for about $3.50 at the local Home Depot. 

After turning off the breaker (very important!) and stripping (if that's the correct terminology) the old plastic to expose the wire, I attached the wire to the light socket. It was quite simple, I figured since I had no idea which wire went where, I would try it one way and if that failed, do it the other way. Luckily, I was able to get it right the first time. 

Voila!

Isn't it great?! I attached the drum shade via some extra chain links and hung it on a swag because I like the look. The best part: this light is on a dimmer switch that I installed about a month ago. Ambiance lighting here I come!

I think it's a major improvement...now I just need to find a new drum shade for my poor, naked lamp. Oh daaarn, must go shopping...tee hee!