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IKEA Lighting Hack for My Foyer

ByDiane Henkler Updated:

Decorating ideas for updating a house to get it ready to sell.  Affordable fixes and decor to help stage the house for the real estate market.

For the last few weeks, most of my efforts have been focused on projects to get my house ready to sell.

My house is a center-hall colonial and the buyers are most likely going to be a young family.  The more I can make the house feel fresh and modern, the better, or as my realtor says…make it look like Pottery Barn to entice young buyers.  I plan to write a post on all my prepping/staging the house once I get everything on my list completed.

You may remember the flea market foyer chandelier I got creative with a few years ago. It was a pretty “crafty” project, to save money,  but the fixture itself is not the right fixture for a 2 story foyer or in scale with the space.

I needed to replace it with something affordable, and neutral. I went in search for something that had these qualities, but could not find anything.

After a lot of searching, I finally came up with a way to add a new foyer chandelier without breaking the budget.

A modern chandy for under $50. I did a little hack using an IKEA NYMO hack shade and a pendant light from Lowes to create an affordable chandelier for my foyer. I

I found this NYMO shade at IKEA…a.k.a. ...the Swedish boutique. :-) Time for an IKEA lighting hack!  The shade comes in a flat box with the shade rolled up and a top and bottom ring. As with all merchandise from IKEA, you need to assemble it, but it was very easy, no tools required.

If you know anything about IKEA lighting, the plugs and connections are a bit funky.  The hanging cords that can be paired with this shade were either too short or had a rocker switch, which would not work for a light that is powered by a wall switch. So I searched some more until I found the answer.

IKEA-hack-chandelier
$29.99 IKEA Nymo Shade + $24.99 Portfolio Mini Pendant Fitter

I ended up using a mini pendant fitter that I found at Lowes to hold the shade. Normally these are paired with your choice of glass pendant globes that are sold separately. They come in all shapes and sizes.  I chose a pendant fitter that had a cord that was very long, 122 inches for the two story drop.

The cord is black, which I didn’t want, so I kept the previous light’s ruched cord cover I made like this one to hide it. The foyer is white, beige, and taupe so I don’t mind seeing white and off-white together.

Affordable foyer lighting

Once the pendant was hung from the ceiling, the shade was simply put in place and the pendant fitter screws on to hold it in secure. EZ!

Since you can see the bulb, I chose to use a decorative round bulb in the socket. It is the kind made for the old style bathroom exposed bulb light strip fixtures.

Affordable chandelier ideas

Total Cost: $54.98 for an updated foyer light. I like it a lot and hope to use the same two items in my new house, although, I may need one of the smaller sized NYMO shades.

Now I am back to a few more painting touch-ups around the house and then I think we are ready to put the “For Sale” sign up.

I know many of you have asked for a detailed account of what I am doing to prep the house for sale. I will have that post for you next week.

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26 Comments

  1. Alana Bentham says:

    You’ve got a great sense of addressing the temporary problems with a simple yet pragmatical way. In this case, I’d prefer your way of dealing with it without using the diffuser.

    Reply
  2. Tia Barker says:

    This is very clever, you did a great job! Good luck with selling the house :)

    Reply
  3. Albert Frank says:

    Wow !!
    You did a great job Diane Henkler. Your idea is very stylish, creative and unique. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. And keep posting this type of interesting and creative posts.

    Reply
  4. Sheryll & Critters. says:

    Now this one is one of your too complicated for me DIY projects…… plus I am terrified of heights…… scared to ask how you got to the ceiling to replace the cord. I am not used to more than one story houses here in Florida (yes they have them, but they are the new ones).

    I am going to miss your home when you sell it. You know I have always loved everything (every tiny detail) you have done to make it your style. Then I am so happy for you to have your dream home and now is sure the time to go for it. You know before you are too old to enjoy it or just give up on having it. What an amazing adventure you to are embarking on together once again. Hugs!

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Sheryll – Ed and a contractor with a tall ladder did the change out of the the fixture from the two-story ceiling. In my next house, I plan to use the light/shade over a table so only 8 feet. Not so scary.

      I am looking forward to a new house. I have so many ideas for it. I hope to keep inspiring you and all my readers for many years to come. I will be glad when we are on the other side of the move. It is exhausting getting everything ready. The fun part will be setting up everything in a new house. :-)

      Reply
      1. Sheryll & Critters. says:

        I am so excited with you Diane and Ed. I have to say though that I think your house is so perfect as it is, that with your tweaks, it will be the most perfect house any young couple could ever hope to find. I envy the ones that buy it, cause they will be the most lucky couple or single or multi family I can imagine!

        Reply
  5. sharon / tpt says:

    perfectly done. i’m missing the ‘before’ pic though! :)

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Thanks Sharon – I linked to the post showing the before picture, but I will add it to the post.

      Reply
      1. sharon / theprincipledtype.blogspot.com says:

        well heck, you certainly did! my bad. sometimes I can’t take in a good clue!! (and yes, love the update~)

        Reply

  6. Love your new light! Saw this on a review from a diffuser product from Amazon–” here’s a suggestion for a fantastic diffuser that you can make yourself and looks like it is built in to a high-end shade: Buy for $10 from IKEA a rolled shade called Anno Tupplur. Set your lampshade on top of the material and trace a circle with a pencil. Cut out the circle, cutting a little on the Inside of the line that you drew. Use clear packing tape or whatever glue you choose to adhere the circle to the inside edge of the lamp shade, just covering the inside lip that most shades have at the base of the shade. The fabric is absolutely perfect as a diffuser–lets plenty of light through, while hiding the glare of the bulb. I used it for four 10″ linen pendant drum shades, and they look incredibly good, as though the shades came from the store that way! I also had a LOT of material left over to make more or allow for mistakes.” Hope it helps! Keep your creative ideas coming, Diane. I just love your blog!

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Nancy – Thanks for sharing how you made a diffuser for your light. Very smart. I love a good DIY. :-)

      Reply

  7. Love it. The house should sell in no time flat Diane.

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Denise – I hope so. It will be nice to get on the other side of the move and be able to enjoy setting up life in a new house.

      Reply

  8. Such a pretty lighting fixture. You are so wise to update your lovely home. It makes for a quicker sale. I moved over 12 times and always updated my houses.

    Smiles

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Nancy – WOW! on moving 12 times! I agree with you about updating. Nothing is worse than living in limbo waiting for a house to sell. Ed and I have sold 3 homes before this. All sold quickly because of our efforts to make it move-in ready for the next owners.

      Reply
  9. Jordan Le Bouton says:

    You are taking such good care to make your home ready for someone new. I am excited for you to be moving to your dream place also. I wish the people who owned my house would have cared as much as you. I am pulling the paint off the walls in big strips. Could be fun but I really want to start painting my colors in here. Brown peeling paint in every room and hall except yucky yellow in kitchen and bath. I detest yellow and now brown. Happy,happy moving day to you.

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Jordan – Sorry to hear that you have to deal with brown peeling paint :-( I am hoping the house we buy does not need too much work and if we can swing it, will paint everything before we move in because I am like you and would dislike having to live with awful colors on the walls.

      In a previous home Ed and I bought, we painted every room white before we moved in. The painting process went pretty quickly since we used the same color white in every room and used the existing wall-to-wall carpeting as a drop cloth since there was beautiful hardwood underneath. It was a bit stressful, but sure was nice when we moved our furniture into neutral rooms with hardwood floors.

      Reply
  10. Krista @ the happy housie says:

    Great hack Diane – it looks simple, crisp, and fresh. Good luck with all your staging and finishing details. Such a big job! We’ve spent our summer renovating another house that’s an investment property so I totally get what you mean by a big project interfering with your regular blogging schedule!

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Thanks Krista – I am looking forward to being on the other end of the move and past this stage in the moving process. It can get a little overwhelming at times. I am sure all of your hard work getting the investment property you are working on ready will be worth it.
      ….Dreaming of getting back to a normal blogging routine and new projects to post about.

      Reply
  11. Linda Weeks says:

    I wouldn’t have thought of a diffuser – good idea. When I went looking for lights for my foyer the contractor said, oh you don’t want to see a lightbulb every time you look up, do you? and I didn’t really mind – he wanted me to get a fixture that was like a bowl so I wouldn’t see the bulb, but I kept thinking that when a bug dies up there he will be obvious from underneath, and I didn’t want to have bugs accumulating in the bowl… so I went with an inverted bowl-type shade… now I can collect all the dead bugs right from my staircase! he he

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Linda – I agree with you about the closed light fixtures…they are bug collectors for sure! Smart to have chosen the inverted bulb shade. I don’t really mind seeing the bulb in the fixture since it is a pretty bulb. IKEA sells a much bigger round bulb, but I am trying to stay on a budget and used a bulb I had instead.

      Reply

  12. We’ll be doing this same “getting the house ready to sell” project in about five years. I’m following your projects and taking notes!

    Reply
  13. charisse andrews at WHG says:

    Diane, it looks really lovely, but have you thought of putting a diffuser on the bottom so the lightbulb is not visible? I did this same project with lights over my kitchen island, and the diffusers made a difference. Just a thought.

    Reply
    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Charisse – I wonder if a diffuser would fit. What kind did you use?

      Reply
      1. charisse andrews at WHG says:

        Diane, here is a source. I had acrylic leftovers from projects here. so I cut my own. You can purchase those on line as well.
        At one time Home Depot carried them in the lighting area where they had replacement parts. It was just a thought. I am happy that you are now able to get to the selling and onto a new adventure. Best to you.

        Reply
        1. Diane Henkler says:

          Hi Charisse – Thanks so much for the idea to use a diffuser and the link to the diffusers. The light I hung has a very large diameter and I am not sure I want to spend that much to buy one in the size needed, but now I know that DIYing to make one is an option. :-)

          Reply