Description: I found two inspirational photos of flush mounted ceiling lights I wanted. One was $278 and the other was $100. When I saw the Alang ceiling light at Ikea for $30, I knew I could recreate the pricier lights almost perfectly by hacking the Ikea Alang one! Here is how I did it:
1. I used 5/8 inches wide and 8 yards long grosgrain ribbon in dark brown to create the trim border on the Alang Ceiling Light (bought it for around $3 at Michaels).
2. I melted the one edge of the ribbon to prevent fraying; be careful when doing this. I always do it next to a sink in case I need to run it under water.
3. Using my hot glue gun, I started gluing the ribbon at the upper seam on the light. I could have used permanent fabric glue, but I worried if it didn't work then I would be out $30. But of course since I am sharing this, it did work well. Once I got the entire way around, I overlapped the ribbon slightly. Be sure to melt the other end of the ribbon too.
4. I had initially thought I would only do the top of the light with the grosgrain ribbon, but when it was done and installed, I really thought it needed a second band.So back to the hot glue gun I went. I glued another row of grosgrain ribbon around the bottom.
5. I then cut a small disc of wood off a dowel we had laying around. It was approximately 2 inches in diameter and we cut it about 1/2 an inch in depth. Once spray painted it dark brown to match the ribbon I glued it to the middle of the light.
Grand total $33 to hack an Ikea light to look exactly like some $300 ceiling lights.
See more of the Alang ceiling light hack.
~ Stephanie
Nice hack. But to me the biggest disappointment with the ALANG once seeing it in person was the paper shade that covers the bottom. It really brings down the entire look of the lamp.
ReplyDeleteHow did you mount this?
ReplyDeleteHow do you melt the ribbon? This looks great!
ReplyDeleteThe melt is heat seal. Just hold the flame to a lighter close and you will see it begin to melt. The flame doesnt have to touch the ribbon.
DeleteThanks! I plan to try this hack :-)
DeleteCreative hack! I think sometimes it's just a little bit of extra effort and you get a ton of money saved.
ReplyDeletewell done! looks great!
ReplyDeleteThe most important part of this hack is left unexplained(How to mount).
ReplyDeleteGreat hack though...
ReplyDeleteI looked at the assembly instructions of the lamp on the Ikea website. This hack is clearly more about enhancing the look of the shade rather than about mounting the lamp which I imagine remains unchanged.
ReplyDeleteYes a nice hack to take a plain drum light fixture and add a little life to it. Don't you love glue guns?
ReplyDelete