Even though we declared our kitchen project done over a month ago, there are still little dangling tasks hanging over our heads. Some, quite literally. See that shadeless stick of a pendant hanging down from the ceiling in the fireplace area?
That old pendant has been broken forever (despite me fixing it once already) so that half of the room has been cloaked in darkness for months. Well, or least in comparison to the rest of the room which has been light and bright since our little lighting overhaul during the kitchen reno.
Our temporary lighting solution has been this floor lamp tucked in the corner. But it too has woes of its own. One of the switches broke, so leaning over behind the chair and unplugging it/plugging it in is now the only way to turn it off or on. Not the end of the world, but not the nicest thing on the ol’ back when you’re doing it multiple times a day. We were over it after a few weeks and it has been the routine for a few months now.
We even grew to call it the Bend & Snap (Legally Blonde, anyone?) – and although it makes the “exercise” mildly more entertaining, we were always keeping our eyes peeled for the perfect replacement for the broken ceiling pendant. And it took a while to find it.
The struggle that we were having was finding something that doesn’t compete with the other pendants in the room. We wanted something pretty flush (since I’m a tall guy and I didn’t want anything that felt too close to my head in such an open area), but nothing boob-light-ish. Oddly enough a ton of flush mount lights in our price range were what Sherry affectionately calls boob lights. Any lighting industry peeps listening? There’s a hole in the market for good clean-lined and simple, not-curvy flush mounted fixtures that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Sure there are a few crisp drum shade-ish options, but not the same insanely wide variety that there are for their buxom counterparts (frosted boob lights, marbled boob lights, ORBed boob lights, etc).
Finally, at our recent trip to Ikea, we came across Aläng. Let’s just call him Alan for short. No wait, let’s do Alän since I just learned how to type that umlaut and I’m feeling proud of myself (ALT+U then whatever letter you want under it, fyi).
Anyways, Alän came in two sizes and we got the larger 18″ version for $40. Gotta love Ikea prices (many 18″ drum shades alone are around $40 without the light itself). But like most Ikea pieces, he required assembly – giving me flashbacks to assembling Max in our bedroom.
It wasn’t that bad, though. First I had to pop each of the three light sockets into the central fixture. Easy. Though it created a bit of a jumble of wires that made me raise an eyebrow.
But it looks like Ikea was one step of ahead of me, having already placed clips and channels to wrangle the cords. My eyebrow returned to its default position.
You can see how the wires are held against the sides of the central fixture in the pic below. Though I actually took this picture to show off how Space Invader-y this thing was starting to look once I added the spokes that would eventually hold the shade in place.
With the light as assembled as it could be without actually attaching it to the ceiling, I flipped off the power to the whole house (since neither our fusebox nor my memory is labelled well enough to be sure what breaker controls what) and began removing the old light.
With old light out, Alän could begin taking his pläce. Here’s he is all wired up and ready to be set flush against the ceiling.
The system that secures the central fixture to the ceiling is kinda just a glorified zip tie, which was a little strange to me – I’m used to screws and bolts for these things. But it was easy and seemed to work great, so I shouldn’t complain.
Then came turning the power back on to make sure my wiring was successful (it was). Oh and these incandescent bulbs were the only bulbs that we had three of at the time – but we’ve since replaced them with… wait for it… LEDs! And we love them so far. We’ll have to give you a full report down the road as to how they last and how we like them over time. But they give off a really nice bright glow and we love that they should last an unbelievably long time and save us loot in the long run.
But back to hanging the shade. You may be wondering how it’s secured. Well, those little spokey dudes are MAGNETIC. Yup they’re tiny, very very strong magnets. Like the Altoids of magnets.
This, like the zip tie, they had me doubtful at first – but as soon as I felt the shade snap firmly into place with pretty surprising force I was all smiles. It was easy and quick to do and I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about it falling on my head anytime soon (but if I did, the shade is pretty darn light anyways).
This is one of those can’t-capture-the-true-beauty items that we own, but in person everyone who walks in comments on it. This picture is the closest thing to showing the pretty subtle woven detail and the soft glow that it gives off. Update: lots of folks are asking if it gives off a lot of light, it’s not a glowing beacon that blinds you or anything but it should definitely be bright enough for a decent sized room or hallway. It only takes three twenty watt bulbs, but if you use CFLs or LEDs, they give off more light at lower wattages.
Of course that awesome subtle texture is lost in further away pics (but oddly enough, not in person – maybe because these pics are much smaller than life sized?), but here’s Alän from further away. Ta-DÄH!
I don’t know why I stood semi to majorly off-center to take the shot above and the shot below, but in person it’s centered exactly between the two beams and it lines up with the mirror if you stand in the right spot. Düh.
But enough with the celebratory umlauts. In short: Sherry and I are thrilled with it. It’s pretty much exactly what we were looking for. Something that doesn’t fight for attention with the other pendants. Something that we’re not going to bump our heads my head into. And something that’s not very boob-like. Plus it helps define that area over by the fireplace and feels more in proportion with that space than a single can light (or a directional light aimed at the fireplace) that we could have installed instead (we weighed both of those options and decided a nice clean-lined shade really helped add to the “casual living zone” feeling of that side of the room).
Heck, from the kitchen side of the room when he’s off, you hardly even know he’s there.
Though when the light switches are flipped on, we definitely appreciate his presence since it means the room is (finally!) evenly lit and we no longer have to bend over to plug in that darn floor light in the corner. In fact that light has since been banned from the room. We just don’t need it anymore (huzzah! no more bending and snapping!) and now that corner with the chair looks more balanced.
It’s hard to tell in these wide room shots since it just gets kinda blown out and the detail is lost because they’re small pictures (as opposed to actually standing in the room with it, where things are all life-sized), but in person the texture is such a nice detail that makes the light look special – but not so special that it’s fighting with the more special over-sized globe pendants over the peninsula (don’t tell Alän I said that). It’s a delicate balance. Wish we could capture this guy better for you, because the photos here really don’t do him justice. You’ll all just have to come over for tea and scones or something.
So that’s one thing off of our lingering kitchen to-do list. Although Sherry and I have been talking about spray painting our stools at the peninsula (we wanted to live with them as-is for a while before making any rash decisions) and we’re still not sure which way we’ll go. We’re hunting for a more permanent rug for the living area of the kitchen (the zone in front of the fireplace), so we’ll wait to get that pinned down before making any final stool decisions. You know in case we find an awesome rug with some tone that we wanted on the chairs that would then be overkill if it was in both places. But we promise we’ll keep you posted! For now we’re just trying to enjoy having a nice, well-lit spot for our nightly dance parties with Ms. Clara. Have you guys installed any lights lately? Or had any issues finding the right flush mounted fixture? Are you currently debating painting metal stools or some other accessory in your house?
Stacey says
“Bend. . . and SNAP!” LOL!
Carol Farrish says
Liked the post, fell in love with the light. Had a nice fixture in my work room but it was notoriously hard to install – a terror recalled when the bulb burned out. Had my handy man replace with a square fixture I had on hand but it is so off centered as he did not line it up right. Your post has awakened my shopping jones.
Sunny says
I just bought the exact same light! Well, “just” happens to mean about two months ago, but hey. I am a full-time-working, breastfeeding mama of a 12 month old who gets up 3-4 times per night to nurse. After the girly girl goes to bed, I’m usually right behind her. One of these days, though, I WILL switch out the light in my kitchen.
Meg @ Revamp Homegoods says
The Alang is on our shopping list, as well. So glad I now have a reference for when we install ours!
Robin @ our semi organic life says
Love the choice! I’ve seen IKEA hacks of this light online. Who knew such simple materials could make such a fab fixture?!
liz says
Love it!
I have total IKEA envy… why can’t there be one in the midwest????!
Allisen says
First off, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your little rant on boob lights. I could. not. agree. more! Second, as I was reading said rant, I was actually wondering if you had come across the Alang drum at Ikea yet. We bought two a month or so ago to replace the ceiling fans in our guest bedrooms and love them just as much as you do! Yay for a great boob light alternative finally!!!
Liz F. says
My fiance’s name used to be Alan. Now it’s Alän. He’ll be so happy when he finds out!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, nice upgrade!
xo,
s
Joy says
I’ve been eyeing that light for months! So glad to hear a positive review. We just bought our first home here in Seattle and while it’s a beautifully updated 1909 house in general, there are boob lights in EVERY ROOM. It’s terrifying. Crazy thing is, my boyfriend loves them. LOVES them. Any thoughts on bringing him around, or on coming up with a successful mixed-fixture plan that keeps a few of his beloved tit-lights around? :)
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
Muuuuch better than a bare pendant! And you have to love IKEA directions :)
I think we need a video of John doing the bend and snap.
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t know if the internet can handle that.
xo,
s
K (Barking Babymama) says
That space totally looks more like a living space now that you switched the light fixture! It looks great! I so wish I had your kitchen, just for that living space off the kitchen for my boys to play in! And the peninsula…
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
Love it! Great find…gotta love Ikea!!
Cheers!
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
Erica Marsh says
I literally was planning on going tomorrow to buy this light from IKEA but wasn’t sure about the quality. THANK YOU for the perfect timing and a great review.
Stefani says
Maybe you could put the green bumpy rug in that section of the kitchen! It might look crazy against the walls, but maybe it would look fun :-)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s sadly waaaay too big (it’s like 10 x 14 or something crazy, so it only works under a monster sectional like karl- or might someday live in the playroom).
xo,
s
Wendy says
Lookin’ good! I think Alän is the perfect fit for this space.
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
Ikea to the rescue!!!! Having light is awesome! ;)
Pam C says
Nice choice! I tend to buy my light fixtures and floor lamps at the Raleigh Flea Market. Boob lights should be boycotted.
Slightly off topic – if you paint the bar stools ORB, they’ll disappear into the floor color. Not sure how I would feel about that – so I’m happy I won’t be making that decision!
I really like the design of them so I probably wouldn’t go that route.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, I think the same thing about the stools – we are more considering something colorful- like dark teal (like the paint on the back of the dining room built-ins). Not sure where we’ll end up though!
xo,
s
annabelvita says
I vote for the orangey-pink from your swimming picture!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I just pitched that idea to John yesterday- he was a little more receptive to an orangy-red, which could still be fun! Will keep you posted!
xo,
s
Alison says
Look at your pictures and see if you think you mirror is too small in scale for over the fireplace. Congrats on the light. And yes I am always painting something. I love paint! You can come home with a cheap thrift store find and make it match with paint.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’d love a bigger one- that’s just an old mirror from our first house that I stuck up there! Everything is still being tweaked in this side of the room, ya know?
xo,
s
Alison says
Yes… I know. Maybe you will get lucky and find one at a yard sale. Or switch it with the bigger one in the laundry room.
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
That light looks so nice there! I once got Ruby (2 1/2)to try the bend and snap…I think I may practice that with her tonight and get it on video! lol
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we need video!
xo,
s
Melissa says
Löve it!
Caity says
I’ve totally been looking for the same style light for our hallway!! I might run to IKEA and grab the smaller version and totally steal your idea if that’s ok ;) Looks great!
Vanessa says
Perfect!
Katie says
I love the new light!
Have you guys considered painting the kitchen ceiling a soft color (maybe gray) to play off the backsplash and contrast with the wood on the ceiling? Just thought of it when looking at the two first pics. I love the different choices of lights. They look great together without being too matchy.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, check out a comment about that a little while back (the beams aren’t evenly spaced throughout the room, so we worry painting the ceiling will call attention to that).
xo,
s
jennifer says
Love it!
BTW, your stools at Williams & Sherill in (a light turqouise, distressed) are AH-may-zing at….wait for it…..$318. EACH!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Wowser!
xo,
s
Becky@OrganizingMadeFun says
Just bought this SAME light and hubby put it up in my home office. He said “it was cheaply made” but I figured as long as it looks nice and was about 1/10 of the price of other drum shades, no one needs to know :)
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
katalina says
do you think that light has enough light for an office light? I have this flush mount light from ikea that has clips that is really have to change if the bulbs burn out. It looks like it gives more light than fabric drum shades which I have been thinking about.
love the square in cage light on Jeff Lewis/interior therapy show last night over dining room–sherry did you see it? do you know what light that was? I think that show should have links to paint colors and lighting fixtures.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! Check out the update on the post for more how-much-light-is-it info! As for Interior Therapy- it’s taped but we didn’t watch it yet. Can’t wait!!
xo,
s
Leatitia @ The Sweetest Year says
Bend and Snap! Hahaha! Love that movie! :D
Beautiful light!
Leigha says
Love it! But at first glance it made me think of a huge dimmer switch (the old round kinds) :P Looks great!!! Also, for that lamp, they sell plug in on/off switches so you don’t have to plug/unplug!! I use them for all of our Christmas lights so the kids can turn them on/off! :)
YoungHouseLove says
So smart!
xo,
s
Morgan says
Okay, I have been following your blog for some time and while this has nothing to do with lighting, I have to ask…what kind of camera are you guys using? I work in real estate and I love the home photos you take and would love to give my listings the same VIP treatment all your home photos have.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Morgan! We have a D3000 by Nikon. Love it.
xo,
s
Julia says
Oooooh I like this! Been looking for a flush-mount fixture to replace the boob light in my entryway that is cute and modern, but that doesn’t cost a bazillion dollars!
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
This is a great light. I love that it doesn’t compete for a lot of attention in the room.
We have been looking for about a year for the perfect lamps for our living room. It doesn’t have any ceiling fixtures so good floor/wall lamps are crucial. I think we are getting close now that we have nailed down the furniture arrangement but I can’t wait until we find “the one”.
Sara says
Oh Yeah! That lamp shade looks perfect there. Very cool light!
Bryanna says
how funny, we had decided just last weekend to get this light for our bedroom (great price point, simple clean lines!) seeing it in your pics though now I’m not so sure… it might get *too* lost in our room. there’s always spray paint though!
Barb says
You may have already covered this but what are the shade dimensions. How low does it hang from the ceiling?
Is the shade made of paper?
Are the guts of the lamp PLASTIC?
Is it safe?
I do like it and just wonder. It would look great at the top of the stairs and GOODBYE BOOB LIGHT…even if it is in ORB color. It is ugly.
B.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, any lighting sold by a big corp like Ikea is tested/safe etc (no recalls or anything, and it’s been out a while). It’s made of a strong paper-like material (not as thin is paper lantern though, more firm) and all of the exposed wires are kept between the solid metal plate (see that in the picture?) and the metal ceiling fixture box. The only wires inside of the plastic part are covered wires, just like a swagged fixture would have a covered wire hanging out in the air (like our pendants over the peninsula, which have covered wires that wrap around that ORB chain out in the open). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amber says
I actually just installed a new light fixture in our spare bedroom all by myself when my husband wasn’t home. He was shocked when he came home and he wanted to know how I knew how to do that! Thanks for all the tutorials and helpful hints- I gave you all the credit!
YoungHouseLove says
WAHOO! You have no idea how exciting that is for me. I love surprising John with stuff when he’s gone. Haha.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
I have this same lamp, but the floor lamp model instead. I love it! It was only $40 – I couldn’t believe how cheap it was. I have it in my living room. It doesn’t make the room super bright, just a nice soft light. Mine is in grey.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh gray sounds so pretty!
xo,
s
Robin says
I love that wall-hugging mad-men’esque fixture … been looking for something like that to replace the upstairs hall fixture … my IKEA shopping list grows!
I haven’t installed any new fixtures lately but I did hack an upgrade to our “boob light” ceiling fans turning them into “chandy fans” … I find it hot here in Richmond and I need me a fan so I couldn’t replace them with a gorgeous light, so I did this: happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com/2012/03/updating-ceiling-fan-light-how-to.html
Thanks for always sharing your great ideas and finds :)
YoungHouseLove says
Love that Robin! Thanks for the link- it was fun to hop over to your blog- of course I got sucked in and read the fire psa even though we know your story – so awesome of you to spread the word!
xo,
s
Liz says
Love the new light fixture! I, too, hate boob lights. I love how your new fixture mirrors (haha) the shape of the mirror and of your round ottoman! And for what it’s worth, I’m on team-paint-the-stools, but they’ll look great either way!
JebberA says
For your rug dilemma, have you ever cruised through the Flor website for rug ideas? Lots of super cool patterns, from plain textural to funky colours. I’m going to make the plunge and order myself something (Still trying to decide which pattern)
What i like is that the tiles are removable for a good washing if needed (dog / kids). Also, i like that it’s a super green company, making stuff from 100% recycled material. Ultra groovy
Love the light. I may just copy cat the smaller version into my hallways which have horrible brass fixtures.
j
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we love their stuff! Definitely a good place to look!
xo,
s
Melany says
I just hung this one up in my guest room! It was pretty painless… well minus the fact that bits of plaster kept falling in my eyes as I removed the old fixture but that is an old building for you!
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the other Alän lovers out there!
xo,
s
Amanda Freeman says
We literally just put this light up in our new place yesterday! Looks great.
Charlotta says
Long time lurker here, I felt I just had to comment on this post, because of all the umlauts :) they look really strange to me since I’m Swedish (for us the umlauts makes o and a totally different letters – ä and ö – and we have å as well!) With my husband being half German, there are a lot of umlauts in my life…
Love your kitchen, it’s a great inspiration to me! Our kitchen needs a total makeover. Oh, and of course I have an Aläng in my house!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it! An umlaut lesson!
xo,
s
Kara says
Holy smokes!! We bought that same light fixture 6 months ago to replace one of the builder grade boob lights in our home and we LOVE it!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! I love how many folks are light twins with us now. What took us so long to find this guy?!
xo,
s
Jen says
Looks great! I have the wall version above the bed for reading and love it! Really want to know about the bulbs though! I almost went LED last yer but read so many bad reviews I got nervous and tabled the idea. Maybe it’s time to revisit this. Where did you get them?
YoungHouseLove says
We just got them at Home Depot! So far, so good!
xo,
s
Katherine says
It’s funny, reading this post, I kept waiting for something to go wrong in one of the steps and for you to have to do a jimmy-fix on it like you guys always do.
But, in the end it was a post about an easy, no-complications installation of a pre-made, not diy-ed or ORB-ed lighting fixture.
huh. Why is that weird for me? lol. I guess I’ve been reading your blog for too long!
Alan looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s nice when things go right every once in a while!
xo,
s
donita says
That light is amazing, love it!!! Have you thought of painting the stools the same color as dining chairs and covering seats with dining room curtain fabric. That would tie the two rooms together. Just a thought!! ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
Always another possibility! Should be fun to see where we end up!
xo,
s
Penni McNamara says
Having never purchased anything from the lighting department at IKEA…I was wondering. Do most like fixtures come with a plastic box (instead of metal) and does that concern you? I have 2 hideous ceiling lights I need to replace…and this is in my budget! However, I’m a worrier so I was just curious about the plastic element. Looks great in your space!
YoungHouseLove says
All of the exposed wires are kept between the solid metal plate (see that in the picture?) and the metal ceiling fixture box. The only wires inside of the plastic part are covered wires, just like a swagged fixture would have a covered wire hanging out in the air (like our pendants over the peninsula, which have covered wires that wrap around that ORB chain out in the open). Hope it helps! Ikea is really into safety, so we don’t typically worry about stuff they make. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carla says
“Umlauts” and “wattages” are probably my new favorite words, haha!
(Loving the light fix, of course)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s like a vocab lesson.
xo,
s
Whitney Dupuis says
Oh my gosh, thank goodness you posted this!!! I have lived with a really ugly, outdated light in my foyer for almost five years and refuse to put a boob light there. The problem is that the door gets way too close to the fixture when opening so I can’t go with a pendant. The next trip I take to IKEA will finally fix this problem.
Jennifer says
Wow, I love the stools! Those (minus the backs) were the same ones we had in high school for art class! What a throwback!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we got them from a school supply shop!
xo,
s
Lauren@FilingJointly says
Just wanted to say that I was in Restoration Hardware yesterday and they are selling stools that are so similar to yours…for only $375 a stool.
I just stood there looking at them and giggling until my husband literally grabbed my arm to pull me away. Then he was all “What the heck? Why are you sticky?” (I like syrup.)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah, nice. Jealous of the pre-shopping snack.
xo,
s