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?
Michelle says
I love the new light!
Where did you get the white pouf? I love it.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s from Joss and Main a while back. It sometimes lives in Clara’s room. It gets around. Haha.
xo,
s
Sarah says
Whoop. Finally I am ahead of the YHL curve on something! We have 2 of these lights in our living room, 1 in our bedroom and 1 in the guest room. We love them that much!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re totally ahead!
xo,
s
Kim says
Beth in DC-
I am with you on the recessed lights issue-I think for kitchens they are good because I want to be able to see and it feels cleaner. We recently put them in our living room/kitchen reno, and they made the space hotter, and less home-y. Ambient lighting feels better to me for living spaces. BTW, I am 44 but don’t think it’s an age thing as much as experience thing, ya know what I mean?
Andrea says
We just installed a new light (very similar to yours) in our bedroom after finding it on super sale… it was an experience, but it is up there! It takes 4 (yes, 4!!) of those little tube lights, I think they are CFL’s. Funny enough, we got it up and the shade of the lights that they had sold me was BRIGHT white – eeek… so we are still waiting in darkness for the warmer shade bulbs to arrive. Oh, how a quick little project can morph into several weeks!! Here is my post with some photos: http://www.andreakrisourchaos.com/2012/04/master-bedroom-progress.html
LOVE how your light turned out!! It’s a perfect fit for the room.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we know all about how lighting posts can drag out! We have had quite a few of those. It’s all worth it in the end though! Haha. Good luck!
xo,
s
Carolyn Back says
Am I the only one that saw that amazing clam shell in the fireplace? Share please….I running to the garage to get the tools to remove my gas logs as I type!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! It’s from our Joss and Main collection a little while back. We wanted to pick one thing to buy for ourselves from the event, so I batted my eyes and John actually went for it. Love him for that. Haha.
xo,
s
Laurie says
I am sooo glad it is not just me that has trouble finding flushmount lights that are not boob lights! I have been searching for a long time as I have 2 entryways that are very small and my ceilings are low. The lights that came with the place when we bought it were a 1980’s brass/glass octagon style that had to go, so I gave up and bought boob lights as a temporary fix until I could find something that didn’t cost me major moolah! Love the IKEA light you found and you can’t beat the price. Unfortunately, the closest IKEA to me is over 12 hours away. (Insert sad face here) I’m still holding out hope that the lighting industry will realize this gap soon and I will find my perfect flushmount light.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, here’s hoping!
xo,
s
Lynn @ SafeBeauty says
Wow that looks wicked good guys! I thought that the one picture of it above the fireplace looked pretty straight to me and I was like “You guys are so picture balanced.” We have a whole slew of lighting problems in the new place that we will tackle one room at a time eventually. So this was a good option to look at, thanks. Oh does it come in any other colors?
My best, Lynn
YoungHouseLove says
We only saw it in white (in two different sizes) but someone else mentioned a gray one but that might have been the floor lamp or desk lamp version (or an international difference). Maybe check ikea.com to see what they have in your area?
xo,
s
Deanna says
Love it!! I’ve been looking for something similar for our master closet. This might just do the trick!
nikki says
too funny – about halfway through before your reveal i was thinking, “why didn’t they just go to ikea? there’s a light there which would be just what they’re looking for!” yeah… even from 6,000 miles away!
Gaidig says
I love this light. I think I might get one to replace the hideous ’50s light in the office. Everone seems to have forgotten about those lights with the square glass shade, but they’re even worse than boob lights.
lizzy says
For some reason (and please… I don’t not intend to offend at ALL) when I look at the pictures it looks like a big button or a huge 70’s dimmer switch. But you love it and that’s what matters.
jody says
“Of course that awesome subtle texture it’s 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!”
did you mean “is lost”?
is it obnoxious to mention that? i spend so much time editing it’s hard not to!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes thanks for the tip Jody! Off to fix that!
xo,
s
Skye says
What a coincidence! I was looking at this very light in an Australian Ikea yesterday and very nearly bought it. The only thing stopping me was budget and will probably get some down the track
Linda says
You’ve mentioned before about using greener light bulbs than incandescent. I’ve tried fluorescent bulbs and after 2 bad experiences I’ve shied away from using anything other than incandescent.
You’re a color savvy pair is there a brand of bulb you like better than others for things like color fidelity and a pleasant homey kind of feel? I know the LED report will show up later, just curious if there’s been a stand out winner you’ve discovered?
YoungHouseLove says
We like the “warm white” CFLs, since any cool light or daylight ones can be too harsh. Hope that helps!
xo,
s
Stephanie at Full of Great Ideas says
That looks amazing!
I hung the smaller version of the same light in my Master Closet. I changed mine up a bit to look like a $300 inspirational light on Pinterest with some grosgrain ribbon, hot glue and a wood disk. Huge difference for next to nothing in price. http://fullofgreatideas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/light-up-my-life-master-closet-light-on.html
But I do love how yours looks just the way it is.
Stephanie
YoungHouseLove says
What a fun tutorial! So smart!
xo,
s
Sara says
Im such a dork but I got a huge grin when I saw that light. I had the same problem with the boob lights and brought home the same light a month ago. We love it so far.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that so many of you guys have Alän too!
xo,
s
Nevin says
I agree with others – gotta get rid of the boob lights!
Looks like I need to take a trip up 95 and look at some lights! I’m in love with your pendant over the sink. Is my memory correct that you got it at a clearance sale/outlet?? I want to replace my 2 recessed lights over my island with pendants – like yours! I haven’t had much finding some at a decent price.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I got that from Pottery Barn Outlet in Georgia for $29!
xo,
s
Erin @ His & Hers says
The bend and snap!!! Did you know LB was turned into a musical and there is a song devoted to the bend and snap? It’s really too bad you found such a good solution; you could’ve spent many a day singing while you plugged/unplugged your lamp.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s true. I’d be in better shape…
xo,
s
Mandy says
This post had me giggling like crazy on what has been a less-than-stellar day. Thanks for gracing us with phrases like “My eyebrow returned to its default position,” “Like the Altoids of magnets,” and “celebratory umlauts.” Yoü güys are the best.
Also, if you were to launch an internet campaign opposing boob lights, I would be all over that. Just sayin’.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, maybe we need little “Just Say No” bumper stickers…
xo,
s
Noelle says
OMG we just put up two in our one hallway and replaced two really old 50’s grape vine brassy things.
It is amazing how something so simple can make a space look fresh and new.
Glad your space is shaping up.
Laci Waner says
“My eyebrow returned to its default position” -One of my favorite remarks from John, EVER!! If I were a betting woman, I’d bet Sherry wants bright yellow stools and John wants distressed ORB. Should I go to Vegas, or am I WAY off? :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not too far off! This morning John said “charcoal” and I said “dark teal” – but you never know where we’ll end up!
xo,
s
Sara says
SO much better than the boob light options! We have low-ish ceilings and my hubby’s 6’5″, so we can relate to your issues with lights hanging too low. Anyway, knowing how much you guys love to mix things up, I saw this on Pinterest (of course!) awhile back and knew I had to find it again for you guys! :) http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/04/alang-ceiling-light-hack-buy-for-30-and.html#more Love your blog, it’s one of my favorites!
YoungHouseLove says
That looks awesome!
xo,
s
Steph says
Light looks amazing!
In fact, my hubby and I are heading to Ikea next week to pick up some much needed lighting. I am sick of looking at our “run of the mill, cookie cutter, every house on the block has the same light” lights. We are picking up some lighting for the entrance, dining room and soon to be daughters play room!
If that isn’t enough, I am in the process of painting chairs, a dresser and weird table thing I picked up at Value Village…and planning a cheap kitchen re-due.
Phew, tired just thinking of it.
Laura says
That looks great! It really balances the room!
Kelly says
I love the new light! I like that you can barely tell it’s there, but it’s so pretty up close.
I’m a teacher, and there are stools like your bar stools scattered throughout the school. Once they get used for awhile, the seats start to turn whitish due to the wear, but rather than looking nicely worn, they just look old. Spray painting sounds like a great option!
YoungHouseLove says
Good to know!
xo,
s
Lauren says
I LOVE Alan! He looks perfect for that space
Great choice!
Cora says
You know, leave it to you guys to read my mind and give me a product that I need! Seriously, how do you do that? Also, I had to double check who was writing the post so I could imagine who was doing the Bend and Snap. LOL
Kristin says
Seriously, you have to stop buying so much Ikea stuff I like. It was the same with the Karlstad, I had my eye on it for a couple of months, then you bought it some weeks before we did (same color, smaller size) and I feel like a copycat, haha.
The green wall color in our bedroom is a bit more bluish than your kitchen, however, and we painted it before you did the kitchen. Ha! After tons of search for a light for the living room with no success, we now planned to reuse an old chandelier in the basement (I bought it 10 years ago and used it for 5 years) and add a drum shade like you did in the office, we just haven’t found a drum shade in the correct size. And now this light… I was planning on using it or the similar styled floor light in our next apartment (we plan to move soon)!
Honestly, some of it was even here before you did it, and nevertheless I feel like an imitator. But your style ist just so great! And I don’t have ceramic animals or maps! That has to count something! :-)
Keep up the great work.
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? says
I love the new light fixture! I wish they had it when I was looking for a new flush light fixture for our entry way! I am happy with the one I found, though (also at IKEA).
Right now the only thing on my spray paint to do list is to spray paint a little red ceramic dragon I found on clearance at Target for $3 orange to go in our in progress guest room/office consolidation.
Katrina says
Love the light! Can you photoshop some stool samples? Maybe pick some colors that make your stools soft (or hard)? Oh boy! Hehe.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, don’t put it past me!
xo,
s
Katherine says
We have the table lamp version of this in grey on our bedside tables. The texture is gorgeous and they’re my favorite lamps in the house. Lovely!
Tracie says
Thank you so much for sharing! We’re somewhat-recently-out-of-school renters and ALL of our ceiling lights are either boob-shaped or old ceiling fans. Nice to see an alternative in our price range – now just find a way to get the boyfriend to agree to take the trip from Harrisonburg to the Ikea in NOVA…
Jenny B. says
I am so glad you posted this! We are getting ready to make the 6-hour drive to the nearest IKEA, and the Aläng is on my shopping list for our dining area! :)
Holly says
I read this post this morning and realized that this light would be the perfect solution to a nasty lighting situation that I’ve been trying to solve for more than 2 years now! I drove straight to IKEA and just finished installing it in my dining room and it is PERFECT! I love the way you mix IKEA purchases with other pieces. I’m trying to do the same thing in my place!
Anna (My Design Ethos) says
I LOVE ceiling mounted drum shades, so much better than boob lights (or oysters as they are called in Australia). I raised lots of eyebrows when I used these in a low ceiling room under the house but they are so much better than an oyster. I’m still tossing up whether to trim the edges in a soft coloured ribbon like a lampshade though. Hmmm…
Bernadette @b3hd says
LOVE Alan and going to have to get one (or two) for our closet.
Bernadette
mydecoreview says
I liked the look of the white fireplace and white furniture around. Provides a serene feeling.
Seina says
The light looks great! Have you guys ever replaced an overhead fluorescent light with a different type of light (say a track lighting fixture)? And if so, do you have a post on it? I’m looking to do this in my kitchen, and you guys are always my first stop for any type of home improvement directions/advice :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have. I would just turn off the power and remove your current fixture to see what’s behind it. Usually it’s just a standard fixture box, which can work with a track light or a fluorescent light or a pendant or anything else – they all stem from the same fixture box. So it could be as easy as removing the old light and wiring up the new one. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Seina says
Thank you so much! I know how busy you guys are, so I feel bad asking (potentially silly!) questions. I so appreciate your taking the time to respond!!
Anne says
We loved this light and just bought it, but now we can’t find 20 watt bulbs anywhere. The lowest we’ve found are 25 watt. Where did you find them?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We got them from Lowe’s (they’re actually 13 watt CFLs that are the equivalent of a 40 watt regular bulb).
xo,
s
Anne says
Thanks! I don’t know the right way to phrase this, but are they just normal bulbs with the normal “screw in” bottoms? I got totally overwhelmed at Home Depot last night with all the choices of voltages, and the more “plug in” looking kind. I know that seems like a really dumb question, because they’re just light bulbs, but there are so many differences now!
YoungHouseLove says
Yep, they’re just normal screw-in threaded light bulbs.
-John
Luke says
Hello!
My wife and I just purchased two of these for our home…they are great, but what’s the deal with the double white wiring? Maybe I purchased a defect, but the lines coming out of the fixture are both white where typically I’ve seen black (hot) and white…did you guys have this problem?
Thanks!
Luke
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so weird, I think ours weren’t like that so maybe the design changed or there’s a defect?
xo,
s
Cathy says
What kind of LED bulbs did you get for this fixture (wattage), and where did you get them? For some reason, I’m totally flummoxed by the light bulb situation, and our Alangs have been lying in wait for.ev.er! Thanks :)
YoungHouseLove says
Eeks, they don’t have any markings on them now and we threw away the box, but they were from Home Depot and their wattage was the equivalent or under 20 watt (I think they’re really like 6 watts or something since they’re LED but they put out as much light as 20 watt incandescents). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
OrangePekoe says
Just put this lamp up in the kitchen and your tutorial was a big help! And I was skeptical on the zip tie too, even after you said it worked, but it did. Weird. And great.
Elly says
Love what you have done! I found your blog while I was searching the brightness as it will be going in an art/craft room and will be the only light source, so it needs a good amount of light!
I really also LOVE the paint colour, do you happen to remember what colour it is?
Thanks for sharing!
YoungHouseLove says
The color is Sesame by Benjamin Moore. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Riah says
So I started reading your blog from page 1 a couple months back, and I was inspired. One of my favorite things you do is replacing “boob” lights to personalize your home. I started searching for a flush, ceiling-mount, interesting and affordable (ahem, cheap) drum light that I could put in my bedroom. Low-and-behold I came across Aläng, and my first thought was how it reminded me of younghouselove (my first action was to buy it). Basically this novel of a comment is to say that I’m tickled to see you added Alän to your family, because it’s most definitely where he belongs.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it!
xo
s
DarrenF says
We just installed this same light in a reading nook in our master bedroom. I love the light, but can’t stand the light leakage around the top where it sits about 1/4 inch away from the ceiling. I even ended up fastening the magnetic arms up tight against the ceiling to no avail. After calming down a bit, I decided the fix would be to take the shade down and hot clue some white weather stripping around the perimeter on the inside. This should stop the leakage and not really be visible on the shade. I’ll report back with the results.
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo,
s
Amy P says
What are the odds that Alan could be hung lower as a pendant, such as over a dining table? I’ve been looking at this one ever since I wanted a pendant drum shade over the table.
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly I don’t think it would hang well if you tried to drop it from the ceiling (it gets stability from the ceiling so I worry it would be wonky). So sorry Amy!
xo
s
Rachel says
Ok, I’ve dug around to see if you’ve answered this question before but I can’t find anything…
What type of bulbs do you buy? I hate yellow light and like cleaner, fresher color… Do you buy bright white… Day light?! Share your thoughts!
YoungHouseLove says
We have found that we prefer “soft white” for the most part, especially CFLs (they can be too blue or yellow for us otherwise).
xo
s
Scott says
Those new lights are awesome. Thanks for the write up
Abdulla Yusef says
Hi
I just have one question regarding the light bulb, is it 20 watts max for each bulb or for both?
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
It was 20 watts per bulb.
xo
s