Happy New Year!!! (that sentiment will make sense in a little while – hold tight)
The time had come to bid adieu to the fan in our bedroom so we could introduce a light fixture with a bit more interest.
Hold on fan lovers. Put the pitchforks (or fan blades?) down and let me explain. We also removed the ceiling fan in our first home’s bedroom and picked up a high-powered Hunter table fan that did the trick, which we plan to use regularly in the warmer months here as well. It’s not that we’re anti fan – my wife likes to make the beyond corny joke that we’re “fan fans” – but we just like them to be well placed so form and function collide into a big beautiful fan-tastic situation. Like the fan in our sunroom (and the one in our last house’s sunroom) which we’d never dream of removing. But when it came to the bedroom the our big old ceiling fan certainly wasn’t playing nice with Ed the Bed:
As for its replacement, on a recent trip to Ikea we picked up this guy: the Maskros pendant lamp (it comes in two sizes, but the bigger one would have practically been Sherry-sized, so we went for the smaller one that’s still 22 inches in diameter). It felt like a good “statement piece” for the bedroom (and only ran us 50 beans) so we were psyched that we finally pulled the trigger and made it ours after a few months of pining. We realize that this is one of those polarizing purchases, but it makes us smile like crazy so we said yes to something fun.
And although it was quite the statement piece when hanging in Ikea, when it arrived home with us, the only statement it was making was “put me together.”
But first the ol’ fan had to come down. So with the electricity to the entire house turned off (we’re safety freaks like that) I went to work disassembling it – a process that I’m pretty well versed at in at this point in my life. Though I have only recently discovered that it’s much easier to remove all of the blades first (so you don’t end up whacking yourself in the head while trying to disconnect the rest of it from the fixture box).
Unfortunately, removing the fan revealed some less than perfect ceiling behind it. Unfinished paint and what looked like a square patch panel that wasn’t sitting flush with the rest of the ceiling. Bummer.
So I decided to borrow a solution from Clara’s damaged ceiling dilemma and darted out to Home Depot to buy yet another ceiling medallion for $19. You can read more about the super-easy ceiling medallion installation process in this post.
Technically you’re not supposed to attach any of the “spokes” to the fixture until after it’s secured to the ceiling. But since we needed to strategically hang it low enough to sit under Ed’s top rail, but high enough to not look ridiculous, we used a couple of attached spokes to approximate its finished size and find the perfect hanging height.
Oh and Ikea suggests just coiling the extra wire inside of the cup at the top of the fixture, but I opted to cut the wire closer to our desired length by taking some scissors to the cord and then stripping the ends of the now-shortened wires.
So here it is completely hooked up with all of the spokes attached. We realized at this point that we were glad we used the ceiling medallion because it made the fixture look a bit more substantial and balanced, instead of hanging a giant ball from a little nub in the middle of the ceiling. Plus, if we ever paint the ceiling it’ll add even more detail and polish.
Of course we still had to attached the 82 (yep, 82) paper “flowers” that came in the set. They really are just paper asterisk-thingies that are pre-cut and pre-hole-punched to snap into place. So theoretically you could color them or replace them entirely with your own desired shape if you wanted to – and had the patience to make 82 of them. We briefly debated “going rogue” and spraying the back of them a color, but we liked the clean white look (crazy shape and size + classic color = love for us sometimes). Oh and you can also see how Ikea packaged them in small boxes to help curl the edges outward in this pic below:
Here’s the light with the first few rows of flowers attached, starting to look more like what we saw in the showroom…
After about 10 minutes we had all 82 attached and were left with this. Ta-dah! We were more than a little relieved that it didn’t take five hundred years to assemble (which was kind of the fear after we opened the box).
We’ll admit that at first it felt a bit bigger than we expected (it looked a lot smaller in the giant warehouse that is Ikea when we first laid eyes on it), but once we add things like a larger 8 x 10 rug under Ed (instead of three smaller they’re-there-because-we-have-them rugs) and some art on the walls, there will be more scale slash balance going on. And even without future items like a big cushy rug, it only took a few hours for it to totally grow on us. As in every time we walk into the room we grin. And about 50% of the time we actually high five. It’s just so much fun. And if you can’t have a little fun in the privacy of your own bedroom, where can you have it? Wait, that came out wrong.
It’s definitely the playful wow kind of “statement piece” that we were looking for. And although from the angle above it looks like it’s snuggled right up in Ed’s business, you can see from the pic above that they aren’t actually touching at all. And even though it hangs low in the room (the bulb sits just above my eye level), we love that we can get away with that because it’s an area that we’ll never walk through (because of Ed and the bench at his footboard). Take that 8 foot ceilings! We defy you.
As much as we love how crisp and soft it looks during the daylight, it looks like our own little Times Square New Year’s Eve ball at night. Sherry loves to walk into the room at night and say “3… 2… 1” and flick on the light while squealing “Happy New Year!”
It only accepts a 40 watt bulb, so it’s definitely not something that’ll flood your room with light, but for us it’s the perfect addition to the soft and moody lighting that we’ve already got going on thanks to our recently added side table lamps and the light over the vanity in our bedroom’s sink nook.
Plus, it is soooo cool to look at from bed. We didn’t even consider this POV when picking it, but when our heads hit the pillow it’s perfectly reflected in our bathroom mirror. How’s that for a nice added bonus? Oh, and I’m sorry ladies, but me and my sexy socked feet are taken (Sherry’s a lucky lady).
Oh and the light is centered in the room (and on that doorway and the bed) so the slight left-ish shift that you see above is just thanks to the angle of the shot that I snapped.
So there you have it. The little big slice of “hey now” that we added to our bedroom. It certainly doesn’t make us miss the old fan (which we’re donating to the ReStore) and it never fails to make us giddy. What can I say? Warning: pun coming. It lights my fire. Oh, and we should mention that Clara is crazy fascinated by the flowers themselves. We’d let her get near them if we could trust her not to put one of the paper flowers in a death grip and tear it off towards her mouth. So for now it’s just for looking.
Do any of you own Mr Maskros yourselves? Or are there any other dramatic and large-scaled light fixtures that you’re into lately?
Psst- There have been a few requests for more photos from other angles, so here they are:
Clara likey.
Update: Things definitely take some time to shake out around here. So if you wanna see how Ed the Bed and our new light evolved, click here and here. Ah tweaks. Gotta love ’em!
Cher@NewburghRestoration says
I remember when that fixture was $100. Wayyyy too expensive. $50 is about right. Great photos.
Laurie says
i have a designer friend who loves this and recently had a young female client install it over her dining room table.
professional endorsement!
Sarah Mc says
I think the light is beautiful but from the pictures it looks like it hangs so low. Can you take a picture of John standing next to it for height perspective? Could it possibly be raised, if need be?
YoungHouseLove says
Check out this comment for more info on that: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/03/happy-new-year/comment-page-2/#comment-428810
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
rachel says
haha, wow! you guys really are getting pretty experimental! I love it! It is weird how massive it looks in your house – i went to ikea a few days ago and drooled over the guy but never even thought to put it in my bedroom!
GEORGIA says
I LOVE this light!!! -every time i goto ikea i think ‘i wish i had high ceilings to have this light…’
I could never get it as i currently have a light similar to this made from metal with purple jems all over it, its lovely and girly… but not has a huge dent in the side where my fiance hit his head on it and knocked it onto the floor….. he still hits his head everyday.. when will he learn??? haha
Lori says
I have been coveting this lamp ever since I saw it a few weeks ago on a trip to my (closest – 6 hrs away!) Ikea – it looks great in your bedroom!!! I am kicking myself that I didn’t buy it then. Hope there won’t be a run on them now that you’ve posted this and I can still get one next time I’m near my Ikea (it’s not available online or I would be ordering it now!!)
Blaine says
Simply MARVELOUS! It’s stunning, really.
Tiffannie says
Love love LOVE it!! Seriously. Love. I’ve been crushing on that light for a while. Now I’m sitting at work, grinnin’ like a fool and trying not to giggle b/c those pics just make me so happy. L.O.V.E.
Maya says
Love it! I think the scale only looks slightly off because in many of the pictures it’s closer to us than the bed, while we’re primed to see chandeliers over beds like this.
Have you tried scooting Ed forward (more to the center of the room) under the lamp to see if you like that position? I remember seeing a back-end shot of Ed that was really sexy :)
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely tried putting Ed in a number of places in the room and love his current placement best for now, but you never know where he’ll end up someday. He does have a sexy back-end. Haha.
xo,
s
Bob says
Ehh… I’m not a big fan of how the light interacts with the bed frame posts box empty cube thing you got going on. I never really understood those. I think the bed and light now compete way too much. Of course, to each his own, blah blah blah. :)
Also, what’s wrong with the socks on the boy’s feet? Because if wearing white socks with gray toes/heels is wrong, I don’t ever wanna be right.
YoungHouseLove says
Nothing is wrong with my light-hanging hubs… even those socks. He’s all man. Haha.
xo,
s
Bob says
Well, let’s not go quite that far Sherry. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I agree with you. Nothing wrong with his socks. Just saying…
xo,
s
GEORGIA says
I love barefootedness .. if thats even a word :)
And i also love white socks on men.. haha
YoungHouseLove says
Let’s start a campaign: real men wear white socks.
xo,
s
georgia says
Haha! Deffo! – there is something clean and athletic about white socks…. And barefoot is just so chilled and care free, ohhh I can’t wait for summer… :)
Tanya from dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com says
So pretty! I’ve ogled that light too. Looks great in the room.
Katie says
I LOVE this light and when I saw it in Ikea I wanted it, no needed it. I too was planning on putting it at the end of my bed in the bedroom. Then after spending 2 seconds to think about it, I realized my cat would love to play with every one of those flowers. So alas I did not bring it home. Maybe the next trip to Ikea.
Tara says
Love it, and I promise you that I predicted it would be your choice when you alluded to it recently. Just last weekend, I told our daughter that we could replace her ceiling fan with one. It’s a fun, easy, inexpensive choice. I know she’ll love hers too.
candace @ thecandace.com says
I think it looks stellar – this new house is so fun and spicy compared to your old house (which I also loved). Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
Annika says
Love the Maskros!! Just wanted to let you know – as a true Swede with complete understanding for what all the funky names at IKEA means – Maskros means dandelion. Cute!
YoungHouseLove says
NO WAY!!! Sorry for the caps lock, but that’s just so cute. Thanks for sharing! It’s like a big happy dandelion, so the name totally fits.
xo,
s
Paige says
oh that’s awesome! I should take a translation book with me next time I go…I’d love to know what all the weird names mean…
Paige says
ooooo love it! I like how John is so cool with a slightly more “feminine” looking fixture–I don’t think my husband would go for it…although he really likes you guys and is impressed with what you’re doing, so I’m sure if I showed him that YOU guys did it, he’d like it…verses me going to Ikea with him and saying, “honey, let’s get this lamp” he’d think I was crazy…haha…I’ve actually been able to convince him of more “off-the wall” ideas because I’ve shown him things that you guys have done…haha…so thanks for helping me gain some decorative ground over here!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, John’s going to die that you’ve called it “feminine.” He was the one to pick it out and I of course fell in love and agreed. Love that man! I think we’re both just giddy to have fun with this house (having a wee one makes us more interested in color and pattern and texture and all that good stuff).
xo,
s
Paige says
hahaha–well personally, if I were to give light fixtures a gender, I think it would have to be female…even the old fan you guys removed, she was like that weird, frumpy aunt that never changes her style with the times…sooooo…this new light is like a modern, chic, sassy woman who’s not afraid to tell it like it is…
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah, love it. We should have named the old fan Aunt Gertrude.
xo,
s
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
Hmm. I think the style of the fixture adds a nice fun touch to the bedroom. I love everything else about the space. But I’m not sure if I love the placement of it – but it’s really none of my damn business, since it’s your house and you need to do what makes you happy. :) That’s what design is all about, after all!
Emily says
I usually love everything y’all do, but this looks silly. The proportion and placement seem off.
YoungHouseLove says
Check out this comment for more info about that: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/03/happy-new-year/comment-page-2/#comment-428810
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
leah says
You will have to keep us updated as to whether it is easy to dust etc. I have seen those and loooove the way they look, but all I could think of is dust magnet. So let me know if it is hard to handle. Looks Ah-maz-ing!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll share updates on that for sure! John googled around for info and apparently Markros owners claim it’s pretty easy to dust, but time will tell…
xo,
s
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
I bet a feather duster or Swiffer duster would make quick work of it. That’s my go-to tool for something with lots of parts!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve heard a feather duster works really well, and someone else suggested spraying it with canned air, which sounds like a good time to me. Haha.
xo,
s
kellie says
It looks awesome, I love it! Happy New Year indeed :)
Debbie says
This looks so fun! I am not a “fan” of fans in the bedroom, but I love a statement lighting piece! Esp. with the ceiling medallion.
Jen says
I’m not sure I really like the light. Ultimately, It’s your house and your blog, so have fun.
Caroline says
I love that light and the whole look of your bedroom! How do you get John to be okay with that look for your master bedroom? I picked a masculine-looking comforter set with matching curtains that my husband was okay with, but it’s so boring!
YoungHouseLove says
John picked out this light himself! Haha. And of course I swooned too and agreed. The duvet was something I found and then said “what do you think?” and he liked it. I think if it was covered in flowers he’d say no, but they’re leaves so he was down. Haha. And Ed the bed was all his idea too. We’re both just having a lot of fun spicing things up in this house. It’s liberating to just go for it and say things like “why not?”
xo,
s
hanna says
I’ve been dying for the larger version of this to hang over our open stairwell! I’m sooo glad you chose this! Too cool.
My Beautiful Life says
We almost bought that when we went in January.
Looks great!
Jason says
I mean this has to be the best thing ever!!! I LOVE IT!
I always saw it on the their website and loved it and I’d think how do you change the bulb, what is it made of, it fascinated me like a puzzle!
sarah (sarah learns) says
i LOVE it! that is all….
Alison says
I love love love this. I appreciate all the great new risks you guys are taking in the new house. You guys are so inspiring for those of us that are afraid of taking more risks with our decorating decisions due to fear of messing up.
Holiday says
For Marilyn (looking for solution to pull strings) – we had a pull string light in our old house and we found a little dohicky at Home Depot that was meant to control ceiling fans. It was basically a little transmitter that you wired in up under the light fixture (in the ceiling cavity or under a medallion) and then you had a little hand held remote control switch. I just did a quick Google for “celing fan remote control” and up it popped! Good luck!
Andrea says
I adore this (and again feel that ping of jealousy that we don’t have Ikea near us)! It reminds me of white daisies when it’s lit up.
Ellis Gamel Interiors says
I LOVE it! Planning to put this in the nursery for my baby girl on the way… If I can win the “get rid of that fan!” conversation my husband and I are having ;). Love your blog and I love to continue to follow your sweet homes progress…
Sanja says
It adds some great texture! And I bet the shadows it casts are a pleasure to look at :)
Nicole Semple says
I’m such a fan of that fixture! So fun and dandelion-ish!
Areader says
I would hate to have to keep it clean
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll share updates on that for sure! John googled around for info and apparently Markros owners claim it’s pretty easy to dust, but time will tell…
xo,
s
JMB says
A blow dryer set on low heat and speed works great for dusting this sort of thing. I originally heard about it for dusting silk florals…
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! Another fun idea that I can’t wait to try. How pathetic does that sound? Haha.
xo,
s
sonya says
For me, the jury’s still out on the placement of it, but it’s obviously your house and your room. It certainly does looks tons better than that fan though! That fixture could also look so cool and whimsical in a nursery! I am a clean freak and would be hesitant to put up an intricate fixture with paper, so I’ll be interested to hear from you guys how it holds up in the next year or so.
Jamie says
I love it! I bet a warm golden color would look great on the ceiling :)
julia says
I absolutely love the light but not sure if I love the placement. Its just tough with Ed the bed since he is such a star. That light would be awesome in so many other places in your home too.
sarah says
Funny story… this past weekend the boyfriend and I traveled to ikea to do a little mini redecorate on our bedroom and we also came home with this ceiling lamp. The scary thing is that we opted for the gigantic sized one. We live in a loft with 10′ ceilings and both figured that it might be the only place where we will ever get away with such a light fixture, so we went for it. Honestly, it’s SO huge that it makes me laugh every time I walk by the bedroom area. I really love it! I think it probably helps that my loft layout means you are never actually closed into a room with the giant flowered disco ball… so it actually accents the entire space!
Kristi says
Love love love that fixture! Beautiful for the bedroom. And if you are using a CFL, you can put a bulb with a much higher light output than the 40W incandescent equivalent in there – I think a 100W equivalent bulb in a CFL has an actual rating of less than 40W, so there would be a ton of light. Although for a bedroom with other light sources, a 40W incandescent is surely just fine.
YoungHouseLove says
Great point! John and I were talking about trading up for a lighter but lower wattage CFL the next time we’re at Ikea (it only takes special Ikea sized bulbs and not standard ones, boo!).
xo,
s
janie says
I adore this lamp.
Have you guys thought of moving your bed to be on the wall opposite the door? You’d be able to hang this light higher and closer to the ceiling because it (looks like from pictures) wouldn’t hit your bed then. It just looks like its hanging low in the pictures.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve tried our bed in a number of places and this is our favorite spot of the bunch (the other two walls have off-centered windows that don’t flatter Ed the way a blank back wall does, and the third wall has the sink on it, haha). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Cristina says
So nice!!
And so funny Sherry with “3..2..1 Happy New Year!”
:-)
Elizabeth says
Any possibility that the “fixture” part would fit over an existing light cord?
YoungHouseLove says
Not sure, John doesn’t think it would because the spokes have to snap around the center, which is all packaged as one. You might be able to “hack” it with a knife and some glue though. Good luck!
xo,
s
Kristen says
Yes I was hoping this is the light you were talking about. I have had it in my closet for a couple months trying to find the best place to put it. Nice job guys :-)
Allison K says
Love love love it! I have had my eye on a few of the Ikea pendants for a while, but since we dont’ have an Ikea here in Boise…I’ve never pulled the trigger. THis post convinced me that a stop at Ikea stop next month when I am in Portland (oregon) might be an absolute necessity.
heyruthie says
love the choice! i think it looks great.
i’m wondering, since it does conflict a bit with Ed’s gorgeous lines :-) can you remove Ed’s top “crossbar” at the foot of the bed? (so that Ed has 3 sides on his “canopy” instead of four.) Or is that piece structurally necessary? I’m just wondering if the lamp wouldn’t lend enough visual weight to make the “open” end of the canopy seem intentional, rather than “missing something.” kwim?
sorry if someone already asked that!
YoungHouseLove says
We can definitely remove that top slat if we’d like, but in person it doesn’t really seem to conflict (they don’t interfere or intersect in 3D, only in 2D from some of the angles of the pics). We love it right as it is for now, so we don’t want to take Ed apart just yet! But thanks for the suggestion!
xo,
s
the S's Beach House says
Wow friends, your bedroom is really coming along nicely!
Virginia says
I love it! I installed the even bigger one (if you can believe it) in my living room, and I was nervous about how big it was. It’s not a problem, and I love it more and more every day!! You guys are going to be so happy with it!
Tiffany says
I love it!! I absolutely adore your blog and all the amazing ideas and DIY expertise. One question–Do you know if those ceiling pendant thing-ys come with switches? I really wanted to use a fun light fixture in my daughter’s room but b/c of the wiring, we can only use a light with a switch or pull string. As a result she has a boring ol’ cieling fan. If these pendants come with switches that could be our answer! Thoughts?
PS- Not sure if you’ve seen this post yet but I think you’d appreciate it!!
http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/2011/02/power-of-hurtful-words-commentary-on.html
YoungHouseLove says
Darn, they don’t seem to. But maybe it’s a quick fix to convert? You can scroll back through this comment for info thanks to someone else who asked a similar question. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love it!!! Perfect for the room. Love using medallions. We have used 3 in our house. They really add something to the room. Love the look.
Briel K. says
I think it looks pretty all lit up but it just looks completely random hanging there in the middle of the room. It is not my favorite project that you guys have done but I actually like that I don’t love everything you do! haha I’m glad you guys found something you love to replace the fan though! :)