DIY Pulley Light Fixture

I always wanted a pulley light fixture since the first time I saw one. They look amazing in industrial and farm style designed rooms. But, they are a little pricey to buy. I swore when I got a pulley that I would make one.

Well, the time has come! I scored a pulley from a yard sale. While I'm in the middle of redoing the kitchen, the timing couldn't be better!

It was a little dirty and rough.

So I cleaned it up and sanded it down to smooth it out.

Then rubbed coconut oil into it.

Since the pulley was ready, I grabbed my electrical light fixture stash for parts to put this whole pulley lighting together.

I had a flush mount canopy and a mounting bracket that was do-able. Worried about weight, I bought some toggle bolts for mounting them.

Then I needed two identical corded sockets and didn't have any on hand. So after looking around I ended up buying 2 mason jar cord kits. Perfect, because the lids are vented for heat. I also bought 2 Edison Style light bulbs.

As for shades, I was cutting bottles and jars with hopes to use milk bottles. After cutting several to get a couple of them with smooth cuts, the jar was too narrow for my hands to screw in the bulbs.

Ugh. I ended up with mason jars which was fine because it was my second choice.

It's important to use open bottles and jars due to fire hazards. Those jars just screwed onto fixtures without venting scares the BeJeebers out of me.

Once I had all of the parts prepared, it was time to assemble the whole fixture.

I mounted the bracket with 4 toggle bolts into the ceiling. According to the manufacturer, each can hold up to 50 pounds, I just wanted to make real sure that nothing was going to come falling down on anyone. Once the bracket was secure, I mounted the canopy. ( It came from another ceiling fixture in my junk stash.)

Before hanging the pulley from the canopy, I fed the corded sockets through. Then added some linked chain to weave the cords through. The chain was another security measure. The links were easy to open and close back with two pairs of pliers as I attached it to the canopy.

At this point, I was able to hang the pulley from the mounted canopy and run the cords to the wall where the outlet is located.

Then the exciting moment... adding the shades and the bulbs!

Ha!!! I did it!

It is so pretty that it makes a great accent light in the room.

Little accomplishments bring such joy, don't they?

Little things that make life fun are worth the time.

I'm so excited to finally have this little dream come true.

Have you wanted to make one of these or similar?

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ORC And the Craigslist Kitchen Week 4

Progress. As the six week "One Room Challenge" moves on, so much has been accomplished with still more to do.

 (Week 1 , Week 2, Week 3)

You may recall, we removed the monster pots and pans rack to replace it with a new track light.

It's installed. Yay! I've missed the lighting. The best feature is, I can project the individual lights to bounce more light into different areas of the room.

Other than exchanging those light fixtures, I've been on my own and can't reach these 14 foot high corners in the ceiling. They are left unpainted until I recruit help again. So technically, the painting is not finished and remains on the list. 

I was able to get a few things crossed off this week.

Like the window sill herb box. Perched at the sink window is super convenient for watering and snipping for recipes.

Fresh herbs are a "must have" for cooking. 

I finished covering the exposed side of the refrigerator. 

I'll share that in a separate post this week.

I started working on the pulley light fixture for over the table and tried a cage for size.

Two of these cages are going to be too large for the pulley. They are wide and the pulley is much narrower. Now, I'm cutting mason jars to use as shades.

And milk bottles

Square shaped bottles are a bit challenging. Perhaps the wet saw will be more successful. I have some large round mason jars, but if they don't cut well, I'll lose a few awesome oldies. (Yikes. I don't want to do that.) Practicing on some smaller inexpensive ones have been going well. 

I'll keep you posted on the situation.

In the meantime, here we are!

The Plan:

Paint walls  Well, still a bit to do in the ceiling areas

Paint wainscotting

Paint cabinets

Make a coffee/tea/hot chocolate station

Change the layout of the island and eat-in area

Remove the lighted hanging pots and pans rack

Add  Install new lighting to replace the rack

Change out decor and overall style

Eliminate clutter and organize

Make a farmhouse style pulley light fixture for the table area

Cover the exposed side of the refrigerator with chalkboard and beadboard

Make a small windowsill herb garden.

"Range hood" enhancement: Corbels and shelf.

Adding: Crown moulding. If ladder assistance becomes available. (fingers crossed)

It feels great to get so much done. 

Thanks for following along and don’t forget to check out what all my fellow linking participants are up to here. 


And a huge thank you goes to Linda at Calling It Home once again for organizing the One Room Challenge!