When we moved into our home, I wasn't crazy about the pendant light above our sink. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just a little too modern and too plain. I'd searched through various styles to swap it for, but anything I really loved was super expensive.
As we progressed with our kitchen design, I settled on some kind of woven style for the pendant light to pick up on wicker, rattan, and cane details throughout the space. But instead of dropping several hundred dollars on a new light, I decided to make my own!
I picked up this woven wastepaper basket at Goodwill thinking it would be the perfect size to just slip over our existing light fixture. It was, but the color and texture of the basket blended a little too well with the blind we have on the window. I gave it a couple coats of paint leaving the base and rim and a stripe in the middle unpainted. The color I used will also be going on the kitchen cabinets soon so stay tuned for that project!
A pair of garden shears cut through the base of the basket easily and I removed a circle just big enough to slip over my light. I removed the glass portion of my light, slid the basket up the pole, then reattached the glass and set my basket down around it.
I could remove the glass piece entirely, but I think it's fine as is and I don't have to worry about keeping a piece of the fixture safe somewhere if I ever want to change back to the old look.
Usually I encounter a few hiccups during any DIY, but this was the most straightforward and hassle free DIY I've done in a long time. It took just a couple hours to complete and most of that time was spent waiting for paint to dry. And the best part is, this "new" light cost me around $5 rather than $500.
Here's the before and the after:
If you want to turn a basket (or something else) into a light, but don't have an existing fixture to use like I did, you can purchase a light kit like these
A vintage-style bulb is always a nice touch to a project like this, Here are a couple I have in my home and recommend. They're smart bulbs and very customizable.