Last Updated on February 19, 2020 by Ecorf
Recessed lighting can be a wonderful addition to any home. If they have the right light bulbs, they can offer ambient, soft lighting and can be perfect for gallery walls or kitchen. However, while they sidestep being unsightly, they don’t add much to your design aesthetic and can tend to be slightly boring. LED recessed lighting can be harsh when uncovered and can be slightly unflattering without a cover to disperse the light. If you have run into this problem or have inherited or outgrown some recessed lighting in your home you can make your own recessed light covers to add some personality to your light fixtures.
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Decorative Bowl
For an easy way to add a little pizzazz to some recessed lighting, you can repurpose a decorative wire bowl. We suggest something geometric to modernize your recessed lighting. Follow just a few simple steps and you can upgrade your lights in a flash:
- Pick Your Bowl: When picking your decorative bowl, you will want to make sure that it completely made of wire (i.e. doesn’t have a solid bottom) and has a level top. You want to make sure that it is easily affixed to your ceiling and that the bottom doesn’t block too much light. Try these two options from Amazon.
- Install Cup Hooks: The beauty of the wire bowl is that it has plenty of opportunities to add simple hooks to hang it by. Amykrist.org suggests using cup hooks (like these on Amazon). Follow these simple steps to set up your hooks:
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- Grab a step stool or ladder and center your bowl over your recessed lighting. If you have a helper, have them grab a picture while you hold your bowl so you can get an idea of how it looks in the space.
- Mark with a pencil where four to five hooks will need to hang to securely hold the bowl.
- Screw-in your four-five hooks where you have marked.
- Slide your new recessed light cover (aka. Decorative bowl) onto the hooks and enjoy your updated space!
Faux-Chandelier
Turn your recessed lighting into a chandelier with only a garden hose clamp, some crystals, and a few ceiling hooks? Absolutely. DIY website The Honeycomb Home figured out a way to do just that and turn some outdated lighting in her closet into a glam space for her to get ready. According to The Honeycomb Home, just a few simple steps and you can add a chandelier to any room with recessed lighting without any complicated rewiring.
- Purchase a hose repair clamp, preferably one with holes punched all the way around. Keep in mind you want to make sure it is wide enough in diameter to fit around the circumference of your recessed light.
- Attach strands of crystals to the clamp. This tutorial decided to create a waterfall effect by varying the length of the strands, but you can create any variation you want to fit your space.
- Trace out your ceiling hooks. Attach four-five hooks to the clamp and place the clamp around the recessed light you are looking to cover. Take a pencil and mark where the hooks should be placed into the ceiling.
- Screw-in your ceiling hooks and hang your new faux chandelier to update your space with some sparkle and shine.
Try a Trivet
You make be looking for a way to cover your recessed lighting while keeping the low profile characteristics. You can easily create a recessed lighting cover from a trivet that will lay flat against the light, but add some more intention to your light fixtures. Trivets make a wonderful choice as they are built to withstand heat and you won’t have to be concerned about any damage or melting caused by the lightbulb. Try the following DIY with this silicone trivet from Amazon that comes in three different designs and thirteen different colors.
- Make sure your chosen cover covers the whole of the recessed light.
- Affix your trivet to the ceiling.
- Screw: You will want to make holes in the trivet before you attempt to screw it into the ceiling. This gives you a guide when you screw into the ceiling and assure that the potholder will stand up to drilling. You don’t want to end up with shredded silicone and unsightly holes.
- Command Strip: If you don’t have access to a drill or possibly live in a rental where you don’t want to create holes, you can use two-sided adhesive command strips to attach your new light cover.
- Ceiling hooks: If you chose to go with a metal trivet, directly drilling into the trivet and command strips won’t be an option. With a metal trivet, you can use screw-in ceiling hooks like the above DIY to fix your trivet to cover your recessed light.
While recessed lighting has its advantages, it can sometimes leave you wanting to be able to better incorporate it into your design aesthetic. By adding a light cover, you can soften harsh lighting at the same time that you incorporate your light fixtures into your home’s flow. With just some household staples you can create your own recessed lighting covers with much less work than replacing the light fixtures entirely. A fruit bowl, hose clamp, or kitchen trivet can completely update your home in just a few simple steps!
