How to make a Colander Light Fixture {DIY}

I shared my Citrus Inspired Kitchen recently, and one of my favorite features is the colander light fixture in our table nook. Today I’ll share the simple tips so you can make your own.

I figured if I could find a similar fixture, then I could just take it apart and replace the bowl part. I found a giant 7 quart orange colander, and was so excited! I had seen already made colander light fixtures starting at $100 on up to $500. And I didn’t even like them! So….I got my orange colander, and found the most perfect fixture at IKEA that was already in pieces (meant to be put together, of course), it was fate! ($30 at IKEA, $37 on Amazon for the same fixture). I got the 20 inch FOTO pendant lamp at IKEA, all I really wanted was the cord to ceiling part, and the light bulb attachment part. This is what it looked like before.

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After I got the orange colander, hubby cut a hole in the bottom big enough for the light fixture part to fit through.

Make sure you use safety goggles so shards of metal don’t poke your eye out.

It’s got a little tripod system on it, that was meant to snap right into place. The light fell down below the colander a bit lower than I liked, so we pushed up the fixture part on top with a thick piece of foam, and it raised the bulb from peeking out of the bottom. It isn’t seen because of the height and lip on the colander.

Our previous lighting in the kitchen above the table was a recessed light bulb shown below. We had just one simple light above our table, which was perfect for replacing it for a larger statement piece.

Because the light mechanisms are different, we had to buy an adapter kit. This was the kit that we bought, a recessed light adapter, which gave all the instructions to convert the recessed light bulb fixture to a standard light fixture that we installed.

The ceiling had a larger opening from the recessed bulb, so I got a decorative white disc to cover up the hole from the silver part of the fixture that I had. Here is a pic taken with my phone at night that shows the middle of the process.