DIY Pendant Lights (With Barn Pulleys)

Recently we counted how many holes we’ve poked in our apartment ceiling to hang lights. The answer’s 9. NINE. And eight of those ceiling holes are holding barn pulleys. While it might be time to slow down on the hanging light fixtures, I learned something really cool with the last light we hung.

All of those swoony industrial-looking pendant lights that are really expensive everywhere? You can *make* and *customize* them yourself for thirty bucks! There’s this amazing shop called Snake Head Vintage that sells lamp parts, colorful cords, and vintage Edison bulbs for really good prices. At first I was worried about electrocuting myself a la Homer Simpson with a lamp I put together myself, but it’s actually really simple.

Stuff you need:

-Light Socket (Mine from Snake Head Vintage)
–Plug
–Cord
–Plug
-Pulley (My mom gave me mine for Christmas, but you can find them on Ebay.)
–Swag Hook

First you need to take apart the light socket.

Next you need to strip the wire and prepare it for the socket.

Next you need to slip the wire through the socket and wrap it around them to the screws of the socket and screw on tightly.

Next, snap everything together.

For the plug, repeat the same process of stripping the cord and then screwing it tight to the plug.

Slip the outer casing of the plug down the prongs. It’s really that simple.

Next, gather your pulley and swag hook.

Drill a hole large enough to slip the base of the swag hook through.

Once you screw in the swag hook, hang the pulley from it and slip the cords around the wheel.

Secure the cords to the wall and adjust the cords to be straight.

End product:

I think we have plenty of pulleys in the apartment now, but IT’S SO FUN. The barn pulley addiction is a strong one. The rush is like sticking your head out of a fast-moving car or watching Breaking Bad until 4am on a Tuesday. 🙂