How to Replace a Ceiling Light Fixture

Our house was but in the 60's, so we have those unattractive globe lights in our kitchen and hallway and they just have not been high on our list of priorities to update. A couple months ago, we ran across the most fabulous light fixture at Black Dog Salvage that was perfect for the entry hall! Of course, it did not fit perfectly (because nothing ever does in an old house) but I am going to show you how we made the light work.

First off, if you have never heard of Black Dog Salvage, which was made famous on the show Salvage Dawgs,  please go look it up. We are fans of the show and since the warehouse is only a couple hours away from us in Roanoke, VA we decided to take a day trip up there to look around. They have EVERYTHING you could ever want as far as architectural salvage, plus they also have a shop where they sell finished pieces made from salvaged items.

We purchased a Mid Century Modern style light that came out of a church in Georgia. It just needed a good cleaning and a coat of paint before it was ready to hang.

First, we took down the dated light fixture. It looked like the ceiling had been painted at some point, without removing the light, so there was a discoloration. Of course, the new light fixture was smaller than the one we took down, so we could either paint the ceiling (not on the project list!) or find a medallion to cover it, which is the option we took. They had several options at Home Depot.

We also ran into the issue of the screws not being in the correct position for the new fixture. Again, nothing is easy when you are working with a 50+ year old house. The hubby did some research and found an extender bracket at Home Depot which solved the problem. You can see the difference between the picture above, compared to the one below. 

Once the hardest part was done, we simply had to install the new fixture and attach the shade!

I love how it looks, especially outside our Mid-Century styled living room.