How to Make Your Own Color Cord Light Fixture

I’m really, really obsessed with Color Cord.  I’m changing out all of my boob lights and using color cord.  Seriously.  Can we please get rid of all the builder grade ugly boobness going on?  They are all over my house even after 6 years of living here.

Except in my office.  I saved a gorgeous vintage light and remade it with some pink color cord.

Now, I’m adding some mint cord all over the downstairs.  First up?  The foyer!

Before I show you how to put this together, here’s the after picture.  Just want you to see where I’m going with this.  It was really hard to get a good photo because the foyer is kind of small.

What you need:

• 1 Vintage lamp shade – I found mine on eBay.
• Your choice of Color Cord
• 1 Porcelain Socket
• 1 Cord Grip
• 1 Ceiling Canopy
• Phillips Head Screwdriver

First, I took off all of the original binding and painted my shade.

It came off very easily.  I just had scissors handy for when I came to a spot that was secured to the shade.  Otherwise, it just unravelled almost by itself.

Then I painted it white before assembling the light.

DISCLAIMER:  I’m not an electrician.  Consult a professional if you need help.

How to make your own color cord light fixture

To assemble, first measure how much cord you need.  I used about 18 inches.

Wrap electrical tape about 2″ from each end and cut the fabric off the cord.  Then strip each end to expose the three cords, the hot, the neutral and the ground.

Then strip about 1/2 ” from each inner cord, and attach them to the correct places on the socket.

Then screw the top of the socket on.  You actually screw it on from inside the socket.  I kept trying to put the screw through the top, and they kept just falling in. Then I realized, that you have to go into the socket and screw them in from the bottom.  Haha on me.

(I feel like I might need to assure you that those aren’t my hands, but I’m figuring you know that because they’re so super manly.)

Next, screw the bottom of the cord grip into the top of the socket.  Thread the cord through your shake, and then attach the top of the cord grip.

Now screw the top to the bottom and secure your socket to the shade.  Just be careful not to twist the cord while doing this.  I ended up having to take it all apart twice because I accidentally twisted the cord and the wires came undone.

SO not fun times, but persevere we will.

Thread the top of the cord through the ceiling canopy and tighten the screw to stabilize the cord to the canopy.

Now you are ready to hang it to the ceiling.

This is where my Iron Man came in!  Morgan hung the light for me.  Isn’t he sweet?  He doesn’t make it on the blog very often, but he’s so cute when he does!

Ok. Before you do this part:  TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY.  No zapping allowed.

Remove your ugly boob-ish light and put the new bar in.

Then attach your wires correctly: hot to hot, neutral to neutral and ground to ground.  (In my world, hot is black, neutral is white and ground is green or copper)

When you attach your wires, twist them together and screw on the wire connectors which come with you ceiling canopy.  I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo, but they look like little toothpaste caps.

Now screw the ceiling canopy onto the bar.

Now you can pop in a bulb and turn on the electricity.  Hopefully yours won’t spark like mine did.  I had to take it down and use a different socket because I blew it out.  There must have been one stray ground wire hanging out with the hot wires.  But it’s OK.  I took it down and used a spare socket and made sure all my little copper wires were twisted tightly and in the right places.

Then I put it up again and it’s all good!  I’m SO glad to have my new light in the foyer!  It really makes a big difference, I think.

What do you think?

Let me know down in the comments below!