Let’s DIY the Boob Lights!

Have you heard the term ‘boob’ lights? I just heard it about a year ago….maybe it’s not even that long; but, like so many things, once something has been brought to your attention, you hear or see it all the time! I started seeing pins on Pinterest and posts on blogs showing people DIYing their ‘boob’ lights. Many of the looks were interesting and most of them were quite inexpensive to do.

Introduction to boob lights

Christmas gift

After I saw that others had been replacing the globe on their ‘boob’ lights, I considered doing some DIY techniques to mine also. However, being busy with other projects, that thought slipped away; that is until I got a fun Christmas gift from my oldest son!

How to use the gift?

I decided to give it a try on the one in my sewing/craft room. I removed the glass globe from the fixture like you do to replace the light bulbs. After the globe was removed, I took the shade out of the packaging and looked through the instructions. The shade is made from 7 sheets of dense paper that are attached to each other in the center of each sheet. Since this kit is made to be used with a lightbulb hanging from the center, they provide a piece of flexible, hard plastic that forms a cylinder to attach to the inside of the shade. Even though I wasn’t going to be using the cord to make it into a hanging lamp, I did attach the plastic cylinder anyway.

Updating the 1st boob light

Now it was time to attach the shade to the long screw that held the glass globe to the fixture. You won’t believe this, but that screw is called a ‘nipple’. Go figure! Since the hole in the center piece of the shade is larger than the screw, I had to find something to make it fit. I cut a circle from a plastic food container lid and then cut a hole in the center. I sat the circle inside the plastic cylinder slipped it over the screw & attached the shade to the fixture with the original knob. After I had the shade attached, I found a bag of extra pieces from previously purchased fixtures & decided to use the smaller of the 2 silver pieces pictured below instead of the piece of plastic.

Protecting the shade

With shade attached, since the paper was close to the bulbs, I wondered if it would get too warm. The bulbs are LED and the shade is made to be used with a regular light bulb (there is no warning against using an incandescent one) so it should be fine. To be on the safe side, though, I thought I should put up a barrier between the shade & bulbs. I reinstalled the globe but the light was muted too much with both the globe & shade. I would need to find another option. I thought that a clear, hard plastic bowl might work. I measured the width of the light fixture and then went thrift shopping. I found the perfect size clear plastic bowl at the first stop. Better yet, it was only $1! I brought it home and drilled a hole in the center of the bowl. To prevent the bowl from cracking, I applied painter’s tape to the area to be drilled then used a nail and gently tapped a pilot hole before drilling the hole. I then attached it to the long screw. As you can see, there isn’t a lot of thread below the bowl so I used a thin bolt to attach it to the fixture.

Attaching the shade

Now that the bulbs were enclosed, using the original knob from the light fixture, I attached the shade to the long screw. Once the shade was in place, I followed the instructions and scrunched the sheets of paper until the shade resembled a flower. I am in love with it! These shades are not easy to find but there are a few on Etsy. If you decide to look for one, I saw some listings where they were selling just the shade. **I plan to use the cord that came with it for a future project**

2nd & 3rd ‘boob’ light DIY

This little DIY went really fast. I know it doesn’t feel like it since I gave all the detail 🙂 Because it was so easy, I decided to also update the ‘boob’ lights in the laundry room and spare bedroom. The easiest DIY I’ve seen is to use lampshades. I wanted the shades to cover the base of the fixture so I measured the outside diameter of each fixture so the shades would be wide enough. Once I had my measurements, I went back to the thrift shops to look for shades! Amazingly, I found what I was looking for at the first store! Each lampshade was $3! For this DIY, the best shades to use are the ones that are designed to go under a light bulb on a lamp. This design is called UNO and will allow the lampshade to be attached closer to the fixture when you turn the shade upside down so that the bottom of the shade is near the ceiling.

The lampshades that I found were a nice cream color which looks good in both of the rooms so I didn’t feel the need to change that. If you find a shade in a color that doesn’t work, you can cover it with material or paint it. I removed the glass globes from both of the fixtures, then used the same knobs to attach the shades to the long screw.

View from below

Now, you may be asking, ‘Can’t you see the old fixture when you look up’? Yes, yes you can. I’m not bothered by being able to see the light bulbs because, frankly, I don’t usually look up at the light when I’m standing directly below it. However, you can find examples on Pinterest on how to camouflage the bulbs. You’ll also notice that the light is more ‘directed’ with the shades than with the globes.

Also, the rim of the fixture still shows in the bedroom. The reason for this is that the long screw is only threaded at the bottom. I can replace that with one that is fully threaded and bring the shade closer to the ceiling; but since the rim blends well with the shade, I think I’ll leave it as is. I have kept the globes in case I decide to switch back to the ‘boob’ look or if I replace the fixtures I’ll have them to donate with the old ones.

Finished ‘boob’ upgrades

Your turn!

If you also have ‘boob’ lights in your home, now you know that you can easily upgrade them without the hassle and cost of removing the fixture to replace them with a new one. You can find additional inspiration on Pinterest. Have fun and let me know if you try this project.

Supplies Used

• IKEA lampshade
• 2 thrift store lamp shades
• Hard plastic bowl
• Drill & 1/2″ drill bit
• Painter’s tape

Instructions

• If using IKEA shade
• Put a piece of painter’s tape over area to be drilled
• Create pilot hole using a nail & hammer
  • To prevent cracking, gently tap to create a hole
• Drill hole in plastic bowl large enough to fit over center screw
• Remove glass globe from fixture
• Attach bowl to center screw with nut
• Attach shade to center screw with decorative nut
• If using regular lampshade
• Remove glass globe from fixture
• Attach lampshade to center screw using same decorative nut

For your convenience

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