Turkish de Light

Last month, my husband and I took a couple of weeks and traveled through parts of Europe that we’d been itching to see since before college graduation. After quite a bit of planning, we created an itinerary that hopped along the southern coast, starting in Istanbul and winding up in Barcelona. Our time in Istanbul was gorgeous, vibrant, entirely different from our cultural norm, and wildly inspirational. As a souvenir, we had a Turkish mosaic pendant shipped back to the US and this weekend we completed our first mini-project inspired by our trip by installing our new light in a room that desperately needed a fixture update.

The photo above is one of the many mosaic light fixture stores in Istbanbul (particularly in the tourist area of Sultanahmet), but this one in particular is where we got ours.  The owner had no problem with us waiting out a thunderstorm in his establishment and that gave me plenty of time to pick the one I wanted. So, an hour later I chose one (the one I was originally drawn to the minute we walked in, my typical shopping style) and three weeks later, I had it on my doorstep.

{Mosaic glass set in plaster. Notice my creepy eye in the center? That was on purpose. You’re welcome.}

So, onto the mini-project, here is the room beforehand.

{underwhelming}

The new pendant is just a fixture with chains to hang it. It doesn’t have any electrical components, so we had to use a light kit. However, the light kits available didn’t have ceiling canopies that complemented the brushed bronze finish of the pendant, so we mixed and matched canopies and kits.

We used a Westinghouse kit, seen above. I couldn’t find this particular light kit online, but I found this one on Amazon for $15. And, here’s the bronze finished canopy we used.

We measured the length of wire we needed needed to hang the pendant, cut it to fit, and then my husband used wire strippers to expose the wires so he could connect the light to the box in the ceiling. 

Next, we ran the cord through the metal loop at the top of the pendant.

Then, I held the light fixture over my head for a while as my husband wired the fixture into the ceiling.  It was far easier for two people to do this. Of course, this guy came to help as well.

Love this pattern, close up and far away.

After about an hour from start to clean up, here’s the room.

And here’s a lovely shot to show how the mix-and-match canopy complements the pendant.

To reiterate the difference.

Definitely a favorite souvenir. Happy Friday!