DIY Pendant Grow Lights
DIY Pendant Grow Lights
I don’t have great light in my apartment by any means. Where I live, light from a south facing window is best, and in my living room, the windows are north facing.. the complete opposite of what I need! I love plants, and searching online, the aesthetically pleasing grow lights are $$$$$$!! I decided to do some research and make my own to go along with my Plant Wall Desk!
Project difficulty: Beginner
Materials needed for this project:
soft warm grow lights (don’t get the bright white - it’s SUPER bright like an operating room and is pretty cold feeling)
Gilding Paint (optional)
Tools needed for this project:
Drill and corresponding drill bit (to attach the hooks to ceiling)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1 (first tier): Install grow lights. I purchased peel and stick lights that my plants absolutely love. It’s close enough for the smaller plants and propagation cuttings I have in my collection to give them just the amount of light they need.
Step 2: For the second tier, it required a bit more. I purchased plug-in pendant lights and screwed holes in the ceiling where I wanted the hooks to go.
Step 3: I installed the plug-in pendants once the hooks were in place. I held the wires where I wanted with a staple gun. It’s not perfect by any means, but it kept the wires exactly where I wanted them so it was good enough for me.
Step 4: I didn’t love the look of the plug in light on it’s own with just the grow light, so I purchased shades from Amazon that was the correct diameter to accommodate the grow lights I got. This was surprisingly hard to come by, but I finally found them!
I thought I could just add the shades and call it a day, but quickly realized I needed light extenders to keep the actual shades in place, and I had to spray paint the shades a frosted color since the light bounced off of the glass and reflected in ways that hurt our eyes.
Step 5 (optional): I didn’t like the cheap-ish look of the pendant lights and extenders, so I took some gilding paint and painted them gold. I think they give a nicer look than just the plain white.
That’s it! Grow lights that actually look cute. My plants are extremely happy and have seen tremendous growth even during the off season. I’ll be sure to update my Instagram @simplyhandmade if you want a plant update!