Our new one bedroom co-op apartment has great windows, but not a lot of lighting. There are two very space age silver fixtures in the entry and the kitchen and a terribly dim LED vanity light in the bath, but the concrete ceilings had apparently discouraged the previous owner from installing any additional lights.
Knowing that hard wiring anything would require a lengthy application process and a costly electrician, I did a ton of research on rechargeable or plug-in fixtures and came up with a plan to offer modular, mix-and-match illumination.
Luckily, the apartment has plenty of electrical outlets which are key to realizing this sort of lighting design scenario.
Here are the lights I selected and where these are useful:
Plug-in Pendant Lights
Since we were used to having an overhead light fixture in the living room and bedroom, I chose custom plug-in pendant lights from Color Cord Company to serve this purpose. With a masonry drill bit and special T-hooks and swag hooks, these fixtures which have a switch are easy to install. The bright cords, interesting bulbs and stunning shade selection created two very unique looks.
The bedroom light setup is made of the following components:
- Urban Dome Shade – Black (Matte Black)
- T Swag Hook (White)
- Pinch Swag Hook (White)
- 16 Feet Black Porcelain Plug-in Cord (Red)
- XL LED Milk Glass Bulb G40 (Clear)
There is actually a light switch with a related plug in the bedroom so this pendant serves as an overhead light that can be easily switched on.
The living room fixture is made of the following components:
- Industrial Light Bulb Cage (Polished Copper)
- T Swag Hook (Polished Copper)
- Pinch Swag Hook (Polished Copper)
- 16 Feet Plug-in Cord (Polished Copper)
- Edison LED Curve Bulb
This pendant not only defines separation between zones in our living area, but casts a cozy glow on the chairs creating a conversation or reading area. We use the switch on the bottom of the cord near to plug to switch it on when more light is needed.
Hard-wired Vanity Light
There was only one way to properly illuminate the bathroom and that involved replacing the dimmest LED light in the world. In order to make the project co-op friendly – i.e. simply a straight up replacement of the existing fixture – I researched an easy to install piece with the exact same size plate as the existing vanity light, but with four incredible standard E26 lights that could take up to 60W bulbs for a lot of brightness.
Here is the Amazon link to the Over Mirror Brushed Nickel, Anti-Rust 4-Light Bathroom Vanity Light Fixture.
Rechargeable Sconces
Another type of light that helps brighten our living room is the Nova Light Rechargeable Wall Sconce. We used two of these in white on either side of the Burton Morris Monarch Butterfly print above our sofa.
The lights last about 15 to 20 hours and attach to the mounts with a magnet so that you can easily remove the rechargeable part. The mount itself attaches to the wall with an adhesive, so would be handy on tile as well.
LED Motion Sensor Lights
These stick on, magnetic, battery operated, LED Motion Sensor Lights are a boon for any of the awkward spaces which need more occasional lighting. I used these under the cabinet above the kitchen sink, in the closet where we keep the cat litter box, and most cleverly, inside the IKEA glass front cabinet to make it look like a fancy lighted display case.
I will likely get another pack to use far and wide in closets and also on the bathroom shelving unit.
Freestanding Floor and Table Lamps
For now, I’ve rounded out the lighting design project with the most common style of light – the plug in lamp.
In the living room, I like the look and useful adjustability of Wayfair’s Bernal 64” Gold Tree Floor Lamp. Each of the cone shaded lights can be turned on and angled individually and the overall look of the gold metal looks right with my deco living room features.
In the bedroom, small table lamps on the nightstands and also next to my desk add brightness for reading and working as needed.
I used three completely different lamps for these spaces. On my side of the bed, I have my trusty Chirp Alarm Clock and Lamp from MOMA Design Store. This sleek deco white and gold bird gives off an adjustable low glow, perfect before reading at night. The alarm feature is so nice and easy to program using a phone app that syncs to set the time and the preferred chirp.
Another fantastically unique table lamp is the “goth squirrel” lamp that my friend RF upcycled from a vintage woodland sculpture using black resin, wiring a lamp into it and selecting the best copper-lined shade to top it off. It looks like Wednesday Addams meets cabincore.
The flexibility of these lighting solutions will allow for evolution over time a bit more easily than hard wiring fixtures or attaching a ton of things to the walls.
Midtown Century Modern 