The apartment that Mike and I moved into has nothing but fluorescent lights throughout all the rooms. I have never been a big fan of these lights, they are just to harsh. My idea was to hide the ugly lights, and to soften their glow. The project was somewhat successful. These shades do help to filter the harsh light, and make the rooms much more pleasant to be in. However, I am not sure the shade helps with the ugliness problem, as the shades are not much to look at. It is really difficult to eliminate all the folds and wrinkles in the fabric. I am actually thinking I might try some heavy duty fabric starch to help it hold its shape better. Does anyone have any suggestions?
To make the shade, I used wire hangers, cream colored fabric, and hot glue. I cut the hangers to fit around the light, and bended them into a square shape with two little hooks at the top that can hook over the light and hold the shade in place. I then cut the fabric to the length of the light, and the width of the three sides of the hangers. I used hot glue to attach the fabric to the hangers.
It’s not too bad for a first try, but I think it does need some tweaking. Oh, and before I forget, thank-you everyone for the great home-decor resources you gave me. Already, they have been a lot of help! I am finding lots of inspiration for my home, and I think it is already starting to look better. Now, to pick a paint color…
Cool idea–it might help to use a fusible interfacing or liquid fabric stiffener.
Or maybe you could make something with a totally different shape? Like make a whole frame with the wire & cover that with the fabric? (like an oval or something even more unusual)
Hiya – I like the idea because flouros are just so awful. Anyway, have you thought about using different fabrics or colours. Then rather than trying to hide something you can make it interesting? It would change the colour of the light too though…..