The evening after we posted our plans for a mini-update to our master bathroom, Sherry hopped in the car and took off to search for the blue light fixture she’d pinned on her mood board.
We were hoping to find a Shades of Light fixture at a local outlet called The Decorating Outlet (where we’ve previously bought the glass pendants over our peninsula, Clara’s capiz chandelier, and the shade we added around the chandelier in our office).
Sherry worried they might be sold out, but they actually had two in stock. They were half off the original $159 price, so for about $80 we left with a beautiful seeded blue glass pendant to replace the old flush-mount ceiling light. It isn’t the cheapest pendant we’ve bought, but the unique translucent blue glass and the seeded texture were worth the price for the look we wanted.
One of our goals was to make the fixture feel less crowded near the shower curtain. The bathroom is tiny, and the previous wide flush mount sat almost directly over the shower area, so a pendant with a smaller ceiling footprint and airy, translucent glass would help open the space visually and introduce a subtle pop of color to the builder-basic room.
We thought installing the new light would be a quick, familiar job—we’d just done three fixtures in the kitchen recently—so we expected to finish it in a few hours. Instead, once we removed the old fixture we found a large hole in the ceiling that didn’t match the smaller base of the new pendant.
That discovery bumped “install new light” below “patch ceiling” on the to-do list. Fortunately, we had some leftover drywall from a past project, so there was no need to run to the store. I cut a piece down to size with a box cutter and used a drywall saw to carve a hole for the new fixture box. The cut wasn’t perfect, but the pendant’s canopy would cover the opening, so it would end up looking seamless.
To secure the patch, I screwed scrap wood into the ceiling to give the new drywall something firm to attach to—one piece against a beam and another into the existing drywall. After attaching the new piece it looked flush, but there were cracks and visible screw heads that needed filling and smoothing.
Sherry handled the spackling while I did the sanding. We do tend to divide tasks that way: some jobs just suit one of us better. She applied two rounds of spackle—each round being spackle, dry, then sand—so we could build up the surface, sand it flat, and finish cleanly without gaps. Using a sanding block helped keep the surface even.
After the sanding and spackling, we primed the raw drywall and applied two coats of paint (Rockport Gray). We feathered the paint beyond the patched area to blend it in. By morning the patch was dry and the fixture box looked properly positioned farther from the shower curtain; the smaller pendant would no longer feel like it was crowding the shower.
The blue pendant itself is softer in person than some photos make it look—more sea-glass than bright blue—and it complements the room’s gray, white, and sand palette. The cord was far too long for our low ceiling, so I shortened it by exposing the inner wires and trimming them to a suitable length. (Note: a wire stripper is a better tool for this than bending the cord until the casing tears, which can stress the inner wires.)
Wiring a pendant is easiest with two people: one to hold the fixture in place while the other makes the connections. Sherry held the pendant while I attached the wires, covered the connections with wire nuts inside the box, and secured the canopy. Once the ceiling patch was finished, the install was straightforward and only took a short time.
It hangs at a safe height for our area—6’10” from the bottom of the fixture to the floor—so it won’t interfere with anyone walking through. The single 60-watt clear bulb casts plenty of light for such a small room without creating an overall blue tint. The seeded glass creates a soft reflected pattern on the ceiling that’s flattering and subtle, not “smurfy.”
The chrome canopy and trim tie into our bathroom hardware, so the pendant feels cohesive with the shower fixtures and doorknob. Ideally the fixture would be centered over the toilet half of the room in front of the window, but this update was meant to be quick and simple. We may shift it slightly as part of a future phase when we tackle larger changes like replacing floor tile.
We’re happy with how the pendant livens the space and adds personality without overwhelming it. A few more touches—brighter white trim paint, bathroom-friendly art in blues and greens, and a new classic white toilet—will help complete the refresh. Here’s our updated to-do list:
paint the walls so they have some contrastreplace the boob light- paint the cream trim bright white
- hang bathroom-friendly art
- replace the toilet with a classic white model
- add privacy treatment for the window
- remove and shave the door so it opens properly over the floor register and allows for a rug
- consider replacing the border tile in a future phase
- replace the floor tile down the road to break up the expanse of the current tile
Despite the unexpected ceiling repair, the update was worth the work. The pendant brings the right touch of color and charm to our little neutral bathroom and has us excited to add more thoughtful accents as we continue the refresh.
Psst—To follow our bathroom reno from the start, check out our planning post and painting post mentioned earlier.
Pssst—Coincidentally, today is “Light It Up Blue” day for Autism Awareness, which makes our new blue fixture feel extra timely.