or Installing the Death Star Light from Ikea

This weekend we added a new piece to the Star Wars nursery: the light. This meant taking out the original light fixture in the room, circa 1950s, and replacing it with a new light from Ikea. As we’ve learned living in an older house, replacing something old usually means adapting something new to fit in its place. Nothing ever changes easily.

The old light fixture was lovely, but it didn’t work in a Star Wars room. So we removed the cover and the light fixture. All that was left was the wiring coming out of an electrical box in the ceiling.

I attached the wiring in the new light to the wiring in the ceiling, black to black and white to white just like I talked about when we installed a new pendant lamp and when we added a new electrical outlet. So far, everything was going smoothly.

Then I tried to attach the new ceiling plate to the old electrical box, and had a problem. The old box was smaller than the new plate. The two screw holes did not line up. Just a note, every ceiling light must attach to the electrical box inside the ceiling with those two screws. It may be a bracket instead of a plate, but those screws are what hold the weight of the light to the ceiling. Since I couldn’t fit the screws through both parts, I couldn’t hang the light.

Luckily, the solution was pretty easy and inexpensive. I found an adapter called an offset swivel crossbar. Basically, it is two connected pieces of metal. One connects to the electrical box in the ceiling and the other connects to the faceplate of the light.

Both pieces of metal have slots instead of screw holes so that whatever distance apart the screws need to be, they will fit into those metal crossbars metal. I took this picture so you can see how one of the metal bars is attached with screw (included) to the ceiling plate of our light. You actually attach it to the ceiling first, though.

I used the original screws from the old light fixture to connect one metal bar to the electrical box. Then, I connected the wiring in the ceiling to the wiring in the light, again, and shoved all that wiring up into the electrical box. You can see the wire to the light coming out.

Then I attached the ceiling plate of our light to the second metal bar. Because the crossbars are offset, the ceiling plate is about half an inch below the ceiling. It doesn’t matter, though, because the whole thing will be hidden inside the canopy.

With the electrical and connecting all taken care of, next it was time to put the light together. I stopped at one point to take a picture because it reminded me of the second Death Star, incomplete but fully operational (yes, I am a Star Wars nerd).

I also had to show you the picture my son photo-bombed, even though he’s out of focus. He helped me put together all the pieces of the light. It was that easy to assemble. Mostly, he had fun pulling the knobs to open and close the light. It helped that we put the light together down at his level and then shortened the cord when it was finished.

Speaking of the knob, both of those little pull handles are just a silver ball. They are actually mini Death Stars.

Here’s the completed Death Star. It looks so cool. And the round shape complements the circles on the accent wall.

I should also add that usually I’m not a huge fan of Ikea lighting. Their lights are very affordable, but they are pretty low quality. I’d rather spend a little more money on a better light. However, this Death Star light is perfect in our Star Wars nursery. It’s actually called Ikea PS 2014, but I think we can all agree that it’s the Death Star.

It even opens up to look like the Death Star exploding.

Our Star Wars nursery is closer to being finished. We now have the Lego mobile and Wampa Rug. The industrial pipe shelves display more Star Wars Legos. The accent wall has stars and framed concept art. And a faux metal shelf is great storage for our huge Lego collection.

Inside the closet, my sewing “room” is finished, but I still need to paint the outside. Then we have the dresser and door that stick our like a sore thumb. Also, we’re going to need more lighting. The Death Star light is not very bright, only 800 lumens, and it’s partially covered.

The new Death Star light is awesome in our Star Wars nursery, and the attaching it to an old electrical box turned out to be pretty easy.

Want to see more of the Star Wars room? Check out these posts: