During the laundry room remodel, one thing became blazingly clear - the little basket light I had in there was not enough light. Truth be told, this isn't a new revelation, but it hasn't been that big of a deal. Once I added shelving, though, it became a pain (it's hard to find things if you can't see).

Originally the laundry room had standard builder grade lights. I had made a basket light using a pendant kit from Lowe's.

Pendant light kit in brushed nickel from Lowe's.

The kit is around $15 and comes with the light socket and washer. You simply install it like you would any light fixture and attach your shade using the socket. It's really easy to use and took about 5 minutes to install it when I got it a year or so ago.

For the new light, I knew I wanted something unique and, more importantly, something that gave me a lot of light. I searched Hobby Lobby and the likes for a couple of weeks looking for "it" but had no luck. Then one day I decided to swing by At Home (Garden's Ridge's new home store. Click here to find a location). I had stopped in to look for a mirror because they have an unreal collection of mirrors. On the way to the back of the store I walked by an aisle of candle holders and found this.

I picked it up, turned it up and down and then saw that the bottom easily popped open so you could set a candle inside. Of course, the bottom opening isn't a plus unless your arm can fit inside (so you can screw in the washer and change light bulbs). So there I am in the candle holder sticking my arm inside this thing and doing a little happy dance because there was more than enough room for my arm. And did I mention the price? $19.99. Woo hoo!

Once I got home I went straight to the laundry room to see if it would fit. I was shocked when the washer was a near perfect fit for the opening at the top. Noticed I said near perfect. Although it probably would have worked just fine, I decided to wrap the rim of the washer with electrical tape to make sure it was nice and secure.

After that, I just held the light over the socket and screwed the washer on. I screwed in the bulb and voila! I had a new light (note: please forgive the pictures that follow. Photographing a dark room with no light was difficult and I had to rely on my iphone).

Hold the candle holder up to the socket...

And the final product? Check it out...

I just love this light! It's so unexpected and it's so fun! But what is even better... I saw yesterday that Maison et Objet was featuring one of the newest trends showing at their international home show that opens today. And guess what it was?

How cool is that???? Oh! One more thing - the light bulb. Because the light was originally inside a basket, I opted for an LED light because they do not get very hot. Also, when taking the light bulb out at the beginning of the project I accidentally dropped it on my tile floor and was shocked when it didn't shatter. They may be more expensive, but the fact that they aren't hot and don't break when dropped makes them a winner in my book - and add to that the energy efficiency and long life - why wouldn't you use an LED?

So there you have it! My new laundry room light! I hope this inspires some of you to go out and find interesting objects you can use for lighting. And if you do, make sure you share them with me - I'd love to see them!

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