Last month we went to Ikea and finally got around to installing a couple of the lights we bought. Meet the Ikea Maskros light and the Alang. Well, technically, the Aläng, but we’re going to skip the diaeresis.

ikea maskros light alang

I opened the Maskros light box and my eyes got big. That’s a bunch o’ pieces!

But assembly was easy – it was a matter of snapping the spindly things into a circular base. Also, the pendant’s wire is very long. I thought I was going to have to cut the wire to trim it, but the wires can actually be hidden inside that white cup that goes next to the ceiling.

We hooked up the electrical (disclaimer: turn off your power, be safe, do research before electrical work – this is the kind of thing that burns houses down and kills people!) and started attaching the paper flowers. There were more than 80 paper flowers!

Fully assembled, the Ikea Maskros light was looking fly. It’s definitely girly, especially with the curtains, but even Ryan loves it. The bulb is an LED and promises to last – brace yourselves – 23 years! What!

ikea maskros light

The bulb isn’t super bright, but it looks really cool at night. It’s the perfect night light – we keep it on while we watch movies so we can go in and out of the kitchen without having to flip on a super bright light.

Next up, the light in the center of the kitchen. This brassy boob light is getting replaced with the Alang, a three bulb drum light.

It was easy to assemble – just a matter of snapping the bulb bases in place and tucking the wires out of the way.

The light is flush on the ceiling. We put in CFL bulbs at first, but went back and used LED bulbs. The shade snapped on magnetically, clinging to three metal arms extended from the base.

This picture does not do the brightness of the light justice. I was genuinely impressed with the brightness of the LEDs. Even though they’re $10 a pop, I think it’s worth it to invest in these. They don’t give off any heat, which is awesome.

Here’s what the kitchen lights looked like before we replaced them (and did a lot of other work, haha).

And here are the new lights in the kitchen. Not bad, huh? The drum light looks a little wrinkled here, but I think it’s just the lighting catching it weird. It’s not something that’s noticeable. But hey, both of these lights totaled $80. Not bad!

Are you making any lighting upgrades in your house? Have you tried LED bulbs?

7 Responses to New Lights In The Kitchen

  1. Cynthia says:

    How tall are your ceilings and did you get the smaller or larger maskros?

    • Paige says:

      So belated! Sorry. We did get the smaller maskros. The cord is highly adjustable. I think – *think* – our ceilings are 9 ft. Definitely not 10, I know that much.

  2. Laurie says:

    They look amazing! Did you have trouble attaching the Maskro light’s white plastic piece to the ceiling?

    • Paige says:

      Not at all! I don’t specifically remember it, but I remember fearing it wouldn’t stay flush to the ceiling. Not the case at all. It’s really light, and hasn’t budged since installing it.

  3. Jessie says:

    Did you use the 22″ or the 32″ size Ikea Maskro light? I’m having trouble deciding which size would work best for a breakfast nook 🙂

  4. Ashley says:

    Oh my gosh, it’s looking great! And I’ve been thinking of replacing a couple of boob lights with similar drum lights. I’ve had bad experiences with IKEA lighting in the past, so I’m relieved to know yours is working out. I don’t want to give up on them yet!

    • paige says:

      Thanks! Ours are good so far. They’re definitely not the same quality, but they’re working and didn’t break the bank 🙂

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