How to Change a Recessed Can Light to a Chandelier

How to replace a recessed can light with a chandelier or ceiling fan! 

Did you know you can hang any light fixture from a recessed light fixture, as long as it’s 35 pounds or under? 

Both of those options are SUPER simple and take no electrical knowledge at all!

I do have some electrical experience, so I thought this next one would be especially easy. Although it turns out you don’t need to know much other than how to wire a light fixture to do this one. 

So I thought…easy! 😣

You know how sometimes what you think will be super difficult turn out to be a breeze, and projects you think will be easy turn out to be much harder than you thought? 

This was one of those harder than I thought ones.

It’s a small space, but as you can see above, I love treating spots like that as tiny rooms I can decorate. 🙂 

We have a recessed light in this area that I knew would look great with a hanging light: 

They just have to be 35 pounds or under for this particular kit. I got mine at Lowe’s, but hang in there till the end of the post for a much better option and links to how-to videos. 

Do you sense the foreboding? 🙂

I love the brass and white combo and it’s a decent sized light. I like to go bigger than you’d think in small spaces like this. 

This smaller one was on sale and I got an additional discount, so it was $60 off the regular price. I was so excited to get it up — I knew it was going to look so good in our little hallway! 

This is where the project, that should take an hour, turned into four. FOUR. HOURS. 

The can converter isn’t that difficult to install really…it’s basically just a bracket that you install inside the can so a heavier light can be hung. 

But the directions in the kit I used were abysmal. So bad that I eventually stopped trying to use them and decided to figure out the install on my own. 

It just wasn’t working for me…the bracket would not stay secure. Also, the converter kit has a metal medallion that you have to use to cover the large recessed hole. But I could not figure out how to install the light I was using with that medallion. 

Then…this gorgeous light gave me some fits as well. The cord is covered with fabric, which looks great. But if you have to shorten your chain, you’ll need to cut this as well. 

Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the fabric around the cord instantly started unraveling. I tried leaving it alone but every time I moved the cord the fabric would fray even more: 

It was a HUGE mess, so I had to carefully cut all of that off of the cord, which took forever because I was trying not to nip the actual cord. 

Between the light fixture giving me fits and the kit not working, this project took way longer than I planned. 

But I don’t give up! Or I’m just ridiculously stubborn. Either way, I finally figured out a solution. 

It was as simple as running back to the hardware store for a flat medallion for the ceiling instead of the dome shaped option they provided in the converter kit. 

Once I figured that out, the light went up in about 15 minutes…as it should. 

Thankfully, I love it as much as I thought I would! It’s a really lovely light: 

I plan to go pretty dramatic in this space and this gorgeous light is my inspiration. 

NOW I think it was worth all the work. During the cussing, not so much. 

Just adding a pretty light fixture adds so much to this small space!:

So here’s the thing — this project doesn’t need to be as hard as it was for me. It really should only be an hour from start to finish, tops. 

I plan to change out mine with that mounting bracket/converter kit instead. Mine sucked. 🙂

That’s my tale of the lighting project I thought was going to be easy…but wasn’t. Have you tried converting your recessed can lights with one of this kits? How did it work for you? 

Stay tuned for more updates in this little hallway!