Yes, that’s an electric slide reference. I’ll bet my mom is cracking up while my brother rolls his eyes and vows never to read this blog again.
Let’s talk about electrical updates: hanging a new capiz chandelier in the bedroom, adding a few extra outlets, and minimizing drywall damage while running new wiring. After last week’s post about our four new outdoor sconces, we mentioned additional wiring work done inside at the same time. Here’s a clear rundown of what we added, where it went, and how much it cost.
We’ll start with the prettiest result so far — the new light in our bedroom.
We had the electricians add ceiling fixtures to all four upstairs bedrooms because we prefer the look and convenience of overhead lighting; all the bedrooms lacked it before. Thankfully no drywall-scarifying work was required beyond the hole for the fixture box. They were able to take over the existing switches that used to control wall outlets in each room. That meant no additional switches were necessary, and we no longer accidentally turn off random things like the cable box or sound machine when leaving a room.
We haven’t chosen fixtures for the kids’ rooms or the guest room yet, so for now we’ll install simple white metal covers to keep the blue-circle-with-wires look minimized. But the master bedroom light was ready to go. It’s a Large Lotus Pendant we ordered from World Market a while back when we bought our hallway lights. It had been going out of stock, and we snagged a 25% off deal, so it was $112 instead of $149 with free shipping.
Our only gripe when it arrived was that it didn’t include a light kit — a detail we somehow missed on the product page. World Market’s available kits only come in black or silver, so we hunted down bronze options at Home Depot and Lowe’s. These kits are typically sold to pair with decorative glass shades, but they included the hanging hardware and ceiling canopy we needed, and came in finishes that could work with the pendant.
The Lowe’s Portfolio pendant kit in an “aged” finish ($18) matched the fixture best and was the only one that fit. The ring on the capiz shade was slightly too small to screw on normally, so the shade ended up resting on the flared part of the light kit instead.
Once we realized nesting the cord and shade that way would work, installation was straightforward. It might be the quickest light install we’ve done here, under fifteen minutes. Bingo. Bango. And John didn’t poke himself in the face with a metal flower petal this time — I wasn’t so lucky.
The pendant takes one 60-watt bulb, so it’s a nice bonus to the two bedside lamps we’d been using for over a year. Honestly, it feels almost regal to walk into the bedroom and flip a light on from the doorway. It’s a small convenience but feels huge — a lot like finally getting a dishwasher after years without one.
Here’s a quick overview of the full electrical job completed over three mornings (they worked in the cooler hours since the attic and crawl space were too hot later in the day):
- Added ceiling fixtures to four upstairs bedrooms via the attic
- Converted the bedroom switches to operate the new ceiling lights instead of wall outlets
- Added four sconces on the veranda (operated from an existing living room switch)
- Safely terminated old radio/intercom wiring in the veranda
- Added a ceiling fixture in the downstairs office and converted an existing switch
- Added a floor outlet in the office beneath the floating desk
- Added two additional wall outlets in the office
Update: You asked for more details about the office floor outlet: it was a simple addition since they came up from the crawl space. They wired from below, drilled a small hole in the floor from above, and mounted the outlet cover. The finished result is shown below.
The bill came in at about $1,500: roughly $270 for materials and the rest for labor. It felt like a larger electrician bill, but considering we previously paid around $900 for kitchen lighting, getting nine fixtures across six rooms plus three new outlets required substantially more work. When broken down, it averages to about $100 per item, not counting the switches converted or the intercom termination. Bundling multiple jobs into one visit saved money since the electricians didn’t have to repeatedly access the attic.
Another tip: being present while the work is happening can save time and prevent unnecessary drywall damage. Because we were home, we suggested an alternate wiring route for the office that avoided multiple joist penetrations and many ceiling holes. Instead, the wires were routed parallel to the fixture box joist, snaked down the wall, and fed through the crawl space to the wall switch. That required a single small ceiling hole rather than nearly ten, and wall patches are generally easier to blend than ceiling repairs.
We also asked the electrician to place a new outlet beneath John’s desk where the wire would emerge. He obliged, turning an unavoidable hole into a useful outlet so cords stay out of sight. Previously, the printer and lamp had to stretch to an outlet under the window; the new placement keeps everything neater and more functional.
Being available to discuss these on-the-spot decisions added functional outlet and switch placement and reduced the need for extra spackling and sanding.
That painting is a monster Clara brought home from art camp last week. It’s already a favorite, and it might get a more permanent place on the wall someday — without masking tape.
We’ll be updating the office and the remaining upstairs bedrooms with new fixtures as we find the right ones. If only we could raise our ceilings a foot or two to widen our options — #8ftceilingproblems.
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