How to Replace a Ceiling Fan with a Pendant Light

Today I’m going to share with you a simple to follow tutorial for how to replace a ceiling fan with a pendant light.  I’m not a diy expert, and I’m not an electrician.  Yet I’ve managed to successfully replace and install ceiling lights in my home many times.  I promise you that this is not a difficult thing to do.  If I can do it, anyone can.

I realized as I was planning to replace the ceiling fan in the guest bedroom for the One Room Challenge that I’d never before shared this simple tutorial with you all.  Doing these types of simple home projects on your own means being able to put money towards the much more fun aspects of your design plan!

The DIY Details

Remove the old fan using a screwdriver loosening the ceiling cover plate that holds the fan in place.  Then remove the wire caps.  Untwist the electrical wires.

Once the fan and bracket have been removed, it’s time to get to know your wires.

The copper wire is your ground wire.  The red wire is specific to the ceiling fan.  Since you aren’t replacing a fan with another fan,  you can go ahead and cap the red wire.   You won’t be connecting that wire since you aren’t installing another fan.

Attach the metal bracket that came with your new light fixture to the light kit in the ceiling.  (If you’re using a ceiling medallion, you’ll want to attach it now.)  At this point the red ceiling fan wire has already been capped.  Go ahead and push that wire up into the light box.  Now connect the copper ground wire from the metal bracket to the copper ground wire in the ceiling by twisting the ends together.  Then cap the connection.

You will probably want to expose a bit more of the black and white wires on your light fixture to make it easier to twist them together to the wires in the ceiling.  There’s a special wire cutting tool you can use to do this, but scissors and a pair of needle nose pliers will also get the job done.

Now all you need to do is switch the power back on at the breaker box.  Flip the switch and  ta-da!  You’re awesome!  😉

This fixture is from Serena & Lily, and I love the texture it adds to the room!

Let me know if you have any questions on about this tutorial.  I promise you, you CAN do this!