Yes, I know — it’s been a while. Hopefully you can find it in your heart to forgive me but I come bearing gifts: new content and a whole new vertical. Behold, Home By Default.
Home By Default was honestly created out of boredom — a fun Instagram page designed to serve no other purpose other than highlighting the cool shit in my home. After being confined to my apartment for almost a year due to the pandemic, in early 2021, I decided to document my space in all its glory (hence, home by default, wink wink). In a time where home was the only place to be, it made sense to celebrate it in a way that I hadn’t before. While I’ve always been into home decor and aesthetics, for some reason, it just never really occurred to me to document it in the way I used to try to do fashion and beauty. Since creating it, I’ve played with the idea of making it a vertical here on my blog and so here we are. I’m trying to not let the millennial in me commodify it and turn it into another daunting project plagued by perfectionism and overthinking so this is my way of doing that. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy seeing my visions come to life as much as I do.
After moving into my apartment, I realized I had no recessed lighting in my living room. My initial fix for this was to just buy a floor lamp and I did, but after really hopping into my interior decorator bag, I just felt that there was a more creative solution — one that created more visual interest. So after falling into many Pinterest and IG rabbit holes, I figured out that a pendant light was the solve and I had watched enough Youtube videos in order to do it myself.
The main goal was to find a solution that was renter-friendly and didn’t require hard-wiring. For that reason, I opted for IKEA’s HEMMA cord. It’s a 15’ plug-in cord that allows you to attach it to almost any lamp shade. For the lampshade, I wanted something that was going to bring in the boho vibes so I went with the TORARED pendant lamp shade from IKEA as well. To create a more seamless look, I chose to go with some white ceiling hooks from Target instead of the silver ones the cord came with. You’d be surprised to see how such a small decision can really create a more finished, intentional look. The hardest part was trying to make sure I was hanging it in the right spot. After I marked the location of the two hooks and adjusted the cord and lightbulb to hang properly, all there was left to do was hang it. It was truly one of the easiest projects I’ve done and it only costed me around $47. I would definitely consider this a quick way to declutter and elevate any space. Plus, everyone loves good lighting.
SUPPLIES
IKEA HEMMA Cord set - $5.00
IKEA 22” TORARED Pendant lamp shade - $39.99
Follow me as I solidify the vibes in my home @HomeByDefault