The evening after sharing our plans for a mini-update to the master bathroom, Sherry jumped in the car the next day to track down the blue light fixture she’d pinned to her mood board.
We found a Shades of Light pendant at a local outlet and, to our surprise, they had two in stock. Both were half off the original $159 price, so for about $80 we left with a seeded blue glass pendant to replace the old flush-mount ceiling light. It wasn’t the cheapest light we’ve ever bought, but the translucent sea-glass color and the seeded texture looked beautiful in person and felt worth the splurge.
One goal was practical: replacing the wide flush mount with a smaller-diameter pendant would make the ceiling look less crowded near the shower curtain. The room is tiny, so anything centered in the ceiling sits close to the shower bar. A smaller footprint and more translucent glass would help lighten the space visually.
Beyond the practical, the blue pendant would introduce a subtle pop of color to the otherwise “builder basic” bathroom, lending some personality without overwhelming the neutral palette.
We’ve installed fixtures before, so we expected this to be a quick job. Instead, when we removed the old light we uncovered a giant, uneven hole in the ceiling that wouldn’t work with the pendant’s smaller base.
So the project shifted from “install new pendant” to “patch the ceiling” — a classic DIY detour. Fortunately, we had leftover drywall in the basement from a previous project, so we cut a piece to size and prepared the ceiling for a patch.
After cutting an opening for the fixture box with a drywall saw, we screwed scrap wood into place to create solid backing to fasten the patch to. The top of the pendant would later cover the fixture-box opening for a clean look.
With the drywall piece attached, we sanded and filled the seams and screw heads. Sherry handled the spackling while I did the sanding — over time we’ve developed a rhythm for these tasks: I often handle the rough carpentry and sanding while she does the precise finishing work.
Sherry did two rounds of spackling: apply, let dry, sand, then repeat. Using a sanding block keeps the surface flat and makes it easier to feather the patch into the existing ceiling. After priming the raw drywall, we rolled two coats of paint (Rockport Gray) and feathered the paint beyond the patched area to help the repair blend in.
By the next evening the ceiling was ready for the new pendant. The glass looked a touch brighter in photos than in person; in reality it reads as a soft sea-glass blue that complements the white, gray, and sand tones in the room.
The cord was far too long for this small bathroom, so we shortened it. We cut back the outer jacket and exposed the inner wires, then trimmed those to length. Note: a wire stripper is a better tool than repeatedly bending the cable to tear the jacket, since it avoids stressing the inner conductors.
We carefully stripped the insulation from the wire tips and connected them under wire nuts inside the fixture box. Sherry held the pendant while I made the wiring connections — having two people makes hanging a light faster and safer.
With the pendant installed, the ceiling now feels less crowded around the shower bar and still provides plenty of clearance — our fixture’s bottom sits about 6’10” above the floor. That meets our local code requirement of 6’8″ clearance, but rules vary by area, so check local regulations before hanging fixtures near tubs or showers.
The seeded glass creates a soft reflection on the ceiling and, despite initial worries, a single clear 60-watt bulb casts plenty of light without tinting the room blue. The pendant brings just the right amount of color to brighten the neutral palette and pairs nicely with our chrome hardware.
Ideally the fixture would be centered over the toilet half of the room in front of the window, but this was intended as a quick update, so we avoided moving electrical boxes for now. That might be part of a Phase Two plan when we tackle floor tile and a few other upgrades.
We did a quick checklist of next steps for the bathroom:
paint the walls so they have some contrastreplace the boob light- paint the cream trim bright white
- hang bathroom-safe art
- replace the toilet with a classic white model
- add privacy treatment to the window
- remove the door to trim the bottom for a rug/bathmat clearance
- consider replacing the border tile (phase two)
- replace the floor tile down the road to break up the expanse
Despite the unexpected ceiling repair, the blue pendant really livens the space and gives us momentum to add more color and finishing touches. We’re excited to keep making the tiny bathroom feel friendlier and more finished.