Ever browsed through our lighting section and thought to yourself: I love the look of these hanging lights, but how the heck am I supposed to install them?
Although all of our pendant lights come with detailed instructions and hardware included, it can be daunting going step by step without someone who knows what they’re doing guiding you.
That’s why we scoured the internet to bring you the best tips and a refresher course on how to hang and swag style pendant lights!
Not sure what swagging is? Stay tuned to find out!
What does swag mean?
Swag is actually both a verb and a noun!
To swag means to arrange something so it hangs with a droop or a curve.
A swag is a drooping curve made by swagging something.
You may have heard this term used to describe curtains, garlands, fabric—basically anything that has a bit of gravitational movement!
A swag style lamp is just another term used to describe a pendant light, and mostly refers to the method that you might hang the light in your room. Swagged lamps are almost always hung from the ceiling using two or more hooks to achieve an elegant swooping curve between hooks.
You might choose to hang your pendant light swagged for aesthetic reasons or for practical ones. If, for example, you want to hang your lamp above your side table, but your power outlet is somewhere towards the opposite corner of your room, you might add an extra hook and swag the lamp’s cord so that you don’t just end up with an awkward cord floating through the middle of your room.
How to hang a swagged pendant lamp
We make swagging pendant lamps easy by including step by step instructions and all the hardware you’ll need to get the job done. The only thing you need to bring to the table is a couple of tools and a great eye for design!
You will need:
Optional:
- Toggle bolt
- Decorative hook
- Cord channeling & paint
The folks over at WikiHow have a great tutorial covering how to install a swag hook. If you don’t feel like reading through theirs, though, here’s a summary:
- Locate the wood strapping or joists in your ceiling using a standard stud finder.
- If you can’t find a stud or joist where you’d like to hang your lamp, use a toggle bolt to secure the hook to your ceiling
- Drill a pilot hole just large enough for the sharp end of your swag hook’s threaded insert. The smaller the pilot hole, the better grip your hook will have on your ceiling.
- Carefully thread your hook until the threads are completely hidden in your ceiling
- Give the hook a good pull to test the strength
- Repeat steps 1-4 as needed, swag the cord, and enjoy your beautiful pendant lamp!
If you’re not totally sold on having a cord randomly hanging in your room, we found this very detailed video tutorial on how to hide your pendant lamp’s electrical cord.
That just about covers everything about swagging and hanging pendant lights.
We hope you found this week’s post helpful or at the very least learned something new! Till next week!
