Many chandeliers are intended to be hard-wired into a securely attached junction box in the ceiling that is connected to a wall switch. If you’re renting your house or apartment, however, and would like to install a chandelier, a less-permanent connection is desirable. In these scenarios, you can install a swag kit on your chandelier. This will allow you to plug the chandelier into a standard outlet. A swag kit could be installed on a chandelier in around one hour with a few basic hand tools. Remove the chandelier’s canopy before you begin.
Rank a stepladder directly beneath the area on the ceiling from which you would like to hang the chandelier. Find the nearest joist with a stud finder and mark a drill hole location on the drywall corresponding with the center of the joist using a pencil.
Insert a 1/8-inch drill bit into the chuck of a power drill, and drill a pilot hole through the drywall and into the ceiling joist. Then screw one of the decorative hooks in the swag kit into the pilot hole before the base of the hook is flush with the drywall.
Go the stepladder so that it’s positioned beside the socket to which you would like to connect the electrical cord for the chandelier. Drill a pilot hole into the ceiling to get a second swag hook above the socket. If there’s no ceiling joist in this location, tap a drywall anchor in the swag kit into the pilot hole with a hammer, then thread a swag hook into the anchor.
Feed the exposed-wire finish of the swag kit’s electrical wire through each other link of the swag kit’s string. Then separate the previous link of swag kit’s string with a pair of pliers and then slip the previous link of the chandelier’s string onto the broken link. Shut the link with the pliers to guarantee the swag kit string to the chandelier string.
Slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over the ends of the wires of the swag kit. Strip off 1/2-inch in the ends of the two insulated wires with a pair of wire strippers. Attach the exposed ends of the striped wire from the swag kit into the black wire from the chandelier, and wrap the connection with electrical tape. Then connect the two remaining wires in the exact same method.
Slide the heat shrink tubing over the links, and secure the tubing across the wires with a hair dryer to shrink the tubing.
Put the stepladder beneath the hook from which the chandelier will hang. Lift the chandelier and then carry it next to the hook. Raise or lower the chandelier till it’s in the desired height, then hook the nearest link into the ceiling hook. Move the ladder into the hook above the wall socket, and loop the string onto this hook, allowing the string to traverse the ceiling. Adjust the loop attached to the second hook so the traversed string looks most appealing to your eye.
Insert the swag kit’s electrical plug into the socket, and turn the rotary switch to check the lighting.