what the faq diy lighting tips

How Do I Rewire a Nelson Bubble Lamp?

Beau Wynja

How to install a flush mount fixture to a junction box

Did you get your hands on an ever-so sought after Nelson Bubble Lamp? Nice choice. These massively popular lamps are a great Mid Century Modern design addition to your home, and upgrading the original components with Color Cord Company DIY lamp parts offers a fresh take on a vintage look.

Before You Start Decide hardwire or plug-in before you order parts, almost everything else about the build is identical. Either way, this project involves real electrical wiring. If you're comfortable working with wire and basic tools, the steps below will get you there. If you're not, or if anything about your junction box or wiring looks unfamiliar, it's worth having a licensed electrician handle the installation instead. Safety first, the pendant will look just as good either way.

Are you building this as a hardwired fixture (wired permanently into a junction box) or a plug-in fixture (cord and plug, plugs straight into an outlet)? There's just one part that changes, and one installation step that looks completely different depending on which route you take. We'll call out both clearly as we go.

In This Post

  1. Building the Socket Assembly
  2. Installing a Hardwired Pendant
  3. Installing a Plug-In Pendant

You'll need these DIY lamp parts to revamp your Nelson Bubble:

Building the Socket Assembly

These first five steps are the same whether you're building hardwire or plug-in, the difference only shows up at the very end.

  1. Cut and strip your wire.Cut and strip your cloth covered wire using your Color Cord 3000 or other wire stripping tool.
  2. Thread the nipples and slide on the socket.Thread the 1/8 and 1/4 IPS nipples onto the porcelain socket cap and tighten down the set screw. Slide the socket top and insulation onto the cloth cord with the bottom facing the exposed ends.
  3. Wire the porcelain socket.Loosen the terminal screws and hook the conductor wires underneath, then tighten back down. Black positive goes to the gold screw, white negative to the silver, and green ground to the green screw. Slide the socket cap down to the body, turn the socket over, locate the two screw holes on the inside, insert the screws, and tighten down the cap to the body.
  4. Thread the shade onto the socket.Feed the other end of the cloth cord through the shade and get the top of the porcelain socket to sit flush with the top of the shade. Feed the nut and washer over the cord and onto the all thread nipple at the top of the socket, then tighten down with a wrench.
  5. Prep the other end of the cord.Cut and strip the other end of your cloth covered wire. Thread the reducer coupler and male barrel cord grip together and slide it over the cord with the cord grip facing the exposed conductor wires. Screw the reducer coupler onto the all thread nipple and tighten down the cord grip set screw.

Finish the Cord — Hardwire or Plug-In

This is the one step where the build splits. Follow the callout that matches yours:

Hardwire Feed the stripped end of your cloth covered wire through the canopy cord grip and tighten down the set screw once you've determined your cord length.
Plug-In Skip the canopy entirely. Feed the stripped end of your cord into the cord grip on your Power Cord Whip and tighten down the set screw once you've determined your cord length. The whip already has the grounded 3-prong plug attached, so there's no junction box wiring involved on this end at all.

You did it! Now it's time to install your Nelson Bubble pendant, and this is the other place where hardwire and plug-in look completely different. Jump to whichever section matches your build.

Installing a Hardwired Pendant

If you built the plug-in version, skip this whole section, none of it applies to you, jump down to "Installing a Plug-In Pendant" below.

  1. Power off.Turn off the light switch and the breaker before touching anything. So long as you start here, the rest of the process shouldn't cause any pain (we hope).
  2. Mount the canopy and connect the wires.Attach the canopy mounting plate to your junction box with the provided screws. Twist together the matching conductor wires, black to black positive, white to white negative, and green ground to bare copper ground, and secure each pair with a wire nut wrapped in electrical tape. Tuck everything up into the box and secure the canopy to the mounting plate. Tip: once you've set your pendant length, tie an overhand knot inside the canopy for extra security.
  3. Add a bulb and power it on.This is our favorite step by far. Add a light bulb, flip your breaker and light switch back on, and enjoy.

Installing a Plug-In Pendant

If you built the hardwired version above, this section doesn't apply to you, there's no junction box work here at all.

  1. Add a bulb and plug it in.Add a light bulb to your socket, hang your pendant wherever you're placing it, and plug the whip's 3-prong plug into a standard grounded outlet. No breaker, no junction box, no wire nuts, just power up and enjoy.

You will also need to track down the following tools to complete this installation:

  • Phillips and flat head screwdrivers
  • Masking tape
  • Wrench / pliers
  • Wire stripper

Shop This Post

DIY Cloth Covered Wire → Porcelain Socket → Ceiling Canopy (Hardwire) → Power Cord Whip (Plug-In) →

It really is that easy. Let us know if you have any questions regarding the parts you'll need for this project, and be sure to tag us in your photos of your Nelson Bubble Lamp revamp.

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