Sydney woman’s affordable Kmart light hack

A Sydney woman has clocked thousands of likes over her affordable bedroom hack that requires no tools whatsoever.

A Kmart shopper has come up with a clever light hack she said is “perfect for renters”.

Emily Duncan, 24, from Campbeltown in Sydney’s southwest, was on the hunt for a trendy looking pendant light to match her coastal vibes bedroom.

But she quickly realised how expensive they can be with the one she loved retailing for about $180 – and she needed two, one for either side of her bed.

‘My partner and I are first homebuyers. We bought this house in February and were super young and don’t have copious amounts of money to spend on renos and getting contractors like an electrician,” Emily told news.com.au.

$78 Kmart hack praised by thousands online. Picture: Supplied

“I had seen a similar thing on TikTok to what I ended up creating, such as using the idea of puck lights, and one day I was just on the Kmart website and ended up finding everything I needed on there,” Emily told news.com.au.

After ordering all the materials via Click and Collect (due to lockdown), which cost $78 in total, Emily spent just 15 minutes putting it all together.

She said not only is it a great idea for those who aren’t handy on the tools, it’s also a great alternative for those who are renting.

“With rentals you’re not allowed to be drilling holes into walls and because the command strips are designed to come off without leaving anything behind, it’s a good idea for rentals too,” she said.

Emily Duncan, 24, from Sydney, came up with an affordable Kmart hack she says is ‘perfect for renters’. Picture: Supplied

Emily explained that all you need are two pendant lights of your choice, some twine, puck lights (preferably with a remote) and some picture hooks, adding that no tools are required.

“I just measured out where I wanted the lights to be so that they could hang directly over the bedside tables and then I used the command strips and stuck them to the ceiling,” she said.

“After that, I measured out how low I wanted the pendants to come, cut the rope to length, tied the rope onto the pendant, attached the puck light using the double sided tape and then hung them up.”

This is some of what you need to help create the light. Picture: Supplied

She measured where she wanted the lights to go. Picture: Supplied

She then cut the rope to length and tied it onto the light shade. Picture: Supplied

The 24-year-old said the $8 LED lights come with a remote so that you don’t need to stick your arm into the pendant every time you want to turn them on or off.

“I just wanted to make something cheap I could easily change when it became out of fashion and something that also wouldn’t burn a hole in my wallet,” Emily said.

Here she attaches the puck light to the pendant using double-sided tape. Picture: Supplied

She posted a reel of her hack on TikTok and Instagram, not realising the huge reaction it would also get on Facebook with 4000 ‘likes’ and over 1000 comments.

“Emily Duncan this is my fav post I have ever seen on this page – well done this is brilliant,” one member of the Kmart Inspired Homes group wrote.

The end result. Picture: Supplied

“You are brilliant young lady!” said another, while a third added: “Stopppp ittttt …!!! Watch me have random lighting now too.”

Emily said she was taken aback by the positive reaction, adding that she had no idea it would “take off like that”.

“I think it helps that it is a low-budget hack. That was the biggest thing for me personally and also that you don’t need any tools. I can’t use a drill to save my life,” she joked.